Week Seven: Backcountry Adventures
Week 7 found us gappers deep on the Long Trail in Vermont as we set off on yet another trip to the backcountry.
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. Although it only took us about 2 hours to hike the 3 miles to the shelter, during that time we got to experience a small hailstorm that was passing through. None of us had been expecting the odd weather, but it was still exciting to see hail as it meant that there was a possibility of seeing snow. When we arrived at the campsite, we found that there was a group of three older men who were staying in the shelter for the night. Some people in the group decided to set up their tents but others decided to sleep on the bunks in the shelter. After a nice dinner around the fire and a round of Rummikub, some of the gappers went to sleep in the tents while those in the shelter had a warm night due to the men keeping the wood heater fed all night.
The next morning, the group woke up and prepared for a longer day of hiking. The leaders of the day, Clay and Izzy, directed the group first to Prospect Rock but we were interrupted when it started to snow. Even though the flakes melted as soon as we touched them, it was still amazing to be out in the backcountry experiencing snow. When we got to Prospect Rock we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the valley in front of us and even snow capped mountains in the distance. After admiring the view, and taking lots of photos, we sat down for a map skills lesson led by the gappers who had been in the Outdoor Leadership apprenticeship. We quickly got back on the trail though in order to walk another mile to another shelter for a quick lunch before starting the second half of the hike. The last 3 miles meant leaving the Long Trail to head to the Branch Pond trail, but the change was smoothly navigated by the day’s leaders and we ended up at our campsite on the edge of the pond. We got to watch the sunset over the pond and the almost full moon rise as the temperature started to dip. However, Nora and Maggie saved the day by having us put hot water bottles in our sleeping bags to help keep at least some of the cold at bay.
We woke up with the sun on Thursday morning to a temperature in the mid 30s, and got ready to head to our next shelter quickly. The hike was a shorter one, but due to the changing terrain we took time to challenge ourselves by balancing on logs to cross over mud and water, walking on thin wooden planks, and even a calf high river crossing. The trail we had been on reconnected back to the Long Trail by a large shelter where we, and some other college students, stopped for lunch. As the leaders of the day (Allie, Ryder, Tadashi) had kept up a decent pace throughout the day, there was plenty of time to spend down at Stratton Lake. Some of the gappers played games while others read or even went swimming in the freezing water, but everyone ended the afternoon with tying knots together. Dinner consisted of soup and homemade ashcakes, but the highlight of the night was sitting down by the lake as the stars came up and reflected over its surface.
Friday morning started out with some challenges, but all were resolved in the end. The entire group had slept in the shelter so that we could get on the trail faster, even though it meant eating breakfast during the hike and not before. After walking for about a mile, we were unable to locate the water source that we had been hoping to use to refill our water bottles and make breakfast. We continued on for a little while longer but Marie, Magnus, and Campbell, our leaders, decided that we should split up into groups to find water at a previous source and to start making breakfast for everyone. Many of our water filters had broken while we were on trail and so we were lucky when we had plenty of water purification tablets that we used to make the stream water drinkable as we finished up eating. We continued our hike up to the top of Stratton Mountain which reminded us of hiking Mt. Monadnock from week one. The climb was the hardest hiking of the trip, complete with steep inclines and patches of ice, but we were rewarded with the view from the top of the fire tower at the summit. From the top of the tower we could see the lakes we had hiked between, as well as 4 different states. Our energy renewed, we headed quickly down the mountain to the end point of our hike. We finished the trip by eating dinner at a local diner where we had a great meal.
The weekend was full of resting from backpacking although many of the gappers continued to stay active. On Saturday, some of the gappers and Maggie headed into the nearby town of Peterborough to spend time. Some of the gappers headed to Fall Ball, an annual contra dancing event while Maggie and the others spent time wandering around the town. Sunday meant yet another Glen Brook potluck that many of the gappers have come to enjoy, especially as new recipes continue to be made. Instead of programming on Monday, the gappers had a self-care day which meant many spent their time reading, going on walks in the woods, or swimming in Tarzan’s hole. The evening ended up being busy as the gappers were asked to help Farmer Sam and Charlie load hay bales into the 3rd floor of the barn. It was a lot of work, but with the collective effort most of the hay was stacked and put away to be given to livestock during the winter.
Hear From a Gapper:
Read Ryder’s account of his favorite parts of the backpacking trip below:
My favorite parts of backpacking were seeing the great and beautiful views, and all of the trees changing colors. We also met some really interesting people on trail. We spent a lot of time hacky-sacking which was very fun, and we got to learn a new game called “dogs”.
Look out for more photos once our disposable cameras are developed!