Canyonlands 2009

We had another great trip to Canyonlands National Park just before Thanksgiving. The group comprised 19 youth from at least 7 different schools and 10 adults including 8 BVICO volunteers and 2 Colorado Youth Program staff. The trip was a FULL 4 days with 1 night of car camping and 2 nights backpacking in smaller groups. The weather was cold but very sunny - at least for a precious few hours each day. The Needles District rocks and it's a wonderful place for kids to play in nature.

Here's a slideshow from one of the backpacking groups. CYP's photos are on facebook.

Night Hike

Our friends from I Have A Dream ... had a nightmare!

Re-Posting of Video from Mt. Zirkel Backpacking Trip!

Once again, Linda Muscatell knocks it out of the park with a great 4-day backpacking trip in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness. Special thanks to Shawn Bratt and Andrea Villa for providing expert angling instruction. It was an amazing trip, one of the best Boulder Valley ICO has ever run.

NOTE: This re-posting includes the audio stripped from the earlier posting.

Fulford Cave & Hut Trip

Nobody has written an entry in a while. We must be busy here at Boulder Valley ICO!

We had a wonderful early October weekend exploring Fulford Cave and staying overnight at the Peter Estin hut. It was a beautiful weekend and, as the trip description predicted, there were great fall colors and a little bit of snow.

We had an adventurous 2.25 hours inside the cave and explored parts of the cave unseen by the ICO group last year.

Thanks to Linda and 10th Mountain for arranging our stay at the hut. Thanks to Debra and Luz Helena for doing the food and to Linda, Debra, and Mary for driving. And thanks to the great kids who put smiles on our faces (yeah, really!).

Permission Slips

Here are our current permission slips:

Efrain Castaneda

Boulder Valley ICO mourns the loss of Efrain Castaneda, a former program participant and student at Casey Middle School. An article on his death can be found here:

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/aug/03/boulder-boy-killed-mexico-car-efrain-castaneda/

The viewing will be held at Crist Mortuary, 3395 Penrose Place, Boulder, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, August 4th. The rosary will also be held at Crist, Tuesday, August 4th from 5 to 6 p.m. Funeral services will be held at Sacred Heart (Mapleton and 14th) on Wednesday (the 5th) at 10 a.m.

Photos of Efrain are included in this album from our Canyonlands trip from November of last year. Efrain is the one wearing the blue Casey sweatshirt or the red t-shirt.

Boulder Valley ICO Backpacking in Utah

Boulder Valley ICO led a 5-day backpacking trip in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah in late March. A group of 9 kids from Manhattan and Angevine middle school toured this amazing place. Thanks to Linda Muscatell (principal organizer) and volunteers Michael Le Desma and Kera Tafoya for making this far-flung adventure so much fun.

Volunteer Resources

100% Volunteer-powered!

How do I find out more about BVICO and apply to volunteer?
A: Send and email to boulderico@gmail.com

What is the time commitment?
A: Although everyone's situation is different, we generally ask for volunteers to serve at least 5 volunteer-days per year. A long trip like the Canyonlands backpacking trip would count for virtually all of this quota, or you could participate in several short and local trips such as our monthly Water Sentinels program. Additionally, there are a lot of behind the scenes non-trip roles that you could take on, such as fundraising, managing our webpages, or keeping our gear depot neat and clean.

What are the requirements to be a volunteer?
A: We have a general level of volunteering, which doesn't have too many requirements besides a background and reference check, and agreeing to our code of ethics (see our code of ethics - PDF). The second level of volunteer is called a certified leader, which requires the background check plus first aid and CPR training (wilderness first aid is preferred; ICO will even reimburse the course fees for people who become ICO certified leaders), membership in the Sierra Club (for insurance reasons), an outdoor leadership class/ training course (we hope to make this a 2-day/one night annual event), and child abuse recognition training. In addition, you will be expected to co-organize a couple of trips before becoming certified, and you will be evaluated by your peers and subject to approval of the steering committee. Being a certified leader enables you to lead trips and all of our trips are required to have at least one ICO certified leader present. We encourage every volunteer to become certified as it enables us to offer more outings and operate at a high, professional-quality level.

Once again, we encourage certification - you will be able to participate in more trips and we will have more flexibility in scheduling the trips.

Who is a typical volunteer?

Generally, our volunteers have a lot of outdoor experience and they enjoy working with kids. We look for enthusiastic, positive individuals. Our volunteers span a wide age range, from 20-something to more-than-50-something. We have teachers, scientists, writers, students, lawyers, accountants, elk hunters, Colorado natives, Italian immigrants, and retirees among our ranks.

How do I run an outing for Boulder Valley Inner City Outings?

Current and Prospective volunteers with ICO will be interested in our Outings Checklist, which is located here:

Boulder Valley ICO Outings Checklist

This has links to all of the information and forms that you need for planning a trip. Login with your google docs account is required to view some of the items (questions? boulderico@gmail.com).

Volunteering with ICO is hugely rewarding and lots of fun. If you're ready to tale the plunge, download the application packet linked below.

Application Packet (download this PDF; it is a type-able form when you open it in Acrobat)

Volunteer agreement & code of ethics (PDF)

Snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park, 2/21/09

Boulder Valley ICO led a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park on 2/21/09. We started at the Bear Lake Trailhead and headed toward Dream Lake. We didn't quite make it to the lake, though, because ... well ... I think the video says it all. Thanks to volunteers Hannah Harman, Luz Helena Florez, and Simon de Szoeke for making this trip a success.

March of the Penguins Snowshoe Video

We had fun!