Boot N’ Paddle: Seeking Adventure
The reputation is true: members of the Outing Club love adventure. When asked how he felt after leading a successful, adventurous trip, Logan Hagerty ‘21 responded, “It feels almost as good as finding a frog for my Global Amphibians class.” We all love the thrill of a trip, but what actually counts as an adventure?
When I asked Devin Farkas, the assistant director of the Outdoor Program on campus, what constitutes as an adventure, he replied, “As long as you are voluntarily doing something you don’t normally do, are uncertain of the outcome and you are the one in control of deciding what to do, you are having an adventure.”
The Adirondacks are beautiful and full of adventure. However, access to the 6-million-acre state park’s alluring outdoor reaction destinations requires many hours of driving and a full day’s commitment. If only whoever founded SLU in 1856 could have gotten a little lost and ended up in Keene Valley instead of Canton.
You get OC emails filling your inbox each week advertising big trips taking place far away. As much as you want to skin Whiteface the minute snow falls, go climb in a gym in Canada, or hike the glorious Mt Allen with Hunter, you probably don’t want to roll out of bed at 5am every Saturday to hop in a car to embark on such an adventure.
Thankfully, not all adventure is housed hours away. “Microadventure” is a term originally coined by British outdoorsperson Alastair Humpherys; he defined it as an adventure that is “small and achievable, for normal people with real lives.”
Microadventures are extremely accessible to all of us on campus; you’ve probably been onsome microadventures without even knowing it.
Ever walked down to the river and sat on the bank with friends? Microadventure. Ever laid down in the sun somewhere off the beaten path in the springtime? Microadventure. Ever ran around the Enchanted Forest at 2:34am holding two gallons of Byrne Dairy chocolate milk? … I’m actually not sure if that counts, but I do want to hear that story.
This past Saturday I lead my own microadventure as an OC trip: a simple walk around the Kip and Saddlemire Trails right here on campus, about a 5-mile loop. I woke up at 2pm, cursed everything, and sent the email out. We were headed out at 3:30pm.
Our group of eight tied our sneakers tight and departed from the side lawn of the OC House and strolled across campus to reach the trailhead of the Kip Trail. No two-hour car ride. No techy, expensive gear required.
Just a group of students who wanted to get up late on Saturday and go on a small hike together without burning any gasoline to get to the destination. “This makes microadventures both inclusive of a wider audience and environmentally conscious,” says Devin Farkas.
The Kip trail was a pleasant sight: burnt orange leaves crunching beneath our feet and the smell of fall (which is really just the smell of death and decay if you think about it, but that’s an entirely different topic) in the air. We passed SLU’s golf course and horse barn, winding our way through the woods and field until reaching the short roadway connection where the Kip ends and the Saddlemire begins.
Up until this point, I had forgotten about the downpour of rain that plagued Canton on Halloween (the previous Thrusday), and the thought of this sparked a memory of when I waded through hip-deep water flooding across the Saddlemire last Spring.
A little twinge of fear hit me. Was I about to lead this group of participants into something other than the easy stroll my email had promised? Yup.
As soon as we began down the Saddlemire trail, a retreating jogger informed us of the flooded-out trail ahead. We stopped momentarily, then elected to continue on our path and at least scout it out up ahead. Speaking on how he felt after this decision, mysterious co-lead and blood relative of the Outing Club, Alex Gehl said, “I was pretty stoked about the stoke of the group.”
The flooding was not as bad as I had seen in the spring. It was a manageable and safe crossing. However, it required us all to take off our shoes and socks, roll up our pants, and wade across the brisk river with toes gripping the muddy stream bottom. Guilt hit my conscious when I watched participants’ faces coil in reaction to the cold water. This was no longer a leisurely afternoon stroll.
Everyone handled the adversity without complaint and smiles even grew on some faces. That’s the great thing about an outdoor trip, whether it’s a full-blown expedition or a microadventure, overcoming adversity builds character and adds to the memory of the excursion.
When asked if she considered this trip an adventure, Morgan White ’23 responded, “Well, it would be tough not to consider it an adventure after going through that knee-deep water.”
On this microadventure we did not climb any mountains nor send any lines. There were no Instagram worthy views to snap pictures of.
It was safe, easy, and took less than two hours. Regardless, everyone got the opportunity to dip their toes into what the experience of a bigger, bolder Outing Club trip would be like.
Microadventures lead by the Outing Club are great opportunities for every SLU student to get outdoors and develop a deeper appreciation for the trails and streams right around campus. You don’t need to be a seasoned outdoorsperson to enjoy OC trips. Sometimes all you need is a pair of sneakers and a free Saturday afternoon.