The River

This morning, campers departed once again for mentor hikes, piling into one of our many painted buses and heading deeper into the Preserve to explore places like Upper Bald, the Indian Cave, the Big Laurel trail, or the farm (a particularly exciting place at the moment, as one of our resident goats has just given birth!).

A few hikes this morning also took campers to the Green River after which the Preserve is named. This hike, like most mentor hikes, has its own unique features that make it exciting and engaging, although each mentor fills morning at the River differently.

This morning, one of our river groups ventured through the nearby Hemlock Field, where campers could sample edible plants and keep their eyes peeled for deer, the final animal remaining in Session 2’s list of Grand Slam animal sightings. Afterward, they headed to the river, changing into water shoes and heading into the water equipped with nets, goggles, and keen eyes. For the next hour, campers were left to their own devices, capturing crawdads, Polar Bearing, swimming, and overturning stones in search of new and exciting life to discover. Eventually, a few campers gathered to watch their mentor, Danny, start a fire, before continuing their explorations.

This hike was more unstructured than some others, but this freedom, too, is an invaluable resource to our campers. Not only do they have time to follow their own interests, but they learn to be present in nature and to pursue curiosity and excitement without the aid of screens or copious regulation. Without the myriad distractions available to most of us at home, campers have the opportunity to resort to the simpler modes of entertainment: the natural world, friends and communities, and, perhaps most importantly, unfettered imagination and curiosity.

Story by Katherine Poore & Photos by Samantha J. Keebler