Day 18: Week 3 Reflection

Today was a much more quiet week than the previous two. It was a mixture of week one and week two because we did things both on and off campus, so it was a nice way to wrap up and summarize everything that we have done. In terms of hiking we have done easier trails on the most part, but time wise we did not fall behind when compared to the other two weeks. I have personally enjoyed this week a lot because although we did not go to very different places each day and our explorations really narrowed down to the Proctor woodlot I found that I had time to prioritize the other part of our senior project, which is reading and writing. In particular writing and reflecting, because I have had more alone time both hiking and to free write on my journal, and this has allowed me to really think about my past here at Proctor and what my future is going to be like, at least for the next five years. 

I find that this week was really about reflections. I’ve though about many things; some I wrote in my journal, other times my mind was going too fast tying things together and I just sat in the woods pondering. But I find that I have come more in contact with myself, if that makes sense. I took time to listen to what I thought, to analyze why I though in a certain way, to just hear myself out, which sounds so basic but I realize now that I don’t do this often enough. I was away from technology, away from people (including Daisy some days) for hours and hours, and I just though on what I like, why I like it, and what I am going to do to keep protecting the things I enjoy in the future.

I think that although we did visit some beautiful places this week, like the Bulkhead (I don’t think my journey at Proctor would have been complete without our visit to the Bulkhead) the most meaningful thing I did this week was think. Graduation is so close now, and I am so very glad that I had time to adjust and prepare myself for this great change; great both because it is a significant change and because it will bring many opportunities, and I want to be mentally open to explore each and every single one of them. 

Now that I have taken the time to hear myself out I feel like I know myself better, and I am more ready to graduate (although it still feels like a really bittersweet moment). 

Day 17: Actually Found the Bulkhead

So if you go back to Day 14, I tried to find the Bulkhead on my own, and I wasn't able to find it. Today went much better though, because Daisy and I hiked up to the Cabin and decided that we had to go to the Bulkhead at least once before graduating. So, we started hiking up, found the trail (which was actually a different trail than the one I'd gone on before, which would explain why I didn't get to the Bulkhead). Neither of us had been there before, so we were kind of guessing. We didn't know how long the hike would be (it was a bit longer than I'd expected) nor how hard it would be (it was a bit harder than I expected too), but once we got there the views were so beautiful and impressive, a lot more beautiful than I expected as well. We took our pictures and just sat there for a little bit taking everything in. Lately I have begun to process that I'll be leaving in less than a week, and going up to the Bulkhead made me feel a bit better, more ready to go. Deep down I felt as though I hadn't fully accomplished my work during my four years here because I hadn't been able to find the Bulkhead, and I felt really accomplished when we finally made it up there. The views were so beautiful, and I am really glad that we found our way there.

Day 16: Proctor Hikes

Today I hiked on my own a little bit more. It was a more moderate hike; I stayed on trails that I already knew, including the Cistern Trail which I think is one of my favorite trails around campus.
I really enjoyed this time of hiking in silence, it's very different from hiking with someone else. I explored a little bit around Mac House and the trails that leave from there, taking some random turns just to see where I would end up.

In the afternoon I read a little bit more, but overall this was a pretty quiet day for me.

Day 15: Water Day

Today really revolved around water. In the morning we woke up early to do our own polar swim again, since the last time we did it we had a lot of fun. However once we got there we found that the water was a bit cold, so we decided to make some time and wait for the day to warm up. We hiked around the area for a little bit, and then we mustered the courage to jump in (it wasn't that bad once we were in the water).

In the afternoon we headed to Profile Falls in Bristol. Karen suggested that we go there and the place was so beautiful, Daisy and I decided to hang out there for a little bit. One thing that really surprised me is that the waterfall smelled like ocean water. The weather was really nice, there were no bugs, and the cascade was surprisingly big and impressive. I'm really glad we decided to go there.        

