Finding Comfort in Uncertainty - Spring Gap Semester

Now just a few days past the one month mark, we here at Glen Brook are beginning to settle into life in Phase 2 after returning from a week of orienteering. For me at least, there was a sense of ignorance going into our first intensive as I truly had no idea what to expect from this level of outdoor exploration, far elevated from my level of experience. I would soon learn, however, that my anxieties and fears were unfounded.

We began the week by moving into a canvas tent down by the lake, which had been previously set up during a Friday work party. For the ensuing days, we would spend much of our time going in and out of this tent, completing the tasks which allowed us to live freely in the woods, from maintaining the fire, to cooking, to boiling a kettle of water to sanitize our dishes. There is something inherently rejuvenating and fulfilling about the simplicity of life in the woods: the only “chores” are those out of necessity for life, the only time dependent on the rise and set of the heavens.

Our first foray into orienteering began Monday after move-in, when we split into groups of three to traverse the woods of Glen Brook, map and compass in hand. After making our way to three points and back, I felt much more comfortable with the idea of navigating off-trail and without technology. However, over the next couple of days orienteering through Pisgah State Park, it was not just navigation skills that we learned, but also the idea of being comfortable being lost. On Wednesday, our first attempt at orienteering through Pisgah without supervision saw my group travel much farther north than planned, putting us out of reach of our destination. We decided to travel back south along the opposite ridge in hopes of finding a way to cross a reservoir and reach the final point. Along the way, we encountered four breathtaking vistas, one of which we stopped at for lunch. Eventually we made it to the final coordinate, despite missing our midway point entirely. The sound of a “coo-wee” echoing across the water had never sounded so sweet.

The thing is, the point of orienteering was never just to make our way from point A to B to C. If we hadn’t gone so far out of our way that day, we never would have found the incredible views we saw, which I ended up returning to (intentionally this time) the next day on my solo. So, although we may have missed our “point,” the real point, finding comfort in uncertainty, struck home. Now that Phase 2 has begun, I am already beginning to see the ways in which Glen Brook is changing me and my fellow gappers. All good ways, I promise. One month has flown by, and I look forward to seeing just how we continue to grow over the rest of our time together.

Written by Sara N Spring 2021