In the summer of 2018, Scouts from Troop 581 embarked on a unique adventure, attending the Rocky Mountain High Adventure Base, or RMHAB. Located near Pancha Springs, Colorado, RMHAB provides the opportunity for Scouts to experience a week of adventures to include white water rafting, rock climbing, mountain biking, and even an overnight backpacking trip to the summit of a 14,000 ft mountain.
We arrived a day early to get some early sightseeing in. After arriving at the Denver airport, we made a stop at the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs to explore the rock formations. Full of towering sandstone formations, you don’t see anything like that in Virginia. We also drove to the top of Pikes Peak. The area was getting ready for the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb road race the next day so we got to see all the race cars on the side of the road. At the top we got our first taste of oxygen deprivation. Not having acclimated since arriving, most of us were surprised at just how dizzy we got. Later we would visit St Elmo, an old mining ghost town but alas, we saw no ghosts.
The program at RMHAB began on Monday and we spend the first two days white water rafting the Arkansas River including Brown’s Canyon. Complete with class 3 rapids, we quickly learned to listen to our rafting guides and a few of us even got to practice our skills for pulling rafters out of the water.
We chose rock climbing for our next adventure and spend Wednesday climbing sheer granite cliffs. All got instruction on safety, how to belay, and the basics of hand and toe holds. Our Scouts clearly had some skill in this department and soon were climbing all over the side of the cliff.
The last two days of camp was the pinnacle of our trip- a backpacking trip to the top of Mt Shavano with an altitude of 14,299 feet. The first day involved a relatively easy hike to base camp at around 11,000 feet. We set up base camp under the tutelage of our experienced guides and enjoyed our backpacking meals of instant mashed potatoes and tuna fish. We settled down for the night early as we got up at 3am to get started on the next leg.
We began hiking at 4am in the moonlight in order to summit by 11am. It was a challenge hiking in the dark at that altitude but after the sun rose and we got to the Alpine zone, the peak was in sight. Eventually we all reached the summit. Most would agree that it was one of the most challenging and rewarding things we have ever done in Scouts. After spending an hour at the summit, we headed back to base camp, packed our gear and hiked back to our pick up point.
Life at camp was great and the counselors knew how to make a great experience. From relay races to hat branding, there was always something going on.
We spent an extra day in camp to get some a few more adventures in to include half a day at Great Sand Dunes National Park. You usually don’t think of deserts when you think about Colorado, but they are there. We even got to try our hand at sand boarding. Next it was off to the Colorado Gators Reptile Park. We saw alligators big and small, as well as great tortoises, snakes and all other kinds of animals. We finished the day at the Sand Dunes Hot Springs for swimming and bite to eat.
Finally it was time to head home. This article only covered some of the adventures had during this trip as Scouts also visited Monarch Pass, Royal Gorge and several other points of interest. If you are looking to cross about a dozen things off of your bucket list, a trip to the Rocky Mountain High Adventure Base is just the ticket!