09/06/2025
"Freya's class went on another backpacking trip to the Trinity Alps, a mountain range in northern California. We were slightly concerned about some fires in the area, but rain began to fall heavily as we loaded the packs onto our backs at the trailhead. About a mile in, the skies opened up with thunder, lightning, and hail. Freya was scared. Honestly, I was scared as well. But Freya kept moving forward. She jumped every time thunder loudly clapped and was honest with me about her fears, ranging between fear, panic, and the thought that we were going to die. (She still managed a snack request at one point, to which I pointed out that this was not snack weather.) Towards the end of the hike to the campsite Freya began singing and let me know it was her way of calming herself. The bad weather was lifting, and I could more fully appreciate that she was using a valuable skill - self-soothing.
We got to the campsite cold and soaked through, like everyone else. Freya did not complain. She did not say she wanted to go home or that she had bad feelings about what we had just hiked through. The rest of the trip was glorious and though the hikes were tough, Freya kept a positive attitude for (almost) all of it. Four days later, we hiked out of the mountains singing "We Shall Not be Moved" as the sun rose on what was shaping up to be a beautiful, sunny mountain morning. We talked about how scared we had been on the hike in, but that it felt good to be brave and courageous.
If we had not been on a class trip, I would have certainly turned around once the bad weather started. This was another valuable lesson for me on just how strong, capable, brave, and adventurous Freya can be."
- Submitted by Anne Fricke (mom to Freya, 13, living with PWS)
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