“Rise free from care before the dawn and seek adventures. Let the noon find thee by other lakes, and the night overtake thee everywhere at home. There are no larger fields than these no worthier games than here may be played.”
-Thoreau
These words by Thoreau clearly describe the mission and vision of the Marcellus Outdoor Club, a Marcellus Senior High School student organization dedicated to ecological awareness and environmental education. The club put their mission into adventurous action as they embarked on their annual Adirondack Mountain trip the weekend of October 8, 2010. The first destination for the group was the SUNY ESF Adirondack Ecological Center (AEC) in Newcomb, New York. After setting up lodging at the AEC cabins the outdoor club members participated in an AEC educational program activity before enjoying an evening around the campfire for songs, skits, stories, and warm conversation.
The Adirondack Ecological Center is “the leader in ecological science in the Adirondack Mountains and a major contributor to science internationally.” The center offers environmental courses, workshops, on-site educational programs, internships, and a visitor interpretation center. The highlight of the fall 2010 Adirondack trip was the hike up Big Slide Mountain on Saturday, October 9th. At an elevation of 1292 meters (4,240 feet) Big Slide Mountain is #26 among the Adirondack 46 High Peaks. The mountain is named after a “large slide that occurred in 1830” and the “steep cliff that rises to the summit”. A bright blue sky and a colorful autumn day greeted the Marcellus student climbers as they made their way to the summit. The Marcellus hikers left the trail parking lot at 9:00 AM and reached the Big Slide summit at 1:00 PM. All in all, the round trip hike took approximately seven (7) hours and covered eleven (11) miles. Marcellus Senior High School students and chaperones who participated in the Big Slide adventure included:
Students
Lucas Burdiken
Adam Stotlar
Lucas Potter
Mallory Quinn
Thomas Manitta
Ellen Brooks
Lauren Abee
Colton O’Neal
Chaperones
Sarah Birmingham
John Birmingham
Karen Kraft
Ellen Schneider
Dan Irby
Kathy Irby
Future 2010-2011 outdoor club activities will include snowshoeing, skiing, biking, rock climbing, ice skating and kayaking. Club members look to participate in one outing a month. The environmental group will also be meeting with the Walker Exchange Students from Newcastle, England on October 31st and participating in the Driver Middle School Mustang Pride Run on November 7th.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment