News
Summer Colorado GOLE Trip Special for Students and Chaperones
A week in Buena Vista, Colorado included hiking, climbing, rafting, and camping.
Summer for 13 GPS upper school students and their chaperones included a week in beautiful Buena Vista, Colorado, where they hiked, camped, climbed, rafted, and got to know each other and themselves better.
Each day the girls set up camp and prepared their meals together and ended each evening with GOLE Talk—a time to reflect on leaders who have impacted their lives, ways they can model these leaders in the year ahead, and how they faced and overcame challenges during the trip.
Living up to its name, Buena Vista certainly provided beautiful views to inspire some thoughtful reflection. “The girls would journal by themselves and then share with each other in the group discussion,” says Andy Arick, Dean of Girls Outdoor Leadership Education (GOLE).
“During GOLE Talk, I wrote about two leaders who have really impacted me and realized that they both pushed me to do things I didn’t fully believe I was ready for,” says Sarah Wilson ’28. “It gave me a comfortable place to talk about hard things that led to me learning a lot about myself.”
Some of their trip highlights included rafting the Browns Canyon National Monument section of the Arkansas River, rock climbing a 70-foot cliff by the Arkansas River, and hiking Mount Belford at 14,200-feet elevation—everyone made it to 12,000 feet to see above the tree line and a few reached the summit!
“My favorite part of the GOLE trip was definitely spending time around the fire with the girls every night,” says Hadley Bolton ’27. “The laughter and joy we shared after everything we accomplished that day really showed that everything we did together—struggles, challenges, and 4 a.m. wakeup calls—was worth it.”
“There’s something about getting to experience Colorado with these girls,” says Ava Grace Gipson ’27. “By the end of the trip, we had all bonded and grown closer together and that was really special.”
Big thanks to faculty chaperones Andy Arick, Clay Francis, Ginny Jackson, and Pascale Haug for making this leadership adventure possible for our students.
Each day the girls set up camp and prepared their meals together and ended each evening with GOLE Talk—a time to reflect on leaders who have impacted their lives, ways they can model these leaders in the year ahead, and how they faced and overcame challenges during the trip.
Living up to its name, Buena Vista certainly provided beautiful views to inspire some thoughtful reflection. “The girls would journal by themselves and then share with each other in the group discussion,” says Andy Arick, Dean of Girls Outdoor Leadership Education (GOLE).
“During GOLE Talk, I wrote about two leaders who have really impacted me and realized that they both pushed me to do things I didn’t fully believe I was ready for,” says Sarah Wilson ’28. “It gave me a comfortable place to talk about hard things that led to me learning a lot about myself.”
Some of their trip highlights included rafting the Browns Canyon National Monument section of the Arkansas River, rock climbing a 70-foot cliff by the Arkansas River, and hiking Mount Belford at 14,200-feet elevation—everyone made it to 12,000 feet to see above the tree line and a few reached the summit!
“My favorite part of the GOLE trip was definitely spending time around the fire with the girls every night,” says Hadley Bolton ’27. “The laughter and joy we shared after everything we accomplished that day really showed that everything we did together—struggles, challenges, and 4 a.m. wakeup calls—was worth it.”
“There’s something about getting to experience Colorado with these girls,” says Ava Grace Gipson ’27. “By the end of the trip, we had all bonded and grown closer together and that was really special.”
Big thanks to faculty chaperones Andy Arick, Clay Francis, Ginny Jackson, and Pascale Haug for making this leadership adventure possible for our students.
