Being in the middle of nowhere, with no way to contact those I left behind, created a space for growth. I found it both exhilarating and challenging—being disconnected from the world I was used to felt like flipping a coin. On one side was the thrill of living entirely in the moment, unattached to the steady ping of messages or the urgency of news. On the other side was the gnawing awareness that those I loved were still living their lives without me, and I couldn’t instantly be part of their moments or share my own. This experience, however, taught me something profound: there is beauty in this disconnection, a freedom that opens space for the unexpected and the new.
We took our natural history quiz in which we applied all the knowledge we had learned on the trip so far. It included identifying native trees and shrubs, bird calls, and geographical and geological features of the basin. The Tamango Sector backpacking trip was a perfect introduction to Round River fieldwork and fun.
You don’t need a huge property or a large amount of money to live a suitable lifestyle that benefits yourself and the nature around you. What was once just a campground at Alma Verde, became a garden and greenhouse which then turned into a school about permaculture.
Sebastian Szweda, Westminster College, gives a point-of-view look at a day spent summiting mountains in the Taku watershed for the global GLORIA (Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments) project.
he Llewellyn Glacier is retreating which provides an opportunity to view depositional glacial features such as recessional moraines, and to observe patterns of vegetative succession in newly ice-free areas. Perhaps future Round River students will one day have the good fortune of conducting a rain-free vegetation survey at the Llewellyn terminus, but we made the most of our rainy days, and were content to fondly recount this trip’s adventures from the comfort of Phil’s couch.