The one-month program in the backcountry that I was forced to join was intimidating to me. By back country, I mean there is no toilet, no internet, nor wild animal protection. I could definitely say that this was an outdoor survival camp, the food was proportioned for ten people so that we wouldn’t starve to death by the time the next supply arrives. The weather there was also not considered mild, it poured rain every afternoon and our things needed a couple days to get dry. Up till now, if you think I am writing a negative essay to express my anger, you are wrong! This program is actually an upbeat camp that builds character.
我几乎是被逼着加入的这个荒郊野岭的夏令营让我觉得害怕。之所以我说是荒郊野岭，是因为没有厕所，没有互联网，也没有防范野兽的措施。我认为这是一个户外生存营地，我们的食物都是按照十个人的分量来严格分配，这样在下一批供应来之前我们不至于饿死。天气实在不能说好，几乎每个下午都下大雨，我们的东西需要几天时间才干。但是如果你觉得我在写一篇消极的文章来表达我的愤怒，你就错了。这个夏令营实际上是一个有利于品格培养、让人兴奋。
The first few days we stayed at a low altitude camp site at about 8,000 feet, where there was drinkable water, a hot shower, and a convenient store nearby. We learned to handle basic tools for future trail-maintenance purposes, like axes, saws, hoes, and a rock hammer. It was really exciting to learn new knowledge, how to make a trail drain, a path to get rid of extra water on the trail. We also learned about social trails, a path where hikers walk on to get around obstacles on the main trail, but then they would destroy more natural vegetation. Therefore removing the obstacle is a main part of our job.
开始几天我们在低海拔，大概8000英尺的营地，有饮用水，热水洗澡和一个商店。在这里我们为即将开始的修路，学习工具的使用，斧头、钢锯、锄头和锤子。学习这些新的知识让我兴奋，比如开一条道让积水从山路上流出来。我们也了解了所谓的“社交小道”，步行者有时候使用这些小道，避开主道上的障碍，但是这样他们就破坏了自然的生态。所以把主道上的障碍物移开就成了我们主要的任务。
After a 4-hour drive, we arrived at our upper camp site at 10,000 feet, it was a meadow on a mountainside by a trail named La Poudre Pass. There was a 10 feet creek just down the mountain and a bridge for us to get across. Our camp site was surrounded by pine trees, aspens, and ferns. There was only a small opening where we could see the blue sky above. The view down by the creek was absolutely gorgeous: the mountain range across the creek had different colors, yellow and green under the sunlight seemed lively under the white clouds. The leader told us that the park has a pine beetle epidemic because the park was too well preserved so all the old trees survived the natural fire burndown. The beetles loved to eat the old trees and they reproduced rapidly and have started to kill more trees. To maintain the balance in the wild, the National Park Service rangers did not interfere with the pine beetles. The wilderness should be loved, but not have total protection.
经过四个小时的车程，我们到了10,000英尺高的营地。La Poudre Pass山道从这里经过，这里是山边的一块草地。这里有一条十尺宽的小河，河上有桥让我们通过。我们的营地被松树，白杨和蕨类植物所包围。只有一个小的开口，让我们能看见上面的蓝天。旁边的小河的风景真是美极了：山形倒映在河水上，呈现不同的色彩。白云下的黄色和绿色，在阳光下特别鲜艳。领队告诉我们，公园现在有很严重的松甲虫疫情，因为公园保护得太好了，所有的老树都在野火中生存了下来。松甲虫喜欢吃老树，他们可以飞快繁衍，吃掉更多的树。为了维护生态的平衡，国家公园的工作人员决定不甘于松甲虫。我们应该爱自然，但是并不需要过分保护。
“Leave No Trace” was the main thing we learned out in the wild. We could not leave trash in the backcountry and when we left a place, we needed to make sure that it was in the same condition as before our arrival. To ensure the safety of the wilderness we kept an eye on each other and had a big trash can by our kitchen. All the wrappers, left over food, and trash we found went in there, so it smelled really bad after the four weeks. To reduce the attraction of bears, we had all our things with odor kept in a box. All the food ingredients and toiletries were put in a metal case and kept locked up.
