Monday Update

Monday was Survival. Survival is a team-based outdoor competition that includes hiking, physical challenges, brain teasers, general knowledge quizzes, and map navigation. This year also included a hike to the top of the highest mountain in the Beskydy mountain range. It is a time to walk and talk with the students without some of the other distractions that we might encounter if we were at the hotel. Even thought I am getting older, it is still one of my favorite experiences of the week. This year was my third Survival at Malenovice, so I had an idea what to expect, or so I thought.

It is usually a very physical experience, with 10 or 15 miles of walking and hiking over the course of about 9 hours. This year's intensity was increased due to a large, very intense, rain/hail/thunder storm during the middle of the hike.

At the peak of the storm, the trail we were hiking became a flowing river of muddy water. The newly-created (but temporary) river was 5-6 inches deep in some places. Fortunately (or not?), my team was descending the mountain, while other teams were ascending it via a different route. There were no good options for shelter, so we continued our descent while being pelted by pea-sized hail, and frequent lighting within 500 feet of us.

By the time we reached the bottom, we were all very wet and cold, but the rain finally stopped as we encountered the first paved road in hours. We completed 7 of the 8 "stations" without any other major issues, and returned to the hotel at 11:48PM. According to my pedometer, over the course of the day, we took 33,000 steps.

We were able to take some great pictures, and I have posted one below. I will hopefully post more either later this week or after our return. Our internet has still been slightly intermittent.