Our trip leader, Mary Evelyn Webb (whom everyone calls Merv), had a fire going before we got our gear out of the car.
1. Awesome trip leaders can start a fire with just a lighter and damp sticks.
The sunrise at Cloudland Canyon, Georgia, was pretty awesome.
2. Sleeping outside is actually pretty peaceful. Especially when you wake up to a gorgeous view.
Trip leader Alex Garner cooked banana-and-chocolate chip pancakes at the campsite. And they were delicious.
3. Fact: Pancakes cooked outside are the best pancakes.
We hiked along the rim trail of Cloudland Canyon and the view was gorgeous.
4. Five miles of hiking around a canyon WILL make your feet hurt, but it’s totally worth it for the Instagram photos.
The waterfall is near the bottom of the canyon and there are stairs leading down to it, but it was worth it to see my first one.
5. Walking hundreds of stairs down a mountain to see a waterfall is priceless, but the walk back up is rough.
The rock formations are really pretty, but if you touch them without gloves on, the oils on your hand can stop their growth for about 10 years. Who knew?
6. We learned the difference between a stalactite and stalagmite, but you can’t touch either one of them, apparently.
Our Raccoon Mountain Caverns tour guide, Corey, admitted that he never had a group play charades in a cave before. So I take that to mean our group was the best.
7. If you’re tired of climbing and the room is big enough, you can be the first tour group to play charades in a cave.
Luckily, we slept near the entrance of the cave. But falling asleep is not an issue after hiking for five hours and climbing through a cave for another six hours.
8. Sleeping in a cave is nowhere near as scary as it sounds. Especially with glow sticks.
From the hiking views to the struggle of getting through the cave, it was an experience I’ll never forget.
9. When you finish an Ole Miss Outdoors expedition, especially a difficult one, you will have an unbelievable sense of accomplishment.