G1 2023: Type 2 fun is still fun

The G1 trip began with an early rise on Saturday September 23rd. As we drove to Brandywine Mountain, my car group shared their hiking backgrounds and were shocked to find out the extent of my experience was St Mark’s Summit the weekend before, and that this would be my very first backpacking trip. Shock when I shared this detail was a common theme for the weekend and probably the main reason I was asked to write this report. In Allen’s words, I would have an “interesting perspective.” Some people thought I was brave but I think I was just naive.

Although we were a bit behind schedule arriving at the 2WD parking lot, we were one of the first cars there. The weather forecast was looking pretty dicey at the pre-trip, so when the rain began on arrival, we were not surprised. We picked up some people at the parking lot and started our adventure to the upper lot. I’ll admit I’m a pretty anxious passenger and although I had full faith in Sasha’s driving, the image of us launching the van off the mountain kept playing in my mind. The shuttling process took some time and claimed the life of one tire, but around 11am, we began our hike.

PC: Jedidiah C

I had pre-warned Zac that I was going to be extremely slow and he was very reassuring, but I could see the fear in his eyes when I was huffing and puffing up the first little section (in my defense that bit was STEEP). The hike then flattened out for a while and I was pleasantly distracted by the beautiful Brandywine Meadows. The Autumn (sorry Fall) colors were breathtaking and you could not wipe the smile off my face. My first challenge was the creek crossing, where my balance was tested. Zac thought he would be a helpful and chuck a big rock in the creek as an extra stepping stone, however I was in the firing range of the splash and got completely drenched.

Beautiful Brandywine Meadows PC: Nil Khosh

Besides this I was feeling pretty confident at this point. We were about halfway distance-wise and I was feeling good. My engineering brain thought it would be a great idea to graph the elevation gain over distance the night before to get an understanding of the steepness of the hike. This was silly as I had not taken into account that a big portion of the distance was reasonably flat, and therefore the last bit was going to be significantly steeper than I had imagined. This realization hit me as I looked up and was greeted by what would be my arch nemesis of the weekend: The Boulder Field.

The Boulder Field PC: Quintus Z

The whole time I thought I was going to topple down the mountain like a ping pong ball. I would consistently swap between saying “I’m a tad scared” and “I can do this.” Luckily Charles was kind enough to lend me one of his hiking poles which was my lifesaver. As we got higher we were subject to the three ways water can fall from the sky; first it was rain, then hail, and finally snow. The weather was pretty heinous with some harsh winds as well. I am forever grateful for those who stuck with me on the climb up and were therefore subject to the worst of the weather because of it. However, being slow worked to my advantage as my amazing tent buddy Lucy had already gone to war with the wind and won before I was anywhere near finishing my ascent. This meant when I had FINALLY made it up Brandywine, I had somewhere to get warm and dry.

War with the wind PC: Matthew Drenth

The weather got to some people, and two car groups decided to bail. I was astonished anyone had the energy to go all the way back as I was pretty dead at this point. Some brave souls headed out onto the glacier, but I was relieved my group leaders had the same idea as me (huddle in the tent and get warm). Lucy and I devoured some snacks and made some Mac and Cheese to warm the soul. I was extremely grateful I had decided to invest in some decent gear the week before as a good raincoat and sleeping bag were absolute lifesavers on this trip. I battled with my bladder for a good hour as I was not keen on exposing myself to the harsh elements. But eventually I built up the courage to exit the tent and I was greeted by a complete whiteout. It was an early night for most as the exhaustion of the day caught up to us and the 5:30am alarms were set. The sunrise the next morning was the definition of beautiful. Very much worth the heinous approach the day before. Some decided to scramble up to the summit of Brandywine while the rest of us enjoyed breakfast with a view.

PC: Sebastian Sotomayor

After breakfast we got ready to head out onto the glacier. The sun was reflecting off the fresh snow, the ground shimmering as if someone had sprinkled glitter all over it. We were taught how to build different types of hauling systems, cross crevasses safely, and walk in rope teams. I was entrusted to lead the rope team at one point, and even though I was told you do not have to poke the snow with your ice axe before EVERY step, my paranoid mind didn’t listen.

PC: Simeon Faehndrich

After a beautiful day out on the glacier, it was time to head back in, pack up and prepare for the descent. I was a pretty nervous as some nasty clouds were visible in the distance and I was not keen to face my nemesis again. Thankfully the trip leaders took my concerns seriously and made sure I got down safely while providing good company. Zac offered to carry my backpack but I was determined to be a strong independent woman (minus the leftover food I had unloaded onto Allen before beginning the descent). We stopped just before the parking lot to pick some wild blueberries, which was a super wholesome way to end a challenging but wonderful weekend. My pleasant time on G1 can be accredited to the following:

1. Maltesers
2. Packing extra layers
3. Investing in good gear!! I was cosy, dry and warm. Bad gear = cold, wet and probably miserable on G1.
4. And most importantly, AMAZING PEOPLE to enjoy the experience with.

When I signed up for G1 on Imagine Day at the VOC booth, I was 75th on the list with little hope of getting on. I went to the pre-trip anyways and had some mixed emotions (both very scared and excited) when I somehow snagged a spot. It was such an incredible weekend and definitely going to be one of the more memorable moments of my exchange. Forever grateful to the VOC for giving me the opportunity to be an explorasaurus and have such a cool adventure that I am definitely going to brag about to my friends back home.

Ants on ice PC: Nadia Tarazi

Big thank you to the BEST trip leaders ever PC: Jassie Gage