Boot-N-Paddle!
On Thursday, Oct. 16, I woke up to my 5 a.m. alarm. I was tired and annoyed, so I fell back asleep until—I woke up 30 minutes later and realized I had overslept and still hadn’t packed for my mid-semester hiking trip. My housemate, Kyle Freundlich ’27, and I planned a backpacking trip to the Seward Mountain Range in the Adirondacks. My clothes were scattered all over the floor, and my backpack was shoved under my bunk bed. I threw everything I could see into my bag. After packing, I ran outside to move my car into the small parking spot. The car, which has a spike ball net and a bunch of Granny Smith apples, isn’t mine; it belongs to Henry Hagen ’27. I strapped on my blue-and-white Chacos and ran around to get my other belongings as the three participants started gathering on the side lawn.
We all piled into the Prius at 6:30 a.m. to start the hour-and-a-half drive to the trailhead. After finally figuring out how to use the high beams, we began driving the twisty roads to Tupper Lake. After a quick stop at the Tupper Lake Stewart’s shop and a donut in hand, we cruised the rest of the way there and reached the parking lot. Then something hit me—a strange sense of panic—until I realized I had forgotten my hiking boots. I’ve had my Walmart hiking boots for over two years, and they’ve served me well, but I sadly left them behind under my bed. Distraught and panicked, I asked my participants if they had any spare shoes, but they only had Crocs. I looked down at my feet and saw my Chacos looking back at me. I took a deep breath and started the journey to the Blueberry Lean-to. Slipping and sliding on the rocks, face full of regret and shame, we finally arrived at our lean-to. We dropped our packs and ate lunch, which consisted of cheese and pepperoni tortillas, before beginning the trek to our first three peaks: Seward, Donaldson and Emmons. Everyone was full of conversation until we reached the steep, thin ice. As I looked up in fear, we started climbing the mountain—which was pretty challenging in sandals.
We finally reached the top of Seward, and everyone was happy, until we realized that we had two more peaks left. We started the trek to Donaldson—it was a rugged journey. I held on tight in my Chacos while climbing the rock faces. Reaching Donaldson, we admired the views, especially Long Lake, which shone in the sun. I led the pack, my Chacos mostly clean, until I stepped into a muddy swamp. My purple socks were unrecognizable, and mud caked my shoes. Getting up Emmons made it feel like we were all done for the day, until we realized we had to go all the way back to Seward and descend the icy terrain.
The sun began to set, casting a pinkish hue on the mountains as we descended the steep rocks. Bits of small talk lingered, but as the sun set, everyone fell silent. Trekking in the dark for an hour and a half was tough; our legs were tired, and we were hungry. To break the silence, my friend Ella Narins ’27 and I sang ‘All Star’ from Shrek, which Kyle didn’t appreciate much, as he was in turbo mode, using his sticks to push himself farther down the mountain. I had tears in my eyes as we reached our lean-to and broke into four boxes of Annie’s mac and cheese.
The following morning, I discovered my Chacos had froze from the wet mud. I, along with two participants, hiked to the car, while Kyle and another participant went up Seymour to finish the range. We cheered upon seeing the Prius and then enjoyed ice cream and hot dogs at Stewart’s while waiting for Kyle to return. I learned my lesson from this experience and will never forget my hiking shoes again. Nonetheless, I would eat a Stewart’s hot dog again—10/10 would recommend.
Sincerely,
Your Phriendly Neighborhood Outing Club Representative, Aoife Cunningham ’27