The Ninth Grade Trip: A Tradition Returns

It has been three years since the 9th grade has been able to embark on their traditional mystery trip. Since 2020, one of its main components has changed; the mystery. This year, we knew exactly where we were going, Lake Logan.

Historically, the nature of the trip was that no one knew where they were going to end up. Some would say that’s more exciting, but we had a great time. On the bus, games such as “find the funniest review on trip advisor” and “who will be the first to fall off the raft?” practically invented  themselves. Like me, many people made sure they downloaded music, movies, and/or T.V shows to entertain themselves. Even though the bus left at the normal Monday late start, people (including my friend next to me) took ridiculously long naps. As the 3 hour bus ride came to a close and we started pulling up to the Nantahala Outdoor Center, Mrs. Bouldin split us into three groups.

I first went ziplining, which also consisted of two ropes courses. I was super excited for ziplining, but it came with two personal setbacks. First, I have a fear of heights. While I’m in the line to go to a roller coaster or a high up place, the butterflies in my stomach tell me I should throw up, pass out or both. Secondly, I don’t typically walk around with a heavy harness on my back… in the heat…up a hill. Despite that, the previously mentioned butterflies were much quieter than usual and I did all three activities twice. I learned I can overcome my fears if I put my mind to it!

Next we were tasked with setting up dorms, which was a long and daunting process that took about 15 minutes. As we walked down to dinner, we also discovered that hiking and heat were quickly becoming themes of the trip. Dinner went by quickly and was followed by an outdoor chapel service led by Father Wallace and our class representatives, focusing on fostering community. When we finished we were free to enjoy some time with friends, plus some amazing s’mores and a campfire. The next day after breakfast, the day two groups were assigned, and I was excited to learn I was going white water rafting!

The water was ice cold and anticipation was high. Someone was going to be splashed, thrown in, or both. Once we were in the rafts with our groups, the race was on!  All of us were trying simultaneously to be in front, and trying to douse other groups in the process. Thankfully, I didn’t get thrown in, likely due to the fact that I had all girls in my raft. That isn’t to say that people didn’t exit their rafts sooner than planned. People were jumping in “just because”, pushing their friends in, or giving a loose Tarzan impression as one jumped onto our raft, pushing one of my friends in, while also landing in the river on top of her. My favorite part of it though, was the ending, right before we stopped, the biggest rapid of all caught us all by surprise.

We hit the road home a little wet, but excited to start our Upper School journey together. Looking back on it, I had much more fun than I expected to have and am so happy that the class of 2026 was finally able to go on another field trip after three long years of waiting. It was a great way to restart tradition.