Exploring Routes - Day 1
Today was the first day of hiking camp! Campers arrived in the morning and got settled in the cottage and then gathered on the dock to meet each other and eat warm banana bread.
We decided as a group to change our original hiking plan and head up Bald Mountain this afternoon. The forecast for tomorrow looked pretty rainy so we all agreed we would prefer to see that bald mountaintop view today. What that meant though was a quick transition from arriving at camp to hitting the mountain!
Before heading out, we spent some time talking through what to pack in your day bag. It’s important to always pack with the idea in mind that things might not always go as planned. We each made an “emergency kit” with a whistle, glow stick, emergency blanket, important phone numbers, snack, etc. We talked through what to do if you ever got lost and how to signal to people looking for you — Not something we will need this week, but a good thing to learn about and have for future hiking adventures. Part of our goal at camp is to help set the campers up for future interest in hiking, confidence in their abilities, and safety when in the outdoors!
Another important thing for hiking is having lots of delicious food :) We made sandwiches, packed our own personalized trail mix, picked out some fresh and dried fruit, and filled our water bottles.
Bald Mountain starts in the woods with some immediate climbing. We took many breaks to drink water and snack along the way. There were several plants we learned about and one we even tasted! Nothing could beat the treat that waited for us two thirds of the way up though - an incredible view and an abundance of wild maine blueberries.
The last third of the hike is on exposed rock and the combination of the view and the blueberries made it very difficult to stay focused on the “hiking” part of the hike.
When we got to the top of Bald Mountain we ate lunch with an expansive view of the mountains and lakes around us - we could even see our lake! Because of our quicker transition this morning, we did some more introductions on top of the mountain and got to know each other a little bit better! Then we started to make our way back down the mountain but had to make a couple of stops along the way to fill up containers with wild blueberries so we could make a pie when we got back to the cottage. We couldn’t just pass by such a delicious opportunity! When we reached the bottom, we celebrated completing such a challenging hike on our first day together!
Upon arriving back at the cottage, a few of us took a quick, refreshing swim in the lake. We then had free time where we took showers, did tick checks, read books, hung out, relaxed on the porch swing, and helped make dinner.
We made pizza over the fire and each camper stretched their own dough and chose their toppings. Everyone helped out with the whole process! Then we ate together on the porch while listening to the loons on the lake.
As the night wound down, we learned and played a new game together. After a little while of playing, we switched to working on friendship bracelets and drinking tea while Chloë read Nancy Drew aloud. Finally it was time to brush our teeth and get into our beds for a little bit of quiet personal time before going to sleep!
It was such an awesome start to the week and we can’t wait for the rest!