             

          

Day 14: Nature Walk

Today was a more relaxed day after the adventure at Mud Pond that left us a little battered. We woke up pretty early and headed to the woods; our initial plan was to hike up to the Bulkhead. However, halfway there we realized that the trails were not going to be very doable since Dave Pilla had mentioned how not taken care of the trail is. So instead we decided to just explore the trails around Mac House. My favorite one was the Cistern trail, it was very pretty and quiet and I'd never really heard of it before.

Later on the day I was feeling pretty brave so I decided to try the Bulkhead again. I hiked up to the cabin on my own, and the experience was so different from the other hikes I've done so far. I walked a lot slower, and I was looking up as I hiked, which I usually forget to do. Normally when I'm hiking up I'm so focused on getting there that I forget to enjoy the hike itself. Today though I cruised by the woods quietly and slowly, looking for chipmunks and up to the tree tops. Once I got to the cabin I sat down and wrote a bit about this experience, wrote a poem, and then kept going on the trail to the Bulkhead. Now, the highest I've ever gone in the Proctor woodlands is the cabin; I've never really talked about the trail with anyone either nor gotten any directions, so my hike today was just full of guessing and hoping that I was making the right turns (which I think I did). The trail was really pretty, but not very good as a trail because it was a little run down – there were bushes and thin trees starting to grow in the middle of the trail, so most of the time I was trying to make my way through the foliage. I ended up getting to this clearing, and I found two smaller trails. I tried to take the one on the right, but I had to turn back because I just did not see very clearly what was part of the trail and what was woods.


Once I got back to the cabin I wrote for a little bit longer and I sketched the trail (or what I could see of it). Overall today was a very different experience that I really enjoyed.

Day 13: Mud Pond Part II

On Sunday night we headed up to Mud Pond for the second time this week, only this time we were much better prepared and brought everything we needed to spend the night.
The day was cold and windy so we managed to avoid all the flies, but unfortunately that stopped us from being able to start a fire (it kept dying because of the wind). We still managed to enjoy the evening though and we cooked a delicious dinner that we then ate while watching the beautiful pond right in front of us. Cooking was very fun and we have a video coming up soon that shows some of our many cooking adventures, because we had to get a bit creative at times. But dinner was delicious and everything worked out great.

We set up our things on the platform and after washing our dishes down at the creek decided to read and write before heading to bed. We went to sleep pretty early, and once we woke up the wilderness really decided to test us. Within our first ten minutes awake we ran out of gas to warm up our breakfast, our lighter stopped working, we found out that a mouse/rat/squirrel had been munching on my bagel during the night, and Daisy sliced her finger open. At this point we were pretty cold and still tired, so we decided to head back to campus so that Daisy could get her finger taken care of (it was a pretty deep cut, nothing too serious though) and then go get some breakfast. So Sunday was a better day for us than Monday, but honestly that dinner was so good that it was kind of worth the cold temperatures during the night (the cut seemed pretty painful though, sorry Daisy).

Day 12: Senior Project Polar Swim & Weekly Reflection

This Saturday we decided to wake up early and head to our own polar swim. We fought against the early morning laziness and we overcame the cool morning air and carefully walked into Elbow Pond. The water was not as bad as I'd expected, but it still took us a while to get used to the cold. Actually, we spent about five minutes just standing there before we finally had the courage to jump all the way in. The morning was beautiful, so was the pond, and there were no black flies. The experience was a lot better than I'd expected and I had a lot of fun doing it, we may even repeat next Saturday.

