Difficulty 2 – Colby Outing Club

A Trip Up the Mountain of the Great Pond

January 27, 2015January 27, 2015 Margaret Staller Trip Reports day trips, Difficulty 2, Great Pond Mountain, Gregory, hiking, Maddi, Orland, Sam

Location: Great Pond Mountain

Date: January 24, 2015

Trip Difficulty (1-5): 2.2

Trip Length: Day trip

This Saturday a group of trippers braved the snowy roads and the icy trails to hike the mountain of the Great Pond near Orland, Maine. Unfazed by an oncoming storm, the group dominated the hike up the mountain and reached the top in record time.

The summit provided the group with some great views and lots of smiles.

The way back down the mountain brought about many more challenges than the way up, but along with that came a lot of fun. The group was faced with trails covered in ice, and no obvious way down the mountain.

Of course, the group made the best of the situation and saw a chance to get some solid buttsliding in.

Our fearless leaders led the way down treacherous terrain and back to the cars to brave the snowy roads home.

Despite the lack of microspikes (that were all being used by John and Hannah’s trip), no serious injuries were suffered, even though everyone did fall at least once. That did not prevent our intrepid group from having an amazing day on the mountain.

Camden Hills Yeti Expedition

January 18, 2015January 18, 2015 Margaret Staller Trip Reports Alyssa, Camden, day trips, Difficulty 2, Gregory, hiking, Lydia, Maiden Cliff, snowshoeing

Location: Camden

Date: January 17, 2015

Trip Difficulty (1-5): 2

Trip Length: Day trip

This Saturday a brave troop of Colby students journeyed to the deepest depths of the Camden Hills in search of the monstrous and mysterious yeti. We are proud to say that not a single explorer was lost along the way during this perilous expedition. And despite the danger, all members of the group were able to don a hearty smile.

At times, the snowshoes they wore gave them trouble…

… but they eventually got their act together and straightened themselves out.

The group’s first order of business hiking on the trail was to find the renowned Maiden Cliff, where 150 years ago it is alleged that a yeti threw a girl over the edge, where she fell to her death. This story was confirmed, as the trippers discovered a large white cross in the place where she was pushed over, and quite a spectacular view to accompany it!

After confirming the existence of the yeti, the troop moved onwards in search of the creature himself! They followed what appeared to be his tracks for a few miles…

Just because the team was on a mission doesn’t mean they didn’t have loads of fun!

Dagmar and Kimberly disguised themselves as the yeti to surprise the rest of the group…

… and they all had a good laugh.

Eventually they arrived at Zeke’s Lookout, the deepest point of the woods, and a fantastic spot for looking out at the ocean.

There, the team sat down for a refreshing lunch, which refueled them for their long journey home. The balmy 7 degree weather provided perfect conditions for a possible daytime yeti sighting, however, it did not prove to make eating lunch an easy task. Even so, the team prevailed with all limbs intact!

Back out of the woods, no yeti having been spotted, the team of explorers decided to utilize their talents instead by surveying the frozen lake at the bottom of the cliff.

Overall a fantastic day. Trees, snow, sun, cold, spectacular views, and no wind! But most importantly, the awesome troop of explorers lit up the forest with their good attitude and heart-warming camaraderie.

Leaders were trained.

November 11, 2014November 11, 2014 Margaret Staller Uncategorized acadia, Difficulty 2, overnight trips

Location: Acadia National Park

Date(s): November 9th-10th

Trip Difficulty (1-5): 2

Trip Length: Overnight

This weekend, 21 of Colby’s best and brightest headed out to Acadia National Park to learn about all manner of exciting topics: risk management, the relative quality of the COC’s Whisperlites, and which colors Spencer can and cannot see. As part of the COC’s new Trip Leader process, students spent Saturday and Sunday learning the hard skills, soft skills, resources and leadership lessons necessary to plan and execute a COC trip. There was also a lot of summer sausage (still unclear if it should now be called “Autumn Sausage”).

We spent all day Saturday exploring some awesome spots in Acadia and holding lessons on LNT, Trip and Route Planning, Leadership Styles, and Backcountry Cookery. It got a little chilly at night, but Blackwoods was an awesome place to be once the fire got going. The place shuts down for the most part during November, but the gate is still open and self-registration is available; all in all, it’s a great way to experience the usually crowded National Park.

Sunday, we woke up early, and after a hearty breakfast of instant oatmeal and risk management lectures, we split up to hike Cadillac via the North and South Ridge Trails. Cassandra’s and my group drove on the Park Loop road to the North Ridge trailhead and started south toward the summit, while Owens’ and Will’s people started hiking from the campground. It’s a sick ~6 mile hike with awesome views of Mount Desert Island, the Maine Coast and the Atlantic.

Spencer did not go skiing.

Tumbledown over Fall Break!

October 15, 2014October 15, 2014 Margaret Staller Trip Reports day trips, Difficulty 2, Drew, Gregory, hiking, Tumbledown

Location: Township 6 North of Weld

Date: 10/13/14

Trip Difficulty: 2

Trip Length: Day trip

Gregory and Drew led an amazing trip to Tumbledown on the Monday of Fall Break. The sun was shining, the temperature was in the low 60s, and everyone had an amazing time! Some parts of the trail were rather rocky.

Others involved waterfalls.

It took less than two hours (with many breaks and 13 people) to get up to the incredibly beautiful pond just below the summit.

From there, it took only about twenty minutes to get up to the open summit ridge, which had amazing views.

There, we ate lunch, hung out, took selfies,

… and took several other pictures that perhaps shouldn’t be posted in a public forum such as this one.

We also met several other Colby-related hikers – other Colby students, and a few Colby grads, one class of ’88 and another, Matt Silverman ’12, who just so happened to be a former Treasurer of the COC. Good times were had by all.

We made good time going down, and got back to Colby just after 6.