Ha! Ha! "It's not ok!" I think pretty much every staff said that at one point when I was there. Actually, it was more of "That's not ok!" and yeah, we looked forward to doctor's trips, too, and we whined when we had to hike. More like we bitched at each other. It was the terrain that was challenging, not the distance. Steep skree fields in canyons. Or hiking through streams, rocky banks, canyon walls, and picking up burrs everywhere we went. (Our challenge was in the high desert.) I think the longest distance we hiked was 12 miles in one day, not too far. We had the hard-frame packs, too, cause the soft packs were new then. If you were lucky, you got to carry the food, cause it was heavy when you started the expedition, when you were at top form, and light towards the end when you were tired. (Although during the Challenge we picked up a cache towards the middle of the trip.) Still, carrying the food rocked, because you had access to whatever you wanted. And god forbid you got separated from the group, you wouldn't starve, you know? (And your group sure had an investment in finding you.) Needless to say, I always opted to carry the food. The winter expeditions were especially cool cause you got to wear skis.
We had four wilderness expeditions at RMA, but I think our program was longer than BCA's. (RMA was two and a half years.) We had an overnight in Voyagers. We had a four day one called the Final Discovery, a six day one called the Final Quest, and a 15 day one called the Wilderness Challenge. (That was the one with the four day solo, and the four day finals groups.)
There were solos on the final discovery and quest, too, but I can't remember how long they were. They were either an hour and four hours, or four hours and overnight. I think it's the first one.
I agree with you. It was such a nice break from having to be at school. Granted, I would totally bitch and piss and moan about hiking, because I was a total wimp, and always at the back of the group trailing behind, but I still loved it.
