Group Letter for Week Three:
Dear families of our 16 new friends,
 
It's funny to think that only a week and a half ago I wrote a group letter about our adventures.  We are doing more in these four weeks and visiting more beautiful places than some people can hope to do in a lifetime.
 
After finishing our day hiking in beautiful Mount Ranier National Park, we had everyone's favorite part of the trip - showers and laundry!  Then, smelling great, we made our way by land and by sea to beautiful Lopez Island for Shabbat.  Lopez Island is one of the major San Juan Islands, but it is still small, lush, and quaint.  There, we were honored to have Karen Stein, Program Director for our trip, visit us (stocked up with food, of course) for Shabbat.  We learned and ate and sang and ate some more.  There was plenty of free time, during which some people took a walking tour of the island, while others of us stayed behind to play a crazy round of Rhymation.
 
After saying goodbye to Karen on Sunday morning, we took the ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, where Crystal Seas kayaking guides met us and shuttled us to the "put-in" to start our kayaking adventure.  I can describe the kayaking trip as nothing less than incredible.  Our kayaking guides were knowledgeable, flexible, and were even interested in finding out about our Jewish rituals.  We saw tons of amazing wildlife (bald eagles are to the San Juans as pigeons are to New York City).  Also, except for the first day, which was a bit rainy and dreary, we paddled in perfect conditions on beautifully flat waters.  Our USYers surprised the guides and staff in how efficiently they got started in the mornings, hauled in our kayaks in the evenings, and paddled throughout the day.  On Sunday we paddled to Jones Island, a small island around which you could hike the circumference, which has a beautiful campground.  On Monday we did some exploring.  In the morning, we paddled around Jones Island, seeing some great tidepools along the way.  That afternoon we paddled to a little nature preserve island called Yellow Island, where we learned about its natural history and took the short hike through the island.  On Tuesday we celebrated Pirate Day...mostly by repeatedly exclaiming, "Aarrrggh!"  We also paddled to Stuart Island, and that evening had a campfire which included a "best pirate joke contest."  Mine did not win, but here it is:  "What is a pirate's favorite animal?  A lion, because it goes, 'Rraaa Rraaa Rraaa'! (Get it? Instead of Aaaarr Aaaarr Aaaarr...)".  Anyway, Stuart Island had a lot to offer, so we strolled around the Island on Wednesday morning and had an optional paddle Wednesday afternoon.  We visited the island's one-room public schoolhouse (five students are currently enrolled), and the two museums that accompany it.  We ate lunch near the island's lighthouse, with a great view of the two ocean channels.  We had a quick paddle back to San Juan Island on Thursday, said goodbye to our guides, and went to Lakedale Resort to set up camp and...take showers!
 
Having been so efficient Thursday morning, we were able to give the USYers four and a half hours of free time in Friday Harbor on Thursday evening, during which they bought souvenirs, a bit too much candy, and dinner.  We returned to camp happy and satisfied.  Friday morning involved a very long and tiring travel day to get to our campground in Olympic National Park.  We spent another fabulous Shabbat at Sol Duc Campground in Olympic Park.  Although we were surrounded by relentless mosquitos, the group's spirits were up as we prayed and danced, sang and ate, learned and slept, played games and took walks.
 
And finally, we began our last full week of Outdoor Adventure this Sunday, starting with preparations for our backpacking trip.  Two groups of USYers and staff started at opposite ends of a looping trail, slept two nights in the backcountry, said hello to each other partway through the second day, and ending up at Sol Duc Hot Springs near our campground (shhhh!  It's a surprise!).  I have no doubt that this will be an incredible experience for all of our USYers, and they are in the great hands of a fantastic staff.  And how about me, you ask?  How could I possibly be emailing you and backpacking at the same time?  Well, despite how adventurous we all like to be, we always put the health of our USYers first.  Unfortunately, four of our girls weren't feeling well, and I stayed with them to recouperate.  Now that they are all better, we have been enjoying our time just relaxing and checking out the wonderful town of Port Angeles.
 
I cannot believe how time flies - just one more week until you get your tired, happy, and slightly smelly USYers back home.  Thank you for letting us enjoy them for the time being!
 
Yours,
 
Talli Hogen
O.A. PNW Group Leader
 
& the rest of the Outdoor Adventure staff