This week was very different from our first one. Location wise, we got to spend a lot more time exploring the Proctor woodlands which was very refreshing. It was nice to come back to campus, I'd actually missed it. And there are so many more trails and places to visit around campus than I'd originally expected. This week was very special to me because I had a lot of time to think about my four years at Proctor and what they meant to me, and also about what I am going to take away with me next year, how I've grown and how I still want to keep going. The day we spent at the cabin is one of my favorite ones so far, for I finally had the chance to mentally disconnect from the frantic schedule I always seem to follow (although doing this was hard at the beginning) and really spend some time jolting down ideas about how I have changed and how I want to change in the future.
It was also really nice to be around campus and see everyone again. The day we spent with Mel's Intro to Lit classes were actually very productive because we had to really explain what we were doing, and this reminded me of my goals for these three weeks. It was also very inspiring to see that the freshmen class seems to be so interested about the woods, and I really tried to emphasize that they should spend some time getting to know all the cool places around Proctor because this is some advice I wish I'd gotten when I was a freshman. Still, I was happy to hear that so many students want their senior projects to involve some kind of hiking/outdoors activity.
We have done so many things this week, and they have all been so different. I have really enjoyed everything we have done and I feel like I am never bored and always doing something, which is a great feeling.

Day 11: Cascade Falls

We woke up this morning and decided to head to Cascade Falls near Elbow Pond. The weather was nice, still a little hot, and there weren't a lot of black flies which made the hike super fun. When we got there I was so intrigued because as we hiked we found this very changing scenery. It's very dry at the beginning, like a desert, then it turns muddy, then it's very green all of a sudden. So the views while we hiked were really interesting, and once we got to the waterfalls I was very impressed by their beauty. I was expecting this little waterfall but I was met with this big, slanted rock that was much bigger than I'd imagined, and water was rapidly running down. The waterfalls really exceeded my expectations and because of the relatively low number of black flies we were able to stay for a while, just enjoying being there.

After our hike we talked to Dave Pilla to double check that Proctor has a fire permit because Daisy and I want to host a bonfire tomorrow night (we hope that after today's rain the fire danger will go down). Dave gave us the okay, so our next stop was Hannafords. Now we are ready and have lots of s'mores to make, so we hope that everyone shows up tomorrow.

After lunch we continued to prepare for the bonfire and chopped some wood. Dave taught us how to do it, and it is actually much harder than it looks (Dave just makes it seem so effortless). We have everything we need though, so now we can just hope that people come tomorrow!

Day 10: River and Flies

Today was a slower day. After yesterday's trip we were both pretty tired, so at around 11 o'clock (Daisy and I had to go to assembly for the induction) we headed to Phelps Trail and hiked around the Proctor woodlands for a little bit. Although these hikes are not as challenging as some of the other ones we've done, I enjoyed getting to explore around Proctor. We just took some time to take some new trails that looked fun, and the weather was a little bit against us – it was hot and all the black flies decided to tag along with us during the hikes.
That was the more physical version of today, but we also took some time to be creative.
I took some time to sketch today which felt awesome. Yesterday I sketched for the first time in about a year, and I realized how much I missed it. So today I was better prepared and brought some paper and charcoal and started sketching some trees around me.
Because it was so hot outside we went to the river to cool down before lunch, and then took some time to read. I am so close to finishing The Jungle Book which I am really loving. During all of our hikes and reflections I often think back to the same topic, which is how there are many communities that I am a part of and I am about to join a new one. When I start school in September I am going to be part of this foreign establishment that is much bigger and allows be to be much more independent than ever before. For this I find that The Jungle Book is a great guide. From all of the animals in the book that are antagonists (Tabaqui, Shere Khan...) I believe that the monkeys are easily the scariest, worst of them all. I think that their lack of Law is what makes them so unpredictable, so unstable and, ultimately, so scary. This has a deeper meaning for me for two reasons: one, I'm going to study law, so it's interesting to learn about the importance of organized communities for Rudyard Kipling. Second, I think that this Law can be interpreted as something deeper than just social structure, and that is as a personal compass, as a strong moral base. I like to think that I have strong values that I adhere to, and this novel reminds me of their importance and makes me aware of how necessary they are.

