By Susan Sicard, Director of Curriculum & Instruction
Twelve students recently had the opportunity to hike in NH's largest wilderness area on a backpacking adventure with Mrs. Sicard and Coach Langlois. Of the twelve six were from the senior class. When hiking in the wilderness, being a team and communicating with one another is essential. Quickly the team became quite close and enjoyed good fellowship walking through the wilderness. The team left from Lincoln Woods and hiked into the Pemigewasset Wilderness Area. After hiking about 6 miles the team set up camp off trail near a small stream that provided drinking water. For many this was their first experience camping in the backcountry and most of the team slept in hammocks and found it cool in more ways than one, as the night temperatures dropped into the 30’s.
After an early breakfast the team packed up camp and headed to the summit Bondcliff. As the trail opened up to a 360o view, the team was amazed and blessed to see God’s creation expanding out in front of them. To the West they could see the whole of the Franconia ridge, to the northwest the Bonds and Garfield, to the north Mount Washington, to the east the Hancocks, and to the south the Sandwich range. Ben Landry shared “this view was truly amazing and I cannot wait to go back”.
The hike back to the car was 9.8 miles from the summit and had its challenging moments. It was wonderful to see how the students supported and encouraged one another to the end. Sophomore Mathias Clark shared “this trip caused people to push themselves further than they thought possible”. Senior Esther Cross shared “This hike was challenging mentally and physically. At times there was the urge to give up, but since that was not an option, there was no choice but to push through. Once I had this mindset, I began to enjoy the trip more, even during the challenging sections”. In particular the last 3.5 miles seemed like forever, however the team felt very accomplished and is looking forward to planning another backpacking experience for next year. This was a wonderful end of year Outdoor Education experience and the Seniors were glad to have this as a capstone experience.
