Over the first half of spring break, a group of 23 students visited the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. The students were accompanied by three faculty members: Mr. Sweeney, Mr. Leonardis, and Mr. DeCaprio. To reach their destination, they flew to San Francisco and drove to Convict Lake, near the border of Nevada. This year was a historic snowfall year in California, forcing the group to make a few detours. Having arrived, they found their accommodations in a cabin with a gorgeous view of the lake. Due to the high altitude, the entire Belmont Hill group had to briefly acclimatize themselves by going on a light hike.
Encumbering the otherwise beautiful conditions were the preponderance of blizzards and avalanches. The average temperature was around 25 degrees fahrenheit. While on hikes, the group spied foxes, big birds, and lizards. In total, they went on seven hikes. The longest hike being a nine mile trek through a volcanic caldera, taking nine hours. Down from the mountains, the group visited Alabama Hills, which was a very rocky hike. Then, they visited Fossil Falls, where the students got to see a volcano, as well as some obsidian arrowheads. Being the ‘STEM’ trip, science scholars learned that obsidian is formed from cooled magma. Adjacent to the volcano was a heated creek which reached a scorching 135 degrees Fahrenheit. The hottest place they visited was Death Valley, which holds the record for the highest temperature ever recorded. At the end of their stay in the Sierra Nevada, they went to the Great Orion Stargazing festival. There, they learned about astronomy and looked at stars. To conclude their eventful trip, they visited Fort Funston in San Francisco, a former nuclear missile launch site.
The students and faculty greatly enjoyed this trip, having witnessed many beautiful views and unique landscapes.
