Last Outdoor Pursutis Sea Level Traversing

Yesterday was our last day of outdoor pursuits. It was weird thinking that we had had 10 other outdoor pursuits and this was our last one in Wales. We were all excited to see Sally as soon as we got into the van and she immediately gave us our options for the day. Originally we were suppose to go sailing, but this morning provided little wind and was very cloudy with sprinkles. She gave us the option to go climbing in the mountains or go sea level traversing again. In the end we choose sea level traversing because we had plans to BBQ and Sally had plans to take us to a cave called "Soup Dragon". We were all happy with that choice, a little disappointed that we couldn't try sailing, but knew we would have a good time like always. Iwan came along with us for the day to help set up the activities. We got to the Conway Centre and gathered out supplies without the help of Sally since we knew what we needed for sea level traversing from the past and changed for the day. We drove to Penrhyn Mawr in Holyhead, the same place we sea level traversed last time, but we started from the other side of the edge. We left our BBQ supplies and dry bags on the beach nearby and walked to the side of the cliff to begin our adventure. Our first challenge right away was abseiling. We had all abseiled before when we had rock climbed outside, but with the guidance of Garreth, and this time Iwan wanted us to be in complete control. We all took turns abseiling down the steep Atlantic slabs, which were flat vertical rock slabs surrounding us in the particular area that we were in. After watching a couple of the other girls make it down safely, it was my turn. I checked my squeeze test and began abseiling down the rock. It was nerve racking at first being in complete control and I began very slow, but progressively got more comfortable and reached the bottom. Sally instructed me to go all the way to the bottom of the rock till my butt touched the water, so I did what she said. But when she told me to let go of the rope, I didn't let go because I knew I would fall in the water. Turns out that was her plan all along, and the only person she got to fall for her trick was Megan, haha. As we all gathered at the bottom of the cliff and waited for our other teammates to reach the bottom Sally instructed me to lead the pack to the opposite side of rock she was sitting on. I was able to guide the group along the edge sea level traversing, finding safe paths and passing along helpful advice to those behind me. When we were all gathered again, Molly lead the pack around the edge of the cliffs, staying close to the sea level, helping all of us get around some pretty difficult parts. There was one area where it wasn't safe enough to climb near the sea level, so we had to climb higher up on the rock edges. We had to be very careful and were reminded how to fall safely if it came down to that. When we finally reached the Soup Dragon cave opening we had a difficult gap between the two rock edges. Sally demonstrated how to get across safely and Molly followed, with me right behind her. It was really important to instruct the person behind each of us so that we could each get across safely. As soon as we got across we jumped into the water to enter the Soup Dragon cave. We were all swimming around deeper and deeper into the cave, having fun splashing around and reached the back of the cave. We could feel the tide getting higher as it pushed and pulled us back and forth. We had a blast pretending we were on a roller coaster ride and people could probably hear us yelling from miles away. Some of the girls were really nervous about being in a dark cave as the tide gradually rose. Surprisingly I was comfortable because I knew Sally would never put us in a dangerous situation. After so many activities with her I have grown more confident and have gotten over many of the fears I didn't think were possible. We made our way out of the cave and continued to sea level traverse until we were close to the beach for lunch. It was much more difficult this time around, with certain area where we really needed to focus on our footing and hand placement. I felt much more confident in my ability to sea level traverse after doing the activity already, as did many of the other team members, which made the day go by a lot smoother. Our last challenge was a large gap between the two cliffs where we had to reach our leg all the way across to the other edge. It was really difficult, trying to hang on and move without falling into the water. I successfully made it, being the only girl to have made it, and Molly and Annie followed right behind me making it across. As soon as we were across we jumped into the water and swam to the beach to begin our BBQ. I had a really great time sea level traversing, and the sun had even come out for part of the day. We enjoyed our last lunch together as a group and packed up to go back to the van. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to the Conway Centre after we had spent so much time there but went away with a new outlook on life. I have had the best experiences in Wales because of Outdoor Pursuits and I can't wait to take everything I've learned back to America and share it with others.

Last night we met up with Sally and Laura and the other Americans at Varsity to have a few drinks and spend one last night with our Outdoor Pursuits instructors. It was a blast! We had drinks, talked, laughed, took pictures, and just enjoyed each others company. After spending almost 3 hours at Varsity we all decided to go to Academy to dance for a little, even Sally and Laura came with! We danced all night with Sally and Laura and had fun being silly with them, just like in Outdoor Pursuits. We didn't leave until 2am when Sally and Laura both left for the night. We gave them hugs and said our goodbyes. It was really hard saying goodbye after spending so much time with them and it made me think how hard its going to be when I leave in June. Sally was such a great inspiration for me and taught me so much, pushing me mentally and physically past what I would expect of myself. She taught me to be confident in myself as well as never giving up in any situation. I hope that I made as big of an impact on her as she did for me=)