Up and up and up

What a crew!

Sandwiches make Lucy '20 happy

Summer isn’t technically over until September 22, however the cold temperatures in the North Country proved that fall is coming fast and furious! Some people on the team took advantage of this and drove to Tupper Lake to hike as an OD option.

Sandwiches also make Gabby '21 happy!

It's unclear what Tim '21 is doing...

The group turned out to be a good size to move and groove; Tim, Lucy, Jackie, Steph, Graham, Matt, Erin and I started around 10:30 at 40°F and set off into the woods. The first five miles were gradual rollers, so we could keep a consistent run throughout this. I was wearing tights and a short-sleeved shirt and oddly enough I was drenched by the first hour! We didn’t pass too many people, but the ones we did pass had overnight gear and I bet they were chilly last night…it was 39°F at SLU when I woke up!

Graham '22 with a "portable peanut butter packet"

Graham '22 having a good time, as usual

We crossed a bridge at one point and stopped for a water break and this is apparently where we took the wrong turn. Going straight would’ve taken us to Seymour, however we took a right at the rock cairn and continued to Seward (which we didn’t know until we saw the sign at the summit). It started getting steeper at this point, and the run turned into a hike up the muddy ascent. There were some pretty large rock faces that tested your leg length, but luckily, we had each other to literally pull each other up. (Thanks Graham for that extra boost!!) We passed some good look out points toward the top, however there wasn’t much of a view at the summit. We did manage to get some cool photos with Graham’s phone using portrait mode.

Steph '22 on her first ADK hike!

Matt '21 crushing the hike and the granola bar

After a quick bite to eat, we headed back down the mountain. A few of (well, most of us) succumbed to the terrible Mud Monster on the way down and our shoes quickly turned brown. We ran into a nice lady with her beautiful golden retriever on the flats and she asked us “What’s with all this running??” Apparently, she doesn’t know that running will get you places much faster than walking…just saying. 😊

Roomies :)

Our moving time was around 3:50, total time being 4:55, which turned out perfect! We hit The Hub in Tupper Lake on the way home, which is an organic store/restaurant where a couple of us got homecooked organic food. The food was super yummy and hot. It's worth going back again. (They supply the Adirondack semester kids with food, so the lady recognized our SLU clothing when we walked in). Then we got back in time for the well-earned Dana dinner and homework.

Nom nom (Erin '19)

All in all, we had beautiful weather for this hike and got in some good team bonding time. We are looking forward to another great week of captain’s practices and cooler temps. Fall is almost here!! Thanks to Graham for all the photos! 

Until next time,

Gabby Wangler ‘21