I stopped in my tracks, realizing that the pine cone was no longer in my hands. With a diameter equal to that of my neck, and the length of my forearm, this was no small pine cone. I picked it up along the way, thinking it would make a good gift for Jen. Nestled in the crook of my arm like a football, I carried this cone down steep descents, across boulder fields, and even while picking my way across a vine-covered cliff. Now, with the sun settled below the desert horizon and the full moon high above, I couldn't believe my hands were empty.

It was dark, and our team still searched for the desert spring - our campsite for the night. As part of the learning experience, our leaders left us to find it on our own . Thankfully, my fellow students empathized, and waited while I backtracked to find the cone. No way was I going to just leave it after carrying all that way, I determined. And we were no longer in the alpine forest, so it wasn't like I could just pick up another. I raced on, headlamp glowing and eyes stuck to the ground.

In six days and five nights we traversed southern Sierra desert and ascended Mt. Owens, an 8,500 ft. peak. Rock climbing, team building games, nights spent with the wind howling and frost creeping into my bivy sack, and filtering our drinking water through a bandanna were only a few of the adventures our team experienced on our intro trip. We learned to work together as a team, to trust one another, and appreciate each other's individual strengths.

In the end, I found the pine cone, we found the campsite, and we returned to Bishop safe and sound, albeit somewhat more odorous than when we left.