Exploring Routes - Day 3

Our morning once again started with a cool dip in the lake followed by breakfast with blueberries from yesterday’s harvest. We then did morning chores and wrote answers on a notecard to personal check in questions.

Once everyone was packed up, we headed out for our adventure. Upon arriving at the trailhead, we were quickly distracted from hiking by two super sweet golden retrievers. Eventually we clipped on our backpacks and headed out! We looked at the map one more time at the trailhead and went through what the hike would look like in terms of elevation. The previous night we had learned about contour lines and so it was easy to get an idea of when the trail would be steep vs flat vs gradual. The hike up was much more gradual than yesterday. We did some mid hike yoga and played several word games along the way.

When we reached the summit there was a fire tower and we all climbed up it. Even one camper, who was afraid of heights, decided to face their fear to see the view from the top! Chloë had carried everyone’s books up the mountain in her backpack and so it only made sense to take some time to relax and read after lunch. We made hot cocoa over a camp stove we brought and drank it while we read.

The way down the mountain was much quicker and upon reaching the bottom the campers were asked if they would prefer to go home or go get ice cream. Surprisingly, they chose ice cream. Who knew! After two great days of hiking, it was well deserved :)

Back at home, we went swimming and then enjoyed some free time. We took showers, put on cozy clean clothes, and brought our books outside to the campfire to read by its warmth next to the lake. After several rounds of the game Anomia, we cleaned up and got ready to cook dinner over the fire.

Tomorrow is set to be our biggest hike yet and so we took some time after dinner to talk about it, answer any questions, and do individual check ins with each camper to see how they were feeling about it.

Before getting in bed to rest up for our hike, we did a shout out circle and drank tea while Chloë read out loud. This routine has been a really nice way to come together as a group and settle down before bed. We have an exciting day ahead of us!