“不留痕迹”是我们在户外学会的主要内容。我们不能在户外留下任何垃圾。当我们离开一个地方，我们需要保证它和我们来之前完全一样。为了保护野外生态，我们互相提醒，在厨房里放了一个很大的垃圾袋。这期间我们用过的包装纸、吃剩的食物和垃圾，在四周之后气味难闻的很。为了不致把熊召来，我们把任何有气味的食物都锁在一个箱子里。所以食物的配料和生活用品都在铁箱里锁好。
Rain was a common and consistent thing in the park. The rain clouds, dark and thick, built up every afternoon, and unleashed all the droplets at around five o’clock. That meant we had to cook and eat in the rain. Sometimes it had hail in the mixture, and sometimes it lasted for about three hour. All the camp members were tired of the rain when the camp came to an end. The reason is really simple, all of our things got wet if it was not kept in the tent, and as I’ve said, it takes time for those things to get dry. The worst case scenario would be that water get into your tent and your sleeping bag get wet. The consequence is that you might get hypothermia when you sleep in a wet sleeping bag under cold weather conditions.
在公园里下雨是很平常的。很厚、很黑的云每天下午在我们头上堆积，到了五点左右就开始倾泻下来。这意味着我们要在雨中做饭、吃饭。有时候雨中夹杂着冰雹，有时候一下就是三个小时。夏令营结束的时候，所有的营员都无法忍受下雨了，因为如果我们的衣物没有放在帐篷里，湿了以后就很长时间也干不了。最糟糕的是水进了帐篷把睡袋弄湿了。如果在寒冷天气下睡在湿睡袋里，很有可能会得低温病，甚至有生命的危险。
I had fun hanging out and working with my crew partners, we went to other trails to clear drains and chop down trees in the way. We usually had pairs of two, one with a hoe and one with a shovel. We hiked on the trails while chatting and grass with morning dew slide on our rain pants and boots. The first few week I would get tired after hiking just a little uphill, but then as time went on, I had more time to appreciate the scenery and to work harder. The people were from all over the US and there were some really interesting collaborations. They all have interesting school stories and backgrounds. My best friend there was a guy from Sugarland, Texas, an incoming senior who would debate with me over religious topics, it was so much brain work to argue with him.
和我的同伴们一起清干山道，或者把路上的树砍掉，都是很好玩的经历。我们通常两个人在一起，一个拿锄头，一个拿铁锹。我们在山道上行走的时候，早上的露珠掉在我们的雨衣和鞋子上。开始的时候，向上爬一会儿山路我就累了。慢慢地，我可以更多地欣赏风景，也工作更加努力。营员们从美国各地而来，我们在一起的合作也很有趣。他们都有很有趣的背景和学校的故事。我最好的朋友是从德州Sugarland来的，一个高四学生，他经常和我就宗教的话题展开辩论。啊，和他辩论真的很费大脑。
Besides just trail maintenance, we also did some projects. I mainly focused on a rock-drain. A small stream had turned a part of the trail into a mud-pit, and we had to put some big rocks by the stream to prevent further erosion. We spent two days just putting the first rock in because our inspector wanted good contact between the rocks, but our rock just kept sinking into the mud. At the end we had to find two bags of crush — small rocks to fill in the gap — to fill the crevice. After that our progress improved and went a lot faster and smoother. We put in three rocks the next day and then finished the whole project four days later. A total project of seven rocks was finally accomplished. I had doubt and impatience along the project, and sometimes I was too tired to work, but I kept telling myself the goal of the program and my parents’ expectations. I kept pushing myself, and finally the work was finished in under five work days.
除了维护山路，我们也做了其他的一些项目。我主要是用石头来治水。一条小河把山路变成了一个泥塘，我们把一个大石头对在河里，防止河水继续侵蚀山路。我们用了两天的时间才把第一块手头放进去，因为检查员需要石头和石头之间有好的接触，但是我们的石头却不断地滑进泥巴里。最终我们需要找到两袋子的碎石，放在中间的缝隙中。这之后我们的工作进程就快了一些。第二天我们放了三块手头。四天之后我们才完成了整个项目。一个有七块石头的项目终于完成了。在整个项目中，我怀疑过，我不耐烦过，有时候我觉得太累了，不过我不断地告诉自己这个项目的目标和父母亲的期待。我不断地推动自己，最终在五个工作日终于完成了。
This program has changed my aspect of the world. When comparing my condition up in the mountains and my daily life in America, what a dramatic difference! I had such bad habits and they were corrected one by one as time passed. I started to conserve water more, had my daily routine cultivated, developed a reading habit throughout the four weeks, and stopped complaining. Also, I developed great friendships. This was a great experience of a lifetime.
这个项目改变了我对世界的看法。当我比较自己在山上的情况和在美国的日常生活，这中间是天与地的差别。我有很多的坏习惯，但是慢慢地我一点点在改变。我开始注意节约用水，开始注意自己每天的习惯，在四周的时间甚至养成了更多阅读的习惯，并且停止了抱怨。而且我也结交了很好的朋友。这真是我一生值得珍惜的经历！
美国低龄留学
专业、爱心、使命