Hiking Mt. Baldy

A total of 14 Webb students took their first steps toward the 10,000 Foot Club on Saturday, hiking to the peak of Mt. Baldy and then down the Devil's Backbone. A mere 20 minutes from campus, Baldy is the perfect way to start the hiking season at Webb. With support from each other and a few distracting puzzles ("I like coffee but I don't like tea"), we all made it to the top for the spectacular views into the valley below. We left campus in a misty drizzle and reached the peak in glorious 70 degree temperatures and sunny skies, with the clouds floating below. The hikers maintained a great attitude throughout, and are more than ready for the next challenge in the 10,000 Foot Club.

Before even reaching the Baldy Bowl trail, we took a little detour to the waterfall on the fire road.

Juliana, Mairin, Alan, and Jack power up the steep inclines out of Manker Flats.

Vicente, David, Anthony and Kyle near the Sierra Club hut.

A short break on the steep climb up to the final ridge.

The group zig-zags toward the top of the Baldy Bowl.

We reached a vast overlook about 30 minutes from the peak.

David, Brandon, Mr. Owers, Vicente, Kyle, Bob, Anthony, Terence, Allen, Jack, Mairin, Juliana, Rachel, Ryan, and Alan (l to r) at the 10,064 foot peak.

Starting our descent

Rachel pauses for a photo op

Kyle making his way down the scree in his Ralph Lauren boots. Seriously.

It's not as dangerous as it looks (see below).

Ryan takes one last moment for reflection before finishing the hike.

Mr. Owers with the Baldy Bowl behind him

On the Devil's Backbone, a thin ridge that drops off steeply in both directions

Until the next time...

Sea Kayaking at Laguna Beach

Welcome back to the Webb Outdoors! This year's ambitious outdoor program got off to a hot start with a day of sea kayaking at Laguna Beach. We started by paddling out to the islet where dozens of sea lions bask every day. We then raced to a distant buoy, at which point a swim in the ocean seemed like a good way to cool down. On the way back south, we were inspired by some paddle boarders to try standing up in the kayak, which mostly resulted in hilarious falls back into the water. It was the perfect place to be on a 100-degree day. Finally, we ended up in a kelp forest, which has regenerated since a teacher and her students hand-planted it off Laguna Beach about thirteen years ago. Kelp is one of the fastest growing plants on Earth, at about two feet per day. In the kelp forest, we also saw garibaldi swimming below and tiny shrimp floating up into the kayak, both signs of how healthy the water has become. In the end, we headed back to the beach and into town for the now traditional stop at BJs for a pizookie before heading back to Webb.

Juliana and Mairin

Kaitlyn and Lauren. You can see a paddle boarder off in the distance.

Emily and Andrew, with Mr. Ball in the background

Angela and Camille in front of all the sea lions. They can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes. The sea lions, that is -- not Angela and Camille.

Click to enlarge. You can also see pelicans and cormorants on top of the rock.

Xander and Rachel clapped to draw the attention of the sea lions. If we all clapped at the same time, they would put their heads up to see what the commotion was all about.

The group lines up before our race to the buoy.

And then the antics began - Camille and Angela try to stand up in their kayak...

...and failed, much to our delight.

Lauren and Kaitlyn

Mairin and Juliana seemed to have the most success, and even got in a couple paddles.

Mairin also found a crab that our guide was able to catch. It promptly snapped him. I wonder why...

Andrew, Mr. Ball, Lauren, Kaitlyn, Rachel, Emily, Juliana, Mairin, Angela, Camille, Xander, Mr. and Mrs. Potash, before stuffing our bellies at BJs.

WSC Freshmen Retreat

To start every year, each class at Webb takes a 3-day retreat, the main purpose of which is to build community within the class. The freshmen retreat is particularly important since everyone in the class is new. This year, the 9th grade boys traveled to Hanna Flat campground at Big Bear Lake, where they spent some time rock climbing at Castle Rock, swimming in the lake, and hiking in the hills around the campground. They were also led in community-building exercises by several student leaders, including members of the Honor Committee, a Prefect, and an International Student Liaison. The faculty on the trip were impressed by both the inspiring leadership of the older students, and also by the behavior of the freshmen class as a whole. From their pervasive positive outlook and their overwhelming support for one another, to their ability to engage in long activities without cell phones (!) and their sense of adventure, this year's freshmen class showed an astounding cohesiveness that bodes well for the next four years.

Student leaders engage the class in a discussion of honor, character, and Webb culture.

Following their talk, the student leaders led the freshmen in team-building activities such as this one, where the freshmen had to cross an area using as few of their feet as possible.

Solutions became more and more creative as restrictions increased.

Here, the boys try to traverse the area by stepping on the feet of a few human bridges.

The rare double piggyback.

And the classic hopping double wheelbarrow.

This activity involved transferring students from one side of the web to the other without touching the strands.

In this activity, the freshmen attempt to line up in birthday order without talking and without falling off the log.

The next day, we headed to Castle Rock, where Dave from Hangar 18 instructed the students about tying in to the belay.

Jonathan was a superstar belayer, standing in the heat for several hours belaying his classmates. If climbing is about trust, consider it earned. You can see the climber high up on the rock.

Marcos navigates the crux of this 5.9 route.

When they weren't climbing, the freshmen scrambled around the area, making it to the top of Castle Rock, which afforded views down to Big Bear Lake.

That night, the whole class gathered on a perfect outcropping to process the day. We then settled in for the sunset, a time of reflection for bonds built and the year to come.

Rafting the Grand Canyon

Before we arrived at the Grand Canyon, we headed north to Page, Arizona, where we boarded river rafts on a trip down to Lee's Ferry. Lee's Ferry sees off several tours of the Grand Canyon every day, sending out thousands a year, each of them taking anywhere from two days to two weeks to float down the Colorado. Our tour of the Grand Canyon would of course be on foot, but beforehand, we took a three-hour tour (cue Gilligan) down the upper reaches of the Colorado, before it enters the Grand part of the Canyon. The walls were still plenty high, and even housed some ancient petroglyphs. But the highlight of the trip for most of us was the water fight that broke out near the end, as each of the three river guides jockeyed for position so that their boat could soak the others and then get away. At some point, someone was complaining about getting wet, and proclaimed, "Can't we all just get along?" Sean then replied with my favorite quote of the whole trip: "We were arbitrarily separated into three boats. Of course we can't get along." In my mind, that pretty much sums up the history of human warfare.

The Axis Powers

The Evil Empire. This river guide illegally used his motor to get other boats wet. Not that I'm bitter.

Petroglyphs

Mr. Purvis, aboard the Evil Empire, before things got evil. At least he's using a bucket.

The Axis powers retaliate.

We liked to call ourselves Switzerland. Until we were attacked by the Evil Empire, at which point our river guide miraculously produced a bucket that he had previously denied existence of. With Tyler in charge, we unequivocally achieved revenge. Until the illegal motor incident. Not that I'm bitter.

After the trip, several of the boys climbed a nearby overlook while waiting for the bus.

Bailey and Cameron stare off into the Canyon, contemplating the next day's hike. It becomes Grand right around the corner.