This past week was the gappers final backpacking trip, filled with plenty of summits, shooting stars, and stunning views. Week 10 saw the gappers and instructors up in a cabin in the White Mountains exploring the surrounding backcountry while also spending lots of time with each other.

From finishing carrier beams and working on plant identification, to blacksmithing and the murder mystery halloween party, gappers and staff worked together to further their knowledge and develop their skills during this second week of electives.

This week, gappers helped build a house, learned to knit, pressed cider, and more, all under the guidance of many of the wonderful Glen Brook staff members. Electives were the perfect opportunity for the gap cohort to learn from the many knowledgeable people at Glen Brook, and dip our toes into some new crafts, construction, and content.

This week we put our backpacking skills to the test with another 4 day trip filled with fall scenery, beautiful views, and even some snow! Tuesday began with an early wake up before driving over to the base of Bromley Mountain to begin our hike. After eating a quick meal in the parking lot, we set off to our first campsite of the trip.

During Week Six, Gappers accumulated information that will be useful not just at Glen Brook, but for the rest of our lives. Gappers learned skills that ranged from building fences and wilderness first aid during apprenticeships, to the basics of taxes, and completing their first absentee ballots. 

Week 5 has seen the gappers stepping into the role of community members at Glen Brook as well as in our wider New Hampshire area. From apprenticeships and potlucks here on the farm, to visiting bakeries, festivals, and dance halls, us gappers have been busy immersing ourselves into what is offered by those in our local region. 

The Gappers have spent a lot of time outside this week, whether we were in our canoes in the pouring rain or back at the Hill House enjoying the sun. 

Week three has meant that we have finally graduated from watching and learning to being able to get our hands dirty with all of the new skills we’ve been taught. As we start off the fall season, us gappers have been integrating ourselves more and more into our surroundings as we become more comfortable with Glen Brook and each other.

With Week One and orientation experiences ending, Week Two has brought more routine, yet also excitement and independence. This week, there has been a focus on creating foundations, whether that’s basics for the garden or making memories with our peers.

The 2024 session of Gap at Glen Brook is in full swing! This fall marks 10 years of the Gap program here and we are so excited to share just what has been happening during week one of our stay.

Before becoming a gapper I had heard about reciprocity, but I hardly knew what it meant and had hardly practiced it. But in my life, I was struggling to answer the question “how can a community effectively and efficiently look after the individual?” So often in our society, our ideal community is that everyone should carry an equal weight, which might I add is quite ableist. (We live in a society-!)

Our lovely Jess decided to make a video journal for her entry for Week Eight (sorry, we’ve skipped a few weeks, and we’re behind! More updates coming soon!). Enjoy her incredible documentation of Electives Week One.

Entering Apprenticeship Week I, there was an excited and slightly nervous buzz as we slowly divided after lunch on Monday to head to our first apprenticeship block, none of us knowing what to expect from the coming week.

This week we embarked on our second trip, a canoe expedition on the Connecticut River. The river flows 400 miles through four states. It forms the Vermont- New Hampshire border, which is the section we canoed on.

How is this fire a metaphor for your life? This is the question our instructor, Tori, asked myself and 5 other gappers after building and tending to our own fires. As someone who had never slept in a tent or been on a hike more than just a casual stroll before Glen Brook, I assumed making a fire would be a difficult task, reserved for highly experienced hands.

Farm Foundations! From microbiology (i.e. soil nutrients and microbes) to macrobiology (i.e. sheep wrestling), this week the Gappers here at the farm were given a hands-on introduction to sustainable agriculture.

The Gapper Blog is back! Solana is here with a report and reflection from week one. She decided not to bring any technology with her this semester, so she wrote her journal entry by hand…

Happy spring! It’s a beautiful season here at Glen Brook - the apple trees are abuzz with pollinators, the lambs are frolicking in their new fresh green pastures, and the lilacs are blooming all around the Gap House.

Come meet us in person! We’ll be at four Gap Year fairs in the Boston area this month. Check out other Gap Year Programs, chat with alums, and get your questions answered. Hope to see you there!

Greetings visitors, it has been a moment since we last spoke! And many exciting things have happened between then and now…check the other blog posts to learn more about our escapades. I, however, will limit myself to discussing this last week, which featured beavers, apples, and the most fearsome creatures of all: mice.