Shining, Shimmering, Splendid - Carolan Coughlin, NRock

Sometimes the weather is wet and cold and miserable and your sleeping bag fails to keep you warm at night and you forget your rainpants and you have a fantastic week because you are so committed to MCC's unofficial statement: Don't be a wuss. It is absolutely neccessary to suffer sometimes during training season so as to be better prepared to help inspire your crew members when they whine about their hardships. "Cold? Cold, you say? Ha. You don't even know."

The high points of the week included working with vibrant Noxon characters, like Shaggy, who convinced us to clean up his adopted stretch of the highway in exchange for a pizza party at the celebrated local pizza joint, the Sneaky Beaver. We also learned a lot from Ken, the forester, whose vast knowledge of local flaura and fauna dominated every conversation. He told us which maps to buy, which trails to hike, where to find the good backcountry skiing, how to tell a White Pine from a Douglas Fir, and to watch out for flying squirrels because sometimes they try to sit on your shoulders.

The hitch ended with apocalyptic weather; black rolling clouds laden with every form of precipitation you can imagine. Big Casey, Eric, Dan and I watched the storm roll over the river with solemnity. The contemplative mood of the evening was excentuated by Dan erupting into song, singing "A Whole New World." The four of us stretched out our arms to the heavy, dark skies, to the smoky Cabinet Peaks, to the churning waters, and recited those holy words together. "A whole new world/ A new fantastic point of view/ Shining, shimmering, splendid."