Hamilton College Admission Journals: Anna Bastidas

Encounters with a rattlesnake and falling on a cactus

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 22:28:25 GMT

The Hamilton Outing Club went to Arizona for the second week of spring break this year and had quite an adventure in the desert.

The second week of break, I went on an outing club trip through the Superstition Wilderness in Arizona. Jeannie Folan ’12, Pat Dunn ’12, Adam Fix ’13 and I spent five days backpacking through the desert on this wonderful adventure.

Here’s a summary of the trip, beginning after our first night near the trail head.

Day 1: Packed everything up that we would need for the next few days and hit the trail. After weeks of build up for this trip, it was kind of hard to believe that we were actually there, going on this trip, but there we were, walking along next to some cacti. So a ways into the day, Pat remember that he left his keys in the car. This was rather important because we were walking to his car, which we had left at a different trailhead, so we could do a point-to-point trip. So we waited for a bit while Pat ran back to get his keys. And then we were off! Again! So we walked for a ways. Basically until we were tired of walking through thorny bushes. Our legs were so scratched up, it was unbelievable. Found a place to camp with water near by and settled down for the night.

Day 2: Our map and compass skills were put to the test. As were our feet. We spent day following a river-bed to our next camp site. The rocky terrain and more thorny bushes made it slow going but we found a place to camp with a water source after a long day of hiking. Blisters began to form, so we wrapped our feet in duct tape when necessary.

Day 3: We continued along a trail to our next campsite. Before we had gotten very far, while walking up a hill, I fell on a cactus. Jeannie was kind enough to tweeze the prickles out of my newly formed cactus beard and pull two cacti out of my leg, while Pat kindly took a cactus section out of my foot. But then the cactus pricked his fingers, and it took Jeannie a few good tugs to pull out the cactus from his fingers. And of course, we forgot to take pictures. But we did take pictures of our unbelievably gorgeous lunch spot. And the rattlesnake that we saw. It was not a happy camper. We came upon it on the trail, and immediately backed off when it gave us a very clear warning with a shake of its rear end. We took a few steps back and waited for the snake to move off the trail. Eventually, the snake lowered itself from its threatening pose, and made its way off the trail. It was huge! I’ve never seen a snake so big in the wild.

Day 4: We hiked a short ways to our next campsite and then went for a day hike in the afternoon. Out blisters were slowly turning to calluses. As Jeannie said, quite accurately, “It’s like my feet forgot that they go hiking sometimes.” It was a relaxing day.

Day 5: It’s the last day and our packs seem to be light as air, as we only have a few packets of oatmeal and hot chocolate left over. We packed up camp, filled up on water, and made our way to the trailhead where Pat’s car awaited us. After not seeing a single person other then our group members for the past four days, it was kind of surprising to see so many people on the trail. But then we realized we were heading out on a trail that was popular with day hikers, and it was a Saturday with gorgeous weather. We made it to the car, went and picked up the other car (which involved jump starting it) and headed to the hotel to take showers. It was one of those times where we couldn’t tell if we were tan or just covered in dirt. And then we went out for Mexican food and it was absolutely delicious.

All in all, it was a fantastic HOC trip. Now we are back on the Hill for the final push to the end of the year. Which means that it's going to be super busy and lots of work. On the bright side though, the lakes may be thawing, so canoeing practice can hopefully start soon!

2015

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:22:12 GMT

Congratulations to the Class of 2015!!!!

Undoubtedly you probably have a difficult decision to make about where to spend the next four years of your life (unless of course you have already decided). It’s a tough choice…I ended up flipping a coin. But then the coin said that I should go to a different school, and I said no thank you, I would rather go to Hamilton.

So here I am. This of course was after a multitude of pro-con lists, t-charts, and conversations with students at each school. I never visited Hamilton before I moved in. Probably not the best plan, but it worked out wonderfully for me. So come visit us here on the Hill! And visit the other schools that you’re choosing from. A visit can make all the difference in the world.

As my uncle told my mother when I was going through this whole deal, “If she decides against a school because she doesn’t like a brick, just go with it.” So come see if you like all of the bricks here on the Hill. Either you’ll fall in love with the school (I really can’t see why this wouldn’t happen), or you’ll never want to come here again (and that’s totally fine too). Either way, visiting schools is one way to make the decision a bit easier.

So for those of you who end up deciding to come to Hamilton (yay!), I would strongly suggest signing up for Adirondack Adventure or Outreach Adventure for pre-orientation. Yes, you have to come to school in the middle of August, which means saying "adios" to friends and family a couple weeks before everyone else. But it’s totally worth it. I mean, you have to leave them eventually, and you’ll see them again over Thanksgiving or winter break. You might as well bite the bullet and get it over with.

So what are these two adventure pre-orientation things? Well, if you sign up of Adirondack Adventure (AA) you’ll spend the first few days of the program on a camping trip in the Adirondacks, either canoeing, hiking, kayaking, or a combination of the three. Some trips are more intense than others, and you can rank your preference when you register. Outreach Adventure (OA) is the other pre-orientation program that you can choose. For this program you spend the first few days doing community service trips. Trips range from working with kids to volunteering in soup kitchens. Then, both programs join for the second portion of pre-orientation at a ropes course for the days before actual orientation begins.

Either program is a fantastic way to be introduced to the school and meet some of your fellow classmates. Plus, it’s just a phenomenally fun time. Congratulations again, and best of luck with your decision.

Socks and Spring Break

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:20:01 GMT

I finally won something in a lottery, and even though it wasn't a Clinton pottery mug, it's still rather exciting.