Day 9: The Cabin

Today was another Proctor woodlands day. We woke up early in the morning and went to the first few classes, where we taught Intro to Lit with Mel and Chase. They are reading Into the Wild, so we though it would be fun if we went to their class and explained what our senior project is about. So we started off the morning summarizing what it is that we do and explain why it's important to us and how we feel about it, which was a very nice reminder now that we are halfway through our project. Afterwards we asked them what they would want their senior project to be, and at least half of the class in both blocks mentioned hiking or adventuring across the country, which made me really happy because recently I'd been thinking that not enough kids appreciate the woods anymore. It was so nice to be able to explain to someone else why we are doing something and then receive such encouraging responses.

The last class ended at 9.50, then we headed to the dinning hall to make some sandwiches for our lunch and proceeded to hike up to the cabin. We made it there rather quickly and we got ready to spend the day there. The weather was so nice, but the black flies began to swarm around us and that got very annoying. Luckily though the wind kept them at bay here and then. 

Sitting at the cabin was a very strange yet enjoyable experience for me. When we first arrived I felt weird: it was very nice up there and the cabin looked very homey and overall the place just looked very inviting. But once I found a rock and sat down I started to get anxious; I kept looking for things to do, I got stressed out because I felt like I was supposed to be doing something very important and that it was just wrong to just sit down. This started only five minutes after we arrived, and so I started feeling all these things, all this guilt, and it was making me pretty uncomfortable until I acknowledged that I was feeling this way because I am just so used to being on hyper-mode all the time. Every single day I have this tight schedule and I am always running from one thing to the next, always busy. So when I found that I had hours and hours of free time I honestly did not know what to do, much less how to feel. I grabbed my journal and started to free write, which made me feel better, and I put words to the stress that I was feeling from doing nothing (which sounds contradictory). After this I was able to sit back and relax, look around and write a few poems, and I even sketched for the first time in almost a year. 

I think that our senior project is benefitting me in many ways. The most obvious ones are exercise from hiking, the beautiful places that we get to go to, and the time to read and free write. But also it's giving me the opportunity to slow down and look at where I am, both physically and mentally, and prepare myself for this huge change that is about to happen in my life. I've been having all this time to reflect on my past at Proctor and to think about next year and what I want my college life to be like, and I just feel so much more prepared now because I have actually taken the time to think about what I want to take away from high school and with what attitude I want to start college. I know that I want to keep some of that anxiousness I get from doing nothing because that will stop me from being lazy (I am a big procrastinator), but I also know myself better and know that every now and then I just have to stop myself and sit back, relax, and appreciate where I am.

Today was a slow yet very meaningful day, full of reflections but also fun times. I did things that I haven't done since I was little: I climbed on a fallen tree, played with some rocks by the river and tried to climb up some rocks in the middle of a creek. 

By the end of the day I'd been outside for nine hours straight and I had not touched my phone one single time (sorry for the lack of pictures!). Disconnecting from everything for one day felt so great, and I feel so good because of all the time I took to just think and get out of my hyper-mode.

Day 8: Kearsarge

Today was our second attempt to hike up a mountain, and we finally succeeded. This was a very special day because we managed to summit our first mountain, Kearsarge. The hike itself was fun and a bit challenging at times, but not nearly as challenging as Mount Monadnock. After that experience, I feel like I can hike up the Everest (hopefully I won't have to test this anytime soon).
Once we got to Kearsarge, we had two options: a shorter, steeper trail, or a longer yet easier trail. Because we were right behind this other group of hikers (that by the way looked like they were ready to actually hike the Everest) that were going up the steeper trail, so Daisy and I decided to take the longer trail. This proved to not be the wisest choice because the way down was very, very steep and I actually fell down twice (I'm good though). We still had a lot of fun though, and once we got to the summit the view was incredible. It was so pretty and rewarding, and it reminded me of our failed hike up Mount Monadnock.

