Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things. - Unkown
On the day of Scott's graduation hike to Dante's Peak, a bus showed up at Horizon. The coaches and some of Scott's rugby and football teams were there. Not all of the team of either sport could go, but he was thrilled about the guys who could make it. The coaches co-ordinated with Peter and Sophie and got handed walkie-talkie units that had the emergency rescue frequency on one channel and Peter on the other. This was the biggest group to ever go on the hike and Peter wasn't too sure if Scott could handle the challenge. Everyone knew the rules and what was involved. It wasn't just about the camping trip, it was to support Scott.
As he was expected to, Scott took charge. He sent out a loud whistle, to quiet the group. "Before we head out, let's do a head and gear check." He first went through the Cliff Hangers and checked they had all the gear. Then even though the coaches had gone through their teams, he still quickly checked them too.
"Okay let's head out!" Peter repeated to the group, after Scott gave the okay.
The coaches were impressed with Scott's leadership already. They walked with Peter and Sophie, while still keeping an eye on their respective teams. The group of teenagers were all talking and made noise as they headed down the trail, all fresh and excited. But the longer they walked and the terrain became rougher, the group was less of a clump and more a line. They went two by two. Scott showed Auggie where to head and then walked back through the line of friends, thanking them for coming. Once he came to the coaches, Peter and Sophie, he also acknowledged them. Then he jogged back to the front of the group and lead the way.
"We're making great time," Scott said to Auggie, checking the map and his watch.
Auggie grinned, "don't let Peter hear you say that or he'll give you an obstacle to slow us down."
"Whatever it is, I can handle it."
His team mates were impressed with the Cliff Hangers, especially the girls. They carried their own gear, didn't complain and kept up with the rest of them. One of the guys that Chris knew from Scott's football games, walked with her.
"Do you guys carry all this stuff on every hike?"
She laughed, "no. We don't always camp out over night. Like if we go rock climbing or kayaking, normally we're back at the end of the day."
"Cool....so why are you here?"
Chris looked over her shoulder at Daisy, who shrugged. "I did drugs and did some fighting, tried to kill myself. You know the usual," she said bluntly.
"No I meant, why are you really here. Sure that's the usual stuff we're told, but that's not the real reason, right?"
She looked at him, he was smarter than she'd thought. What she said next, surprised everyone within earshot of their conversation, including Sophie. Chris said without hostility, "I got raped by people I worked with and my family abandoned me. Is that real enough for you?"
That shut the guy up and she stopped walking until she was beside Sophie. "You okay?" Was all that Sophie asked.
"He asked, I told, end of story. I'm done with hiding who I am," Chris said.
Shelby turned around and walked backwards, "what happened to you doesn't define who you are, it just explains why you are this way right now."
"Good point," Chris said, "thanks Shelby."
Peter was about to give Scott an obstacle to overcome, but Ezra took care of that on his own. He was busy talking to Daisy and didn't see the hole made by a missing rock, on the side of the path. His foot went in and he fell.
"Oh shit!" Ezra yelled as his foot twisted.
Scott heard him and stopped the group. He back tracked until he found Ezra. "Are you hurt?"
Ezra tried to stand and put weight on his foot, he winced in pain. "I think it's sprained."
"Well first we need to control the swelling. Since we don't have any ice with us, we can make a compress by wrapping your ankle. We'll take the shoe off too. When we get to a water source, you can soak it in the cold water. Normally you'd elevate the ankle above your heart for the first 48 hours, but we need to keep moving. Maybe we can use a branch like a crutch, to help you along," Scott suggested.
Peter said, "that's it Scott, find a way to work with the situation."
Scott and Auggie found a sturdy branch that could act as a crutch.
Ezra said, "if we had any turmeric spice, I'd take some of that as a natural painkiller."
Sophie replied, "we don't have any turmeric spice Ezra. But later when we make camp, if the pain is really bad, Peter will give you one pill of Ibuprofen."
"It's okay, I'm drug free now." Ezra said proudly.
"You ready to go?" Scott asked his friend once Peter approved his compress wrapping job.
"Lead on Captain!" Ezra saluted, almost falling over.
Daisy laughed, "be careful or the twist might turn into a broken leg."
They continued on, still making decent time. When the trail got rougher, Daisy carried the make-shift crutch, while two guys from Scott's rugby team offered to help carry Ezra. Scott carried Ezra's pack. It slowed them down, but after they came out of the forest into a field, Scott told everyone to take a break and re-hydrate.
The coaches were impressed with Scott's leadership and ability to problem solve so efficiently and told Peter so. He agreed and explained that the sudden roadblocks that were given to the hike leaders, re-enforced how they could handle life's challenges, no matter what they were. Peter admitted that some of the graduates never completed the hike, yet still made it in the real world. Those that did finish the trek, often excelled at whatever path they took after leaving Mount Horizon. He commented on the correlation between what they did at the school and what the coaches themselves taught on their respective teams. They all agreed with Sophie, when she said that it was often the little things that achieve the biggest rewards.