I always put my name in raffles and those sorts of things and I never win anything. I’m still hoping that one day before I graduate my ticket stub number will be called during a lottery at a CAB Acoustic Coffeehouse and I can return to my dorm with a Clinton pottery mug. I keep my fingers crossed but it always happens that my ticket stub number is off by one number.

Anyway, Monday evening I went to hear Andrew Skurka, a well-known adventurer, speak about his recent 6-month, 4,700 mile loop through the Alaska-Yukon wilderness. He skied, hiked, and pack rafted and captured some of the most breathtaking scenery on film. Skurka spoke about all different aspects of his trip. He touched on the amount of time and effort that went in to planning his expedition, his encounters with bears, how he acquired his maps, etc. I liked that he didn’t overlook the emotional aspect of the trip and acknowledged his mental exhaustion at some points.

If you want to read more about his trip, National Geographic Magazine covered it in its March 2011 edition. I was kind of bummed that I missed the lightweight skills clinic that he did in the Glen House earlier on Monday. Thank you class.

But now back to this sock business. At the talk Monday night, there was a raffle. And with extraordinarily low expectations, I placed my name in the bear canister. And low and behold, my name was called and I returned to my seat with a brand new pair of wool socks. And it just made my evening a little bit better.

I apologize for writing so few journal entries recently. It’s a busy time here on the Hill as midterms are upon us. Which means lots of papers and exams for pretty much everyone. But on the upside, that means spring break is soon. I reserved my spot on the shuttle to the airport today (I really love that they offer an option for transportation to the airport…it makes life so much easier). And I’ve bought my tickets to Phoenix, AZ for my HOC spring break trip! Because our permit to hike in the Grand Canyon was denied (sad face), we’re not going to the Grand Canyon.

Instead we are going to Superstition Wilderness (super big happy face!). From what I’ve seen from the image search I did on Google, this place looks absolutely gorgeous and I am jumping up and down with excitement. I’ll be sure to post some pictures from the trip with the journal entry where I tell you all about it.

Just your typical week on the Hill

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 20:44:07 GMT

Yesterday it was warm enough that I could run outside in a t-shirt and shorts. Today it’s so cold that after walking from my dorm to Commons, I can’t feel my nose. And it’s incredibly windy. Looking out at Minor Field right now, it looks like a sandstorm in the desert, only white. And much colder.

Unfortunately, the warm weather a couple days ago meant that the ground was super muddy so the Outing Club had to postpone the Illuminated Glen Walk (we line one of the main loops in the Glen with tea-lites and people can ski or snowshoe or just walk around) to a time when the weather will be more cooperative.

Nothing much exciting is going right now. It’s pretty much been a typical week here on the Hill. It’s cold, and there’s a lot of work to do. Especially reading. My eyes are not very happy with me at the moment since in an effort to lower the amount of pages I print I put 8 pages on one sheet of paper (4 per side).

The BANFF Mountain Film Festival was on Wednesday and it was amazing! Some of the things that people do are just incredible. There was one film about two guys who kayaked from Australia to New Zealand. On a side note, did you know that if you Google directions on how to get from Japan to San Francisco, the directions will tell you to kayak or canoe?

Anyway, all of the films were great. And as expected there were many moments when my jaw dropped in disbelief at what I was seeing. I finally decided what I’m going to do over Spring Break. I’m going to spend the first week at home in the California sunshine. And then I am going to go on an Outing Club trip in the Grand Canyon! Oh my goodness, I’m so excited I can hardly stand it. Should be a great trip. Now all I have to do is get plane tickets.

Dissecting a tobacco hornworm

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:32:52 GMT

Today I realized that I am much more squeamish than I thought.

At lunch I was talking to my friend Lucas Harris ’12 about pinning bugs. I was trying to mentally prepare myself for an insect dissection that I would be doing in lab later in the afternoon. Lucas told me all about an insect collecting project that he did while he was abroad in South Africa last semester. He was kind enough to mention that sometimes when he pinned bugs, they would continue to squirm. The description alone was enough to give me the heebie-jeebies. So as I walked from McEwen to the science center, I began to mentally prepare myself to cut open an insect and deal with the squirminess.

The 7-minute walk to the other side of campus was not long enough to mentally prepare myself for lab today. Partly because the insects that we were dissecting were still alive when I arrived. And they were much bigger then I thought they would be.

The smaller bright green tobacco hornworms were probably about the size of my index finger. Anyway, we put them in water until “the animal becomes flaccid” (a quote from my lab text). We were then to cut the tobacco hornworm length-wise, remove the digestive tract and test the pH of the interior of the digestive tract. This was all easier said then done because the tobacco hornworm KEPT MOVING. It kept squirming and wriggling all over the place when my lab partner Kayla Brendan ’12 was trying to cut the body open. I couldn’t watch. Every time the hornworm moved, I jumped.

Kayla finally pinned down four corners and then I had to remove the digestive tract. So I picked up my tweezers and scissors and got to work. One time when the muscles contracted, I was so surprised that I dropped the tweezers. I didn’t really think that the inner anatomy was gross or anything like that, but I didn’t expect the hornworm to keep moving after it was cut open and pinned down on the plate in front of me.

Today’s lab was an experience. It was pretty cool to be able to see the hornmworm’s insides under a microscope. But I have to say that cutting bugs open is not my cup of tea. Especially when they keep moving. We shall see if I’m as squeamish as I was today during the fetal pig dissection that we’re doing later this semester.