 This made me a bit sad because I started thinking about what we'd missed out on last Wednesday because of the weather, but these thoughts weren't with me for too long because I also remember how much fun we had during that hike/climb.
As we were coming down the mountain we decided to check for geocaches, and we saw that there was one on our way down. This was a very exciting thing because we finally found our second geocache – it only took us two weeks. So, by the time we made it back to the car we were very happy because of the hike and extra happy because of the geocache.
Before heading back to campus we wanted to prepare a little for tomorrow's stay at the cabin, so we went to the grocery store and got yummy supplies.
After that we went back to campus where I spent some time writing in my journal reflecting about today's hike and what it felt like to be at the summit.

Day 7: Back at Proctor

Today we finally got to explore some of the Proctor woodlands. This is actually something that I have really been looking forward to because I have heard such amazing things about the trails we have on campus yet I have barely begun to explore them. Learning more about Proctor and experiencing the campus in a new way is something that I wanted to get out of this senior project, and I think that today was a very good start.
This morning we headed to Mud Pond, which I'd never been to before (Daisy had been there once already). I was surprised to see that the pond was so close to campus and while I was sitting there I realized how lucky I am to be able to go on a short hike and get to this beautiful, secluded place. While we were at Mud Pond I spent most of my time writing on my journal, and I basically reached two conclusions: firstly, being there kind of made me sad, because I finally realized how much I've missed during my four years at Proctor. I have been surrounded by beautiful places such as this and I have only just begun to explore them, and now I only have three weeks until I graduate. So, on one hand, I wish I'd taken more advantage of the woods my previous years. On the other hand, though, I realized how lucky I am to be able to experience this at all, to be given the opportunity to manage myself and to visit these beautiful places, and to be able to have the time and be carefree and just enjoy myself and nature.
         

At some point in my journal free write I got to the topic of privilege. Privilege is something that I think a lot about because I think I am very privileged. I have a family and friends that love me, I have a good home, a great education, I've lived in a good environment, and I have many opportunities for my future. My mom always told me to appreciate everything that I have and right now I am very grateful for everything that Proctor has given me, and today I was reminded to just enjoy these last few weeks and take advantage of every opportunity that I have while I'm still here.

I also got to do a (very rough) sketch of Mud Pond, but I really think I am better with words that with color pencils, so I also wrote a description of Mud Pond and what it felt like to be sitting there. I'm working to have a nice collection of writings by the end of the project so that I can always look back to this moment and remember the good times I had during senior project.
On our way back to campus we decided to take a few random trails that luckily ended taking us back to campus. This was very fun because we just chose a random trail that we wanted to explore and just hiked it. In the afternoon we did something kid of similar. Neither Daisy nor I had ever been to Mega, so we decided to try to find it on our own. This took us quite a few tries because we took some of the trails behind the tennis courts, but we finally made it there. Once we got to Mega I felt pretty sad that I didn't get to see it while it was still standing, but I have hopes because it seems like if someone puts some work into it we could rebuild Mega. I loved seeing that the ground was covered in green grass, that made me feel better. I have talked to some of the juniors, and I think I convinced a few of them to work on this for their senior project, which I am very excited about.

Day 6: Weekly Reflection

This week felt so long but I can’t believe it’s already over. We have had the opportunity to do so many things; our days have been full with us waking up early and coming back late, always doing something. I have really enjoyed everything we’ve done though, and although the weather hasn’t been the best so far, the rainy and foggy days made our hikes adventures and our geocaching more challenging, but I would not have it any other way. A major factor in our experience this week was the weather, and it worked both for and against us. On Tuesday when we visited Walden Pond the light rain and cloudy skies really complemented the ideas I had of Thoreau and his hut, and in my opinion a rainy day is better than a sunny one to visit Walden. I had visited Walden Pond before, always with nice weather, but I think that this Tuesday I finally got the experience that Thoreau talks about. I also had the awareness to stop and reflect, and I came prepared with Thoreau’s writings, which made the visit even more special. 

