Teen Hikes Through Costa Rica Rainforest
By Kathy Boyd, Skagit Valley Herald Online!

 While many teenagers go to theme parks or travel during the summer, Shae Denton, 17, experienced a more intense vacation.

The La Conner High School senior and Running Start student was one of just three Girl Scouts from Washington state to join select other Girl Scouts from across the country in a 16-day community service-oriented trip to Costa Rica.

Shae and the other Girl Scouts returned home Aug. 18 from the Costa Rica Rainforest Outward Bound School trip created specifically for Girl Scouts.

Shae’s mom, Debbie Denton of La Conner, said that while the trip was offered through Girl Scouts, Shae first had to get through the application process. Then she paid for the trip herself.

“We didn’t help her with any of it,” Denton said. “She works and saves her money.”

The trip was aimed at offering locals a variety of help, Shae said. The girls worked in a greenhouse, where they weeded and planted vegetables and tulips. They also cut and processed sugar cane, helped with a construction project and did maintenance in an orphanage.

“We did something every day, including house chores,” Shae said. “We were told we would be teaching English to the kids, but we didn’t.”

The trip wasn’t all about work. Shae said about four days were spent experiencing rigorous, exhausting and potentially dangerous activities that tested each girl’s mettle.

They hiked with backpacks through the rainforest near Manuel Antonio on the west coast of Costa Rica, climbed trees and rappelled down cliffs with waterfalls — tasks especially difficult for Shae, who finds heights and spiders intimidating.

Debbie Denton said the Outward Bound School offers a similar trip to rehabilitate kids who are in trouble. She said it is really strenuous and demanding because the kids cover a large area of difficult terrain, south and west of San Jose.

Shae said the whitewater rafting trip down the Brujo River was her favorite excursion. They started early, she said, hiking about four hours to the starting point.

“It was fun to have our own group for the day,” Shae said. “It was the most bonding experience we had.”
At a particularly challenging part of the river, the seven occupants in one of the three rafts were ejected in the rapids.

“We had to save the raft, retrieve the oars and all the people who were in it,” Shae said. “They were shook up, but they recovered pretty quickly.”

Debbie Denton picked up a couple of the girls at the airport.

“When I asked them if they enjoyed it, they looked at each other and said ‘Not going through it,’” Denton said.

The experience was so overwhelming, Denton said, that “some even sat down and refused to hike any further.”

Shae said she learned about Costa Rican environment and culture, and even more about herself.

“When you are going through it, it’s really, really hard. It was mentally and physically draining,” she said. “Looking back, though, I’d do it again.”