The past couple of days in the Canaan Valley have seen many comings and goings—we’ve spent time with several villages and were able to discuss with them their adventures and to hear how they have been able to navigate their on-trail triumphs and challenges. Though the weather has been a bit stormy, time in Four Trails has felt quite bright:
Shaw village is approaching the end of their canoeing adventure—tomorrow they ride the rapids of the Androscoggin River near Errol, NH before returning to camp tomorrow afternoon. Tonight, they’re staying alongside a slow-flowing bend in the Androscoggin River where sometimes moose are spotted across the river. Flag village made it to Wolfeboro today in record time, and tonight they’ll be visited by a coordinator just for some sweet treats and to play games. Because our Explorer villages tour the lakes region close to camp, it’s been nice this summer to get out there and see how the villages are doing on-trail and to spend some more one-on-one time with the campers.
After several days in camp, Katahdin village (or K-town as they’re known around camp) departed camp this morning on bikes headed toward Bar Harbor. While in camp, they were fitted for bikes and yesterday they were able to spend some time out on the road, shaking down to Pier 19 for a nice lunch and then an afternoon of bike riding. They played dodgeball last night with Nesuntabunt village who returned a couple of days ago from their bike trip to Bar Harbor. Today Nesuntabunt took to the hills and hiked to the Ledge and back with fully packed backpacks to begin preparing for their 10-day trek through the Saddlebacks and Bigelows.
One day ahead of Nesuntabunt, Chocorua village departed after breakfast for their adventure in the Maine mountains, but while they were in camp they were able to spend some time doing trail work that will greatly benefit the current and future campers in the Pioneer and Trailblazer programs. In total, they blazed several hundred feet of new trail. We’re proud and thankful for their work!
Our Voyageurs have been incredibly efficient bikers and both groups have traveled great distances. Voyageur Co-Ed traveled 100 miles yesterday from New Glasgow to Sheet Harbor, completing their first century day! Not all groups are able to travel so far in a single day, so we’re proud of their accomplishment. Tonight they’re in Murphy Harbor, a place known for its mussels—they’re planning on chowing down on the local fare. Voyageur Men spent the past several days in Cape Breton, one of the more beautiful places in Nova Scotia. They’re beginning their return trip and are looking forward to smooth biking in the Annapolis Valley.
After hiking Whitecap Mountain yesterday, Odyssey Co-Ed met up with a Merrowvista driver today for their resupply! They’ll be receiving all kinds of fresh foods, including fruits and vegetables (which can be hard to come by in the 100-Mile Wilderness), and they’re looking forward to a rest day quite soon at Cooper Brook Falls. They’ll also be receiving fresh clothes, mail, and all the love that we could fit into the van. Odyssey Women are near the base of Whitecap Mountain, which they will hike tomorrow and then give us a call from the very top (where we know they’ll have some cell service). We’re excited to hear from them and to wish them well for their resupply and rest day as well. As they pass the halfway point of their trek, all of our Odyssey campers are beginning to think forward to Katahdin, the mountain they will all summit at the end of their walk through the quiet Maine woods.