Neither rain, nor wind, nor mosquitos could keep the Burke Town School 7th Graders from enjoying their end of the year trip down the upper reaches of the Connecticut River.
After a day of paddle instruction and expedition planning at NorthWoods, the group was ready to brave the elements and travel the CT River, launching from Colebrook, New Hampshire and taking out 15 miles downstream in Bloomfield, VT at the confluence with the Nulhegan River. A giant rainbow trout was caught by a 7th grade angler at Lyman Falls, and by breakfast the next morning, it had increased in size considerably. Legends never die, they only get bigger!
NorthWoods staffers Ross Stevens, Maria Young, and Joanna Pardo helped initiate the students and Burke Town Staff and parents in what was, for many, their first whitewater journey. Low water made for technical paddling through the Class I sections, and there was plenty of opportunity to leave NorthWoods’ green on the rainbow-marked rocks. En route, students had the chance to view a cecropia moth, osprey, and white-tail deer that visited the campsite. A steady rain accompanied the evening slumber, and added a little volume to the morning’s trip, as the fleet practiced their understanding of reading river lines, eddies, shallows and swift moving water. The NorthWoods’ staffers shared their enthusiasm for river trips, and the camaraderie, connections with nature, and opportunity to build camp skills that are part of a river trip. The Burke Town School trip was a great reminder for us all that great journeys are not weather-dependent, just dependent on a good attitude, a team effort, and a desire for adventure.