Hiking North Pack Monadnock!

This weekend Kendra and I took Addison, and 53 of our inner-city high school students, hiking up North Pack Monadnock in Greenfield, NH.

It was the inaugural activity for the newly created Outdoor Adventures Club. I have to admit – I miss coaching crew. A lot. Coaching was such a huge part of my life for the last 14 years, and though I no longer have the time for such a huge commitment, I felt I needed a way to fill that void. So, I came up with the idea of starting an outdoors club at the high school where we teach. Most of the kids don’t have the opportunity to get out of the city and into the nature, so it seemed like a perfect way to merge my love of hiking and camping with my love of mentoring. The result? A club with almost 300 kids, and an exciting first hike!

My dearest little brother came along too, as well as my new partner in crime (aka club co-leader), Jenn, who also teaches at the high school, and one of my former rowers-turned outdoor adventure expert, Kevin.

The leaders of the new Outdoor Adventures Club – Jenn, me, and Kevin!

We took two school buses up to the trail head off of Old Mountain Road in Greenfield. There was no parking lot, but plenty of room for the buses to pull to the right side of the road to park. The hike itself was awesome – it was moderately strenuous with some scrambling up rocks. That proved slightly difficult with Addison on my back, but we all managed to make it to the top. I was most impressed with the lunch of one group of kids who’d toted sushi, fried rice, and egg rolls! The round trip of 3 miles up and down the Wapack Trail took 3 hours total. I considered our adventure a great success, and I can’t wait for the next one!