Hiking in White Mts.
Upper School students recently enjoyed an outdoor education trip to Carter Notch Hut on the Appalachian Trail.
Chaperone Ted Barker-Hook enthusiastically describes the weekend trip, "On Friday we drove to the Joe Dodge Lodge in Pinkham Notch where we spent a cozy, heated night in beds. After a hot breakfast at the lodge, we packed food, sleeping bags, and spare clothes into our packs and hiked about four miles (gaining almost 2,000 feet of elevation) to the Carter Notch Hut, which sits directly under the majestic cliffs on the eastern side of Wildcat Mountain. After dropping off most of our gear, we climbed about halfway up Carter Dome where we had a trailside lunch. Back at Carter Notch Hut we prepared a dinner of pasta, played some cards and chess, then retired to our sleeping bags in the unheated bunkhouse.
Chaperone Ted Barker-Hook enthusiastically describes the weekend trip, "On Friday we drove to the Joe Dodge Lodge in Pinkham Notch where we spent a cozy, heated night in beds. After a hot breakfast at the lodge, we packed food, sleeping bags, and spare clothes into our packs and hiked about four miles (gaining almost 2,000 feet of elevation) to the Carter Notch Hut, which sits directly under the majestic cliffs on the eastern side of Wildcat Mountain. After dropping off most of our gear, we climbed about halfway up Carter Dome where we had a trailside lunch. Back at Carter Notch Hut we prepared a dinner of pasta, played some cards and chess, then retired to our sleeping bags in the unheated bunkhouse.
The next morning we woke to 2 or 3 inches of fresh snowfall. Three boys and I chose to hike to the summit of Wildcat Mountain (almost 4,500 feet) where we peered through the otherworldly fog and down in Carter Notch far below. After rejoining the rest of the group for a lunch of macaroni and cheese, we hiked the four miles back to the bus, dropping below the snowfall elevation. By the time we got back to Brimmer, the balmy weather made it difficult to believe we were bundled against snow flurries just 10 hours earlier.
This was a more serious camping trip than that we took earlier in the year. We had to carry supplies on our backs to the Carter Notch Hut. But like all trips, the students had to share the responsibilities and support each other in packing our food, cooking and cleaning for each other, offering somebody a pair of gloves, or helping another hiker up a particularly steep or icy section."
Brimmer and May School
69 Middlesex Road
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617-566-7462
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617-566-7462
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