Wilderness Kids Kick Off Fall With Paddling, Biking & Hiking Trips
Updated: 11 hours ago
It has been a minute since the last update on Wilderness Kids programming. Since the last camping trip of the summer, Wilderness Kids students have returned to school, where they are involved in all sorts of activities and projects on campus each day. The beginning of a new grade level always brings new challenges and opportunities. Given the time of year and the gap in blog posts, one might wonder: is Wilderness Kids taking a break from programming now that school is back in session? Well, our team is excited to share that our students are in fact in the middle of lots of fun adventures this fall season! Fall means new afterschool programs, as well as Wilderness Kids’ Annual Community Music Festival, but those both deserve their own separate entries... Today’s spotlight focuses on the amazing Weekend Programs that students have enjoyed over the past several weeks.
First, our middle school students took advantage of the last super warm weekend day in September with a kayaking trip on Pohick Bay! For many students, this was their first time getting into a boat; after all, Wilderness Kids programs are all about new experiences and learning new skills. Outdoor educators Matt and Kaya were very impressed with their ability to get the rhythm of paddling so quickly. As often is the case, kids surprise themselves and others with how much they are capable of.
Left to right: Ariana enjoys a moment on the calm water; Gabi, Alice and Carolay cool off at lunchtime while Rayvan relaxes in his boat; Carolay assures Selvin that the frog hitching a ride on his boat is not going to attack him!
During lunchtime, some students lounged in their boats and enjoyed their sandwiches in the shade of the trees in a remote cove that felt far away from Alexandria. In reality, this quiet and peaceful place was only 30 minutes from Alexandria! Meanwhile, other students chose to cool off by wading in the refreshing shallow water next to their boats, soaking up the last vibes of summer. Students also got to see several turtles and frogs up close! Wilderness Kids is very grateful to have such beautiful places to play and explore that are so close to home.
Next, the ACHS Adventure Club, an official club serving students from both high school campuses and supported by Wilderness Kids, embarked on its first club outing of the school year: biking along the C&O Canal Trail outside Harpers Ferry! This trip has been a favorite among club members in the past, and they once again elected to hold this trip in late September for good reason. It is the perfect time to see the leaves on the trees start to change, and it is also during pawpaw season!
Pawpaws are the largest fruit native to North America and the northernmost tropical fruit. Once students learned how to identify them by their trees, all they needed to do was shake the trunk, and any ripe fruit would fall right into their hands.
Left to right: Urwa, the Adventure Club President, and Arsema, the club's Media and Communications Manager, are eager to start biking to kick off an action-packed year; the Adventure Club poses with their bikes along the banks of the Potomac; Emal, Kamran, Shafi, Imran and Walter blissfully zoom through the forest on the C&O Canal Towpath.
Students made plenty of stops to enjoy the scenery of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, which meet at Harpers Ferry. Seeing this confluence helped the group develop a keen sense of place, understanding cardinal directions, which state they were in (Maryland), which states they were looking out at (Virginia and West Virginia), and how they could follow the Potomac to connect all the way back home to Alexandria. A fantastic day was capped off by a close encounter with a family of deer during the ride back! A very special thanks to Eirik and his team at Bridgeway Bikes for helping everyone safely get out biking on the C&O. Wilderness Kids looks forward to biking here again next season.
The following weekend saw the beginning of October, and mother nature provided a clear message that the seasons are changing. The forecast called for persistent rain, wind, and temperatures in the low 50s. Nonetheless, 10 brave high schoolers got up early and rode out to Shenandoah National Park to hike up Old Rag Mountain! For many students, this was their first time hiking, but they handled the terrain and conditions very well.
After learning about proper layering and Leave No Trace principles at the trailhead, the group made quick time through the forest, ascending higher and enjoying views of the valley on the switchbacking trail. However, the real fun (challenge) began in the boulder field section, which lasted all the way to the summit. As the rain and wind picked up, students got to put their new knowledge of layering to work, donning rain jackets, hats and gloves as they scrambled through wet boulders.
This section required a tremendous amount of teamwork, and staff were so proud of how everyone helped each other out. The difficulty of the boulder section made the Old Rag Summit all the more rewarding, and the low clouds cleared up just in time! Students enjoyed taking in the vast views of the Blue Ridge mountains, watching the clouds swirl in the distance, and admiring patches of forest canopy where the leaves had begun to turn bright yellow and orange.
Before and after reaching the summit: Students search for views in dense fog and scan the bare rock for the next trail blaze; Kamran, Emal, Imran, Mohammad, Shafi, and Neyaesh rejoice at the summit of Old Rag Mountain, shortly after the clouds lifted.
In all, this group of Wilderness Kids completed a loop hike of 9.4 miles, including one of the only sections of continuous exposed rock near the summit in the Mid-Atlantic region. The group piled back into the van and headed back to Alexandria tired, but satisfied from a day well-spent outside.
Wilderness kids is excited for more weekends and outdoor adventures ahead this fall!
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