If 2002 Oxford High School graduate Kai Schmidt could turn back time and hike over 100 miles in 28 days all over again, what would he do differently? Weight lift, weight lift, weight lift.
“My pack weighed about 74 pounds when we left to begin hiking and about 13 pounds of that was food,” said Schmidt, 20, who recently completed a course in mountaineering. “I didn’t do anything to prepare and it was hard to carry that much weight on the first day.”
On July 7, the Oakland University sophomore, who is majoring in pre-med, headed out for the experience of his life in Wyoming’s beautiful Wind River Mountain Range. Schmidt signed up for a 31-day mountaineering course through the National Outdoor Leadership School, located in Lander, Wyoming. He heard about the opportunity through a friend.
Schmidt said that 12 students and three instructors were “dropped off” in the mountain range to make a 28-day hike and learn how to read maps, find routes, use minimum impact camping, use first aid and handle some rock/mountain climbing.
“It was hard the first day,” said Schmidt. “Being from Michigan we’re use to being at sea level, and they put us at about 8,000 feet that first day of hiking. I got altitude sickness that first day and had to rest, drink lots of water and take some sugar.”
Also on that first day, the group learned how to cook their dried food, hang the food out of reach of bears, pitch their tents and tie climbing knots.
“Everything we ate was dried food like rice, beans and cheese,” said Schmidt. “I’m a vegetarian, but that wasn’t a problem, there was very little meat anyway so I would just skip it and take more cheese.”
Not long into the hike, the students and instructors were resupplied – and the packs got heavier, right on up to 92 pounds. After getting their rations, the class truly began.
“We hiked for as long as it took to get where we needed to be,” explained Schmidt. “At one point, we hiked 3,000 vertical miles.”
“My favorite part was hiking Gannett Peak, the highest peak in Wyoming. It’s 13,800 feet. That was cool.”
Another exciting point for the Addison Township resident was sliding down a snowbank into an icy lake, complete with icebergs.
“It was fun and I figured why not,” he said.
The students in the course were graded on their ability to learn the necessary skills, to have a positive attitude and to show leadership abilities.
But getting good grades wasn’t the hard part for this area resident.
“In the end, just being away from home was rough,” he said. “It was physically hard, but you got use to that. It was rough just getting use to not having what you were use to having and being so far from civilization.”
Not to mention being far away from showers, bathrooms and razors. “You got use to it – everybody smelled bad,” he laughed.
Schmidt said he definitely plans on taking a similar trip in the near future and would love to take a rock climbing course.
“I know that if I do this kind of trip now, I have all the skills I need to plan my own escapade with friends and not need to depend on someone else,” he explained.
So what advice does the Addison resident have for would-be mountaineers?
“Get good shoes, because if you don’t, you’re in trouble,” Schmidt laughed.