From woods to water, the senior class expedition had the students traveling on trails, bushwhacking through the forest, and paddling in canoes. Everyone carried a big pack, always generously offering to carry group gear. Their first day on the water was spent singing sea chantries and camp songs, laughing, splashing each other, and observing loons, the clouds, and the colors of the water. The second day on the water was a silent paddle. The class was mostly successful, though this, by far, was the biggest challenge of the trip.
With one student as the tent manager, the students set up four tents each day. It was a process, made even longer by needing to find the perfect sticks for stakes. They did a fantastic job of perfectly setting up each tent every night. Their campsite looked like it could have been in a brochure.
Another student was in charge of the tarp, and he did a great job selecting the spot. Other students would volunteer to climb someone’s back or a tree to get the guy wire high enough. Often the hardest part of setting up the tarp is tying the knots. It’s always a struggle and a hard skill to learn.
A third student was the water manager. Though water wasn’t a challenge to find, it was a job to get it all filtered or boiled and into water bottles. It took a couple of days to get the system sorted out and timing perfected. The students were so appreciative of the endless procession of full water bottles throughout the expedition.
Two students served as navigators. At first, the job was not too difficult as they were traveling on well-established trails. As they got deeper into the forest these students increased their commitment to their job and showed inspiring leadership as the students bushwhacked their way up to Stratton Pond. They let out a loud ‘Woot!’ as they were led right to the edge of the beautiful pond.
Another student’s job was fire and firewood manager. He brought his bow drill and with it his greatest challenge, to start a fire without matches. He worked and worked and worked at it the first night showing great determination. He got a lot of smoke but never an ember and reluctantly moved on to the flint and steel after more than two hours of attempts. Due to circumstances of long days, wet wood, hungry hikers, and other miscellaneous factors, they never got to see the fruits of his labors with the bow drill. They did have a great roaring fire every night started by a spark from the flint and steel and kept tended by the fire manager.
The kitchen manager, was in charge of all the pots and pans, bowls, spoons, and ladles. He carried it all without complaint and packed and unpacked it each day. The snack manager and historian kept everyone well-fed and though it was definitely a jerky and dried fruit fest throughout the week, she always delivered their snacks with a smile. She worked closely with the food manager who was in charge of all the food. It’s always a challenge to know how much to cook and after eating cheesy spaghetti leftovers for breakfast, he quickly got the portions dialed in.
The health and hygiene manager was responsible for everything from blister care to tooth brushing to digging and caring for the hole for the group latrine. She did great work with this multi-faceted job and her commitment to oral hygiene is commendable!
Two students were in charge of boats, paddles, and PFD’s. As a team they kept the group floating as well as mindfully taking excellent care of all the equipment.
The weather was also a big job and one student learned all about mare’s tails and mackerel skies, gauging the temperature, and predicting how the weather might be changing. She did a great job recording the information and reporting on it each morning.
One student created beautiful pocket-sized laminated song books for each person, complete with a personalized flower for the front cover. There was so much singing, all day, every day. At the top of Stratton Mountain just before heading off on solo, the students circled and sang Falling in Love With You.
On the last morning, the guides paddled through the early morning fog from their hide-a-way island campsite back to the takeout at the other end of the reservoir to meet the students after their solo. They watched the sunrise over the hills, the breeze picked up, and the fog slowly lifted off the lake, and they heard the students singing their grace before breakfast at their campsite.
The students arrived at the meeting point at exactly the planned time bursting with stories, song, and joy. In their final circle, they shared appreciations for each other, shed tears, laughed, and ultimately sat still and quiet, letting the silence fill the spaces in their hearts; the caffeinated ferrets’ ship becalmed at last.
From guide Maria Cimonetti:
“Most senior trips I’ve taken part in, the overwhelming feeling is that of ‘moving on.’ With this group, at this time in the world, the feeling was quite different. Quarantine was for many, a reminder of the loneliness of isolation. Our trip was a celebration of coming back together, a little bruised, battered, and annoyed by life’s circumstances, but immensely grateful for each other and the lessons interactions offer us. After Maria’s Amazing Morning Group Stretch each day I posed to the group the question, How are you going to live your life today? The answer was always beautifully reflected in their actions: with a deep reverence for nature, laughter, song, courage, commitment, and connection. They are going to do great things in this world. I have no doubt.”
