Features
Adventures in the Adirondacks during Fall Break
By Michelle Chung ’20
October 20, 2016
Tags features
During fall break, students usually take a breath of fresh air from classes, homework, jobs and all their responsibilities to relax away from campus or sleep in the comfort of their dorms. However, about two dozen students were fortunate enough to take a breath of fresh air on the top of the Adirondack mountains and on the waves of Maine as a part of Hamilton’s unique fall break trips, which occurred from Oct. 12–16. Students were able to attend the Adirondack Hike/Rock Climb combo trip and the Maine sea kayaking trip, led by members of the Outing Club who wanted to present students with a relaxing, invigorating, nature-filled experience.
The Adirondack Hike/Rock Climb combo trip was led by Gaby Pilson ’17, a native familiar with the area who wanted to share her experiences with those interested in introductory climbing and car camping. As a leader, she hoped that all her participants would enjoy themselves without the worry of assignments or daunting responsibilities on their minds.
“This trip had a wide variety of experience levels with respect to climbing and backcountry pursuits in general,” commented Pilson. “I wanted to expose our newest climbers to the activity and show them the different ways to enjoy being outside.”
John Dennis ’20 attended the hiking and rock climbing trip with some reservation, having only gone on a nature trip once as a part of his first-year orientation experience. However, he enjoyed his time in the mountains even with the early mornings and long nights.
“My favorite moment was probably getting to the top of the mountain after two to three hours of hiking,” said Dennis. “There’s a little plaque at the top of the mountain that you’re suppose to step on to signify that you made it, and being able to do that felt like such an accomplishment. Just seeing all the beautiful nature was such a surreal experience.”
Students also had the opportunity to go sea kayaking as well on the waters of Maine. Amin Babar ’20, having gone on multiple hiking trips back in his home of Pakistan, thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing yet exciting adventure alongside his leader Madison Atterbury ’17 and seven other travelers.
“In the beginning, most people hadn’t kayaked before and everyone was struggling, but we got used to it,” commented Babar as he looked at all the blisters he got from the experience. “We got really close, having to share tents and make food together for three days, so it was definitely fun getting to know new faces.”
Even so, his favorite experience had to be “waking up in the morning on the beach that we were camping on and getting to see this beautiful sunrise,” a moment that acted as a great start to the trip. They also got the rare opportunity to see seals and bald eagles living on the islands, looking into parts of nature many of the kayakers had never witnessed before.
In the future, interested students can participate in similar camping and nature trips with several different opportunities, including a winter camping seminar, one-week trips over spring break and a two-week trek to Nepal, all of which will be open for sign-ups later on in the semester. Students should definitely take advantage of the enriching trips that the Outing Club offers and all the experiences that involve satisfying food, new camping friends and a breathtaking look at nature.