About Me

My name is Liza Jane Branch, and I go to the High Mountain Institute in Leadvillle, Co. It's a semester program that accepts kids from all across the nation to backpack, grow, and learn in Colorado and Utah's beautiful backcountry. We've been on three expeditions, two in the Colorado, one in Utah, and it's been pretty challenging. We've used skills that HMI has taught us to live comfortably and navigate both woodsy forests and open canyons. This blog reflects on my journey with the wilderness, and includes some pretty cool photos of my time in the backcountry, so please check it out!

Twin Lakes in Leadville, CO

The Fall

First expedition

Second day

We walked down into the valley

Trudging along with our heavy packs

and light hearts

A stream crossing

Came upon us

The water silently moving

Across the dewy morning air

Over rocks

And pebbles

And disappearing out of sight

I take one step

Closely behind a friend in front

I take another step

Following as I should

And suddenly

Slip

Into the icy, clear water

Down goes my pack

As it lands firmly in the depth of the river

I'm frozen

No really

I'm frozen

The chilly breeze is highlighted

 By the moisture of my clothing

I start to shiver

Uncontrollably

As I realize that every layer I have on

Has been soaked straight through

I panic

I let out sharp breaths

I can't get up

The 45 pound pack 

Weighs me down

And feels like a monster

Attached to my back 

I start to hyperventilate 

As I feel the weight being released

Someone is lifting me

Out of the flowing river

Still sending chills beyond my core

I stand up 

I cross the river

Step by step

Avoiding another spill

I change

New layers

New warmth

I laugh

I'm fine. 

HMI's Backyard

The Canyon and Me

One day I woke up, and canyons surrounded me. The colors were pink and orange and brown. I stepped out of my sleeping bag, covered in dew resulting from a night’s sleep without a tarp. The sun rose over the rim and showered my campsite with light. I walked towards my kitchen, hanging off of the edge. I sat down and started to boil a pot of water.

I sat there, watching the sun come up, and I thought about a lot of things. I thought about how unreal it felt to be in this new place I had never even really heard that much about. I thought about how lucky I was to be in this amazing place with the coolest people I’ve ever met. I also thought about my growling stomach and my waking tarp mates.

So, I poured my purified water into a bag of pancake batter, letting it seep into every inch of the plastic. The sky was now turning dark purple and pink and orange a lot of mixtures of all of those colors. It was the prettiest display of light I had ever seen, and I started to wonder if I could see this anywhere else.

For a moment, my mind wandered to home. Charlotte, North Carolina is where I’ve lived my entire life. I’ve never really stayed there for too long. We used to travel a lot as a family out west to California, Utah... other places around the world. I soon came to the conclusion, sitting on the cold rock in my puff pants and worn hiking boots, that until my relationship with nature was that... well... I didn’t quite have one. Even though I had traveled to these breath- taking, amazing locations, I had never really felt a connection to what I was seeing.  

That is, at least until I came to HMI. This place has pretty much forced students to put their faces into the nature of Colorado and Utah. You get personal with the wilderness. Bare naked, peeing in the snow. Stepping on the steps we made for the trail to make sure that they are sturdy. Studying the rock formations to figure out if it’s a mesa or a spire. These things have all built my relationship with nature.

So, I sat there. And spent a few minutes to myself. Enjoying this new relationship. And enjoying what this relationship has allowed me to open up to and appreciate.

Photos taken by Maeve Cambria