We, the Team Formerly Known as Gold 4, have successfully completed our first SPIKE. Amelia, Liz, Channing, Anna, Thomas, Kristen, Jessica, Hillary, Vicky, Jesse and our team leader Jen, logged over 800 miles of driving to arrive at our destination of Pinnacle Mountain State Park in Roland, Arkansas. While in Arkansas we were fortunate to have helpful, informative project sponsors that took an interest in our lives.
We spent our days at Pinnacle with Chris and Jim. Chris is the Trail Maintenance Supervisor for the Arkansas State Parks, and Jim is someone that he has come to depend on heavily. Both have years of experience in caring for hiking trails and each shared his knowledge with the team. It is from them that we learned how to build water bars and construct stone steps that would help prevent further erosion from occurring on the West Summit Trail, as well as blaze trails and drive the Gator. More than work though, Jim and Chris became people that we laughed with and shared stories with.
Wile working at Pinnacle, Gold 4 lived at Ferncliff Presbyterian Conference Center and Campsite. At Ferncliff we were welcomed into another community. It was here that we met: David, Vicky, Heather, Mary, and Mitch; people that TP'd our cabins, 'Fruited' our floor, invited us into their homes, provided us with toms of leftovers, taught us the art of tie dying, and even brought us the Sunday newspaper. Overall, they looked out for out needs throughout our stay.
Without these people, our experience would not have been the same: Jen would not have gotten coffee on the trail, Jesse and Hillary would not have tie dyed towels, Liz would not know how much she enjoys trail work, Amelia and Jessica would have had to walk home from the store, Kristen and Anna would not have been informed of the tornado, Channing would not be aware of his physical abilities, Thomas would not have handled stress as well as he did, and the Team would not be aware of Vicky's ability to cook delicious and pretty dishes.
For all these things, and more, the Team Formerly Known as Gold 4 would like to thank our sponsors for making our first spike one that will be difficult to surpass.