That is an example of how the weather worked in our favor. On Wednesday, though, the weather really posed an inconvenience. I think that the rain and fog on Wednesday ruined our plans but not our hike: we were unable to make it to the summit of Mount Monadnock, but I had a lot of fun whilst hiking the trail. I had never been in a situation like this before, with the mountain working against me, but I have to say that I really enjoyed the challenge. Even though the day did not go how we planned it at all, I don’t see it as a failure as much as an unexpected adventure. I also really liked the time I spent reading because I have not had time to do this in what feels like forever. I forgot how relaxing reading a good book can be, and I am so glad I finally have the opportunity  to spend some time reading. The free writes are also going great, I carry my notebook everywhere with me now just in case I have something else to write or an idea crosses my mind. Overall, I feel much more relaxed and I have thoroughly enjoyed week one. I can’t wait for week two!

Day 5: Sunny return to campus

Today was sunny for the first time all week. The good weather didn't last all day though, but at least we got to enjoy a morning and early afternoon of warm temperatures and sunshine that made us want to just spend hours outside. In the morning we got ready to leave Daisy's house and return to campus, and as we were getting our things in the car we realized how nice the weather was. Because we didn't want to waste it, as we were on our way to Proctor we decided to stop for a hike at Oak Hill Trails in Concord, NH. We managed to find the trails and decided to hike up Tower Trail, one of the longer hikes.

The hike was super fun and much easier than our Mount Monadnock experience, so we really enjoyed the warm weather and beautiful trails. The forest was so alive; we kept seeing squirrels, beetles, and we heard birds singing the whole time. The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, and we were surrounded by beautiful scenery. Overall, our time spent hiking today was a great success. 

We also had a lot of fun during the hike and managed to get some pretty good footage for our upcoming video, so keep checking for this video because it looks like it has a lot of potential. A little sneak peek: Daisy shows her moves as she sings and dances in front of a trail sign.

When we got to the top of the trail we left our mark again by making a cairn. We are going to try to do this whenever we hike somewhere and we'll keep documenting it! We were a little tired and hot at this point, but I am so glad we decided to stop and hike this trail because I really did enjoy myself. 

Once we got to campus we decided to take advantage of what was left of this nice weather and so we headed to the river. We brought our notebooks and books, and Daisy made a beautiful watercolor piece that you can check out in her blog (http://bewleyda.blogspot.com). While I was reading The Jungle Book sitting at the bridge I realized how lucky I am to be give the opportunity to explore both myself and the nature around me and just enjoy the simple things that I often don't have time to appreciate. For example, today I sat outside enjoying the breeze that got rid of most of the black flies (if only for a few minutes) and heard the rustling of leaves and the running water as I read a great book. This has only been the first week of senior project and although we have had some mishaps and the weather hasn't exactly been ideal, I have had a lot of fun and I'm ready for the next few weeks!

