Some people might consider a four-day camping trip with eleven teenagers into the Maine Woods to be a particularly cruel form of punishment, but with the ninth grade Journey cohort on their core trip, things could not be further from the truth. The long, empty stretches of highway on the way to Baxter State Park were filled with conversation, spurred by our book of questions. The questions ranged from “If you could be on any professional sports team, which one would you choose,” to “If you could have dinner with anyone on the planet, who would it be?” The joking and laughing somehow continued until the cohort reached their campsites at the Wilderness Edge Campsite in Millinocket. As a staff member working within the Journey program, nothing is more fulfilling than to see the students start a trip with a self-directed activity that brings them all together.
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Tents were set up in the muggy heat, chores assigned, and then we all gratefully jumped into the campsite pool for a game of blind man’s bluff. Students split the evening chores into cooking, cleaning, and fire making, making short work of each.
To showcase the dangers of the Maine Woods, and explain why we teach survival skills, the students were asked to listen to the story of Geraldine Largay, a hiker who went missing on the AT in 2013. Wide eyed, they heard how Gerry survived 26 days in the wilderness, before succumbing to the elements. Each of them spoke about the story and how it instilled respect around the risks and rewards of being in the woods.
The next day we geared up for a day of white-water rafting on the Lower Penobscot. The first major rapid, Sadahoc Falls, was a 10-foot drop into a wall of water. We went through, then carried our raft back around for a second pass. One student fell out and was quicky recovered. The guides then took us to a natural water slide where everyone was able to swim and enjoy sliding down water-smoothed stone. The rest of the day passed quickly, and each subsequent set of rapids was quickly conquered. The students faced the adrenaline laced fear of the rapids together, encouraging each other, and happily cheering each other on after hit. There is something to be said about bonding in extreme circumstances. The bonding was made clear that night, after a self-reflection in their journals, when we played games around the fire. Several games of werewolf, a game of guessing and deception, saw students engaging with each other in a whole new way, balanced between competition and comradery.
Our last full day of the trip involved a hike in Baxter State Park to Little, and Big, Niagra Falls. For many students it was the first time they had ever been to the park. The dusty, bumpy roads caused a little bit of car sickness, but that was all worked out during our hike. A picnic next to the raging waters of Big Niagra Falls was the perfect break, dipping their hands in the icy water and taking pictures. The same day we also traveled to the Maine Logging Museum in Bradley, which has footage of logging in Washington County dated 100 years ago. Incredibly, some of the men in the film had the same last name as many students in the group. For many students, it was their first exposure to industries that had once bolstered their home county. During our tour of the museum following the video, the students were engaged and curious, pointing out instruments and tools that they had seen in the video.
Some students started the trip tired, sullen, and resistant. It can be hard to sell the idea of camping with no cell service to a teenager, but by the end, students found new games to play, discovered connections to one another they did not know they had, and left better than they arrived. The vans were full of exhausted teens, but also full, happy smiles, and each spoke happily about their own favorite experiences on the trip. Nature is medicine and these Journey trips exemplify that notion.
