Last week, all 58 of our students headed into the wilderness for our traditional week-long backcountry trips, known as Exploration Week. Broken into groups of seven or eight, each accompanied by at least two staff members, CS5 students headed to one of three destinations – the Sylvania Wilderness adjoining campus, where they spent the week canoeing the lakes, or the North Country Trail or Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, where they went backpacking.
Exploration Week is one of the high points of the Conserve School semester, and students had spent weeks practicing their camping skills in their Field Instruction class in preparation for the trip. However, nothing quite compares to the real experience of spending an entire week sleeping in tents, cooking over fires and camp stoves, hanging your food in trees at night to keep it away from the bears, and bathing in lakes and streams (if at all!). While some of our students were already experienced backcountry campers, some had never spent the night in a tent before. Despite cold weather and rain, all of our staff and students had a great time and have been enjoying swapping stories ever since returning last Friday.
Welcome back, everyone!
~Graduate Fellow Rebecca Deatsman (filling in for Mandy)
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- English teacher Jeff Rennicke prepares to head out in canoes with students Russ, Gwen, Brian, Paige, and Aaron.
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- Cloudy weather couldn’t stop us from enjoying the beauty of the North Woods!
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- Aaron and Russ paddle their canoe toward shore while Brian “duffs.”
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- Gwen, graduate fellow Amy Nosal, Paige, Brian, Russ, Kaia, Aaron, and math teacher Arjen Krijgsman pose by their campfire.
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- Arjen, Brian, Russ, Kaia, Gwen, Amy, Aaron, and Paige prepare to head out.
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- Heading for a portage – the next task is to carry the canoes and gear through the woods!
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- Genna, Justin, Ella, Kai, Sune, John, and Ana pull their canoes up on shore.
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- Group hug!
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- John, Kai, Justin, Sune, and Ana warm up by the campfire.
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- Olivia, Kai, Sune, Ella, Justin, John, Genna, Ana, and graduate fellows Maria Kopecky and Eve Smallwood show off their new muscles from all that paddling!
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- Enjoying a beautiful view on the North Country Trail.
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- Graduate fellow Greg Handley and students Saige, Teahelahn, Molly, Ellie, Maeve, Eric, and Walton pose for a group photo at the trailhead.
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- Enjoying the sun while it lasts!
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- Science teacher Robert Eady (under the hat) rests on a log with students Ellie, Eric, Teahelahn, Walton, and Saige.
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- Robert and Greg’s group kicked off the week with a service project, helping construct new bridges for the North Country Trail.
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- Tessa, Reilly, Laura, Hailey, Molly, Alex, Michelle, graduate fellow Mandy Lundmark, George, and science teacher Andy Milbauer enjoy a snack break on the trail.
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- Tessa, Laura, and Michelle look on while Reilly refills her water bottle with filtered water.
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- Laura, Alex, George, Mandy, Molly, Michelle, Reilly, Andy, Spanish teacher Kathleen O’Connor, and (in front) Tessa and Hailey at Summit Peak, the 3rd highest point in Michigan!
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- Hailey, Molly, Ana, and Laura are happy to return to their van at the end of their trek.
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- Maia poses on top of a pile of packs outside the recreation building.
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- Alex helps Jessie find somewhere to fit her water bottle as they get ready to go.
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- CS5 leaves its mark on the shore of Lake Superior!
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- Rachel and Samir invent a new way to carry their gear.
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- Shelby, Rachel, Megan, Chase, Samir, graduate fellow Heather Lumpkin, Danielle, graduate fellow Leanna Jackan, and Kelsie enjoy a break from canoeing in Sylvania.
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- The final morning in the Porkies! In the back is Meghan, graduate fellow Rebecca Deatsman (me), Carolyn, graduate fellow Rob Stuart, Zeki, and Jackie, and in front is Colin, Mei-Jing, Shawn, and graduate fellow Dylan Fernandez.
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- Jackie crosses one of the rivers that run through the Porkies.
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- Kevin, Luke, Katie, Kasey, Chris, and Julia check to make sure it’s safe before crossing the tracks.
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- Katie is a big fan of Exploration Week!
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- Kevin, Julia, Kasey, and graduate fellow Julia Dodd relax with their packs off.
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