Day 4: Recharging our batteries

Today was a much needed rest day. After all the adventures we've been having this week we really felt drained, so we took this morning off and caught up on some sleep. While yesterday's endeavor we felt like we wanted to keep today to a few easier hikes, so after Daisy's emergency doctor's appointment (http://bewleyda.blogspot.com, don't worry she's fine now) we decided to try geocaching again. Daisy's house leads to some very cool trails, so we explored for a little while. We also tried to find four different geocaches, but unfortunately we did not find any. I am now very convinced that someone took the geocaches at some locations because we really did spend a lot of time trying to find them to no avail.
We still enjoyed our hike though, and we then headed back to the house and caught up with our reading. Our original plan for yesterday was to reach Mount Monadnock's summit and then spend some time reading and reflecting. Because we were unable to reach the summit though, we did not have time to read. It was nice to finally spend a significant amount of time reading, it felt good to pay attention to our books. I was also able to start reading The Jungle Book, which I've been meaning to do for a while. We read it last year in my English class, but we did not get to finish it and it's been on the top of my reading list since then. With homework and classes though I didn't find the time to start during the school year. A couple of weeks ago I saw the new movie that just came out, and I absolutely loved it. That really reminded me of my goal to read the whole book and I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity that senior project offers me to be able to take care of my reading habits, which have been pretty much nonexistent since I started school (personal reading list I mean, not school-assigned books). I don't think I've read a book just because I wanted to since Thanksgiving, so I was very excited to start The Jungle Book today.
The book is absolutely amazing. I love every page, and I think it might be amongst my top ten favorite books (I''l get back to you on this one as soon as I finish it). I really love the references to the 'law of the jungle' because they show that although we may not always understand it, there is a reason why things are the way they are, why we behave the way we do. And it is so nice to be able to live in a society that cohabits with other groups, other cultures. In the book the pack of wolves are the "free people," and I love the interactions between the animals because they are based on simple facts, on this so very raw and sincere synergy. I look forward to keep reading this book and write more of my own thoughts about this. The book is small and light, so I'll be able to take it with me on our next hikes.
We ended the day watching Wild, a movie that I had heard about but never seen. Daisy had read the book before, but we both enjoyed watching the connection between the main character and nature. I personally hope to feel that way by the end of this project, and I'm already feeling more in touch with my surroundings although it's only been four days.

Day 3: Slippery Slopes

It seems like each day is more exciting than the last. Today was a real adventure that tested our mountaineering experience while the weather hindered our hike (it actually ended up being more of a climb). The complications started off early in the morning: as we were getting ready to leave, we checked the news to see if there were any updates on the weather because it was supposed to rain for most of the day. As we wait for the weather report, we are surprised to see that yesterday two 18 year old girls had to be rescued at Mount Monadnock. That sounds familiar. We were shocked but we felt confident in our skills and good judgement, so we headed to Jaffrey, NH (that's right Chris Farrell I know where it is!) and were again surprised by the weather. There was a light rain that we weren't too worried about, but as we neared the mountain we were concerned for we knew that Mt Monadnock had to be there (we were only three minutes away according to the GPS) but we couldn't actually see it because of a cloud bank.

With our unwavering commitment and dedication, we excitedly headed to the White Dot Trail. Although we knew that we probably weren't going to summit the mountain today because of the fog (the park rangers warned us before going up), we still wanted to attempt to get as high up as possible before we had to turn back around. Twenty minutes into the hike, though, we were met with this seemingly endless wall of rocks that we had to climb up to. So, our hiking experience became a climbing experience, but a fun experience nonetheless.

As we continued to climb, the fog became thicker and thicker. We could still see a bit ahead of us though, so we decided that we would keep going until we could no longer see the trail. Here is a video we took when we got to a clearing; we were a bit confused because we could not see and it seemed like we were above the tree line, but according to the map we still had a mile to go before we were above the tree line. 

At this point we were weary of the fog and a bit concerned because we had been climbing up these steep rocks that just kept getting more slippery and we had to be very careful of slipping, especially when going down. Here I am nervously laughing as we contemplate the section of the trail that we had just climbed, and how hard it is going to be when we have to go down.

Like the brave souls we are, we kept going up but, eventually, had to stop to think about our plan. We basically had three options: head back, stop and wait to see if the weather improved, or continue the trail until there was no visibility. 

We kept going for a while, but the trail just kept getting steeper and the rocks kept getting smoother, making our way up increasingly harder. Eventually we reached our turning point: a sheet rock too smooth for us to climb with water running down its surface, making it even harder for us to climb. At this point the wind was picking up, it was raining harder, and the fog was very thick. Still, it was the slipperiness of the rock that got us. Here is picture of me happily smiling next to the rock that got the best of us. 

We were a bit disappointed that we didn't get to summit Mount Monadnock, but we understand that this is because of the weather, which we have no control over. Overall, the hike was an adventure and we had fun at every step of the way, even when we realized that we had to turn around. We were unable to stick to our original plan, but this hike was honestly so fun that I wouldn't have had it any other way. 

Day 2: Skipping into Walden

Today was a pretty exciting day. We woke up early and arrived at Walden Pond early in the morning, where we found a beautiful pond that was a bit too touristy for our liking. The body of water emerged from nowhere, and we walked around it in a rainy, humid morning, which I think is the perfect weather to visit Walden. Personally, that's how I imagine Thoreau: pondering by the shores, taking long meaningful walks, finding shelter from the cold weather in his little self-made hut. We also found some chipmunks (Charlie was our favorite, he was a bit shy at first but we called him and he came back! A video of him will be coming up soon) and birds who were singing and chirping as we hiked around Walden Pond.

   

As we made our way around the pond, we discovered the spot where Thoreau built his cabin. I loved finding this place because I could imagine Thoreau spending his days and nights in this spot, looking at the view of Walden that I was looking at. Visiting Walden helped me envision Thoreau's experience, and once we arrived at the site, we made time to read excerpts from Walden and free write in our journals. Once we were done, we left our mark by stacking a cairn next to where the cabin once was. 

Below is a picture of the view from the hut:

As we continued our hike around Walden, we hiked a bit higher away from the shore and found the railroad tracks. When I was reading Walden I kept wondering where the tracks were, because although I could hear the trains rolling by near where we were, I could not see them although Thoreau said he could. However, once we hiked a bit we found ourselves right by the railroad tracks; it was so interesting to be able to visualize Thoreau's writings. Then, we headed back to the pond where we spent some time just enjoying nature and skipping rocks (shoutout to Daisy and Cole for teaching me back when we were freshmen).

 *Geocache Update: There were only two geocaches around Walden, and they were in the pond, which is unfortunately a bit too advanced for us*

After some research we found that we were only a couple of minutes away from Sleepy Hollow Cemetery where Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthorne, and the Alcotts. This was a fun, creepy, and eventful experience. Seeing their tombs was very powerful and we actually left a pencil behind by Thoreau's tombstone as many other people had done before us:

The cemetery was very old and, honestly, it was very big and kind of creepy. The car also got stuck at one point and I really did not want to find myself stranded in a cemetery (again, shoutout to Daisy and her driving skills that got us out of there). Another high was befriending our second animal of the day, a fox that we named Ralph; sadly, though, Ralph was not as warm as Charlie.

We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow, and we hope to meet more cute animals and find more geocaches.

Day 1: Rainy GeoCache Hunt

Daisy and I woke up and it was raining, which is not a great start to our hiking senior project. However, we did not let the rain bother us in the slightest and we managed to get on the road before 10am, a bit ahead on our schedule. We arrived to Bow, NH, and that is when senior project really started.

After picking up some supplies for the next few days, Daisy and I visited the local library, which was overwhelming and way more exciting than it should have been. We spent about an hour and a half rummaging through the bookshelves, getting lost amongst the hundreds of titles, authors, and poets we want to read for the next few weeks. After double and triple checking with the librarians to make sure that we could take all the books (fortunately there is no limit on how many books a person can check out) we left the library with thirteen books.

In the afternoon we were feeling pretty brave and decided to head out to find geocaches around Concord (https://www.geocaching.com/play). Geocaches are these cool little boxes or bags hidden in the woods that people can find and sign, then leave for someone else to find. We thought this would be relatively easy, but turns out the geocaches are far smaller than we expected. We attempted to find some at four different locations, which was complicated considering that we were hiking in the rain looking for these tiny recipients that are camouflaged and hard to find. The hunt was very fun though and when we did find the geocache we were so excited we decided to keep looking. Unfortunately, we only managed to find 1/8 geocaches we looked for. We are getting better though, so keep checking out our blogs because we have a really good feeling about our geocaching skills. 

Some people leave cool things behind like this bright pink necklace that made it easier for us to find it. We now carry around a very cute fluffy stuffed bunny for when we find our next geocache. 

(PS enjoying my lollipop while geocaching).