The Circumference of Home
Posted on in In the Field by Maren Cole, Conservation Corps Member
Forty-five miles, ninety-five degrees, twenty-five to forty lbs. packs on our backs. Can we do it? Can we brave the heat and circumnavigate the place we call home?
The ten member HMCC team (six teenagers and four adults) left the Education Building on Hawk Mountain at 5:00 AM Saturday morning and began the four-mile hike to the Little Schuylkill River. The hike was wet, due to the dew that still held on to the blades of grass, but aside from that, it was relatively pleasant. The sun hadn’t risen yet, so the air was still fresh and cool.
We reached the river in an hour and a half and inflated our packrafts, tied down our packs, and by 6:45 AM we were afloat and on our way to the train station in Port Clinton. The paddle was peaceful. Other than a few fawns and a bald eagle, we had the river all to ourselves. We then finished our three miles on the Little Schuylkill, packed our rafts back up, and headed to the train station.
The train rolled into the station at 9:30 AM, and we were there with time to spare. A highlight for all the members was seeing the shocked faces of the train crew as they saw us—wet clothes, muddy legs, and big packs. The train ride to Jim Thorpe was relaxing, and many of us tried to nap, knowing that we had a full day of boating and hiking ahead of us.
After the train ride, the team grabbed a bite at the Subway. The heat was definitely overpowering! Everyone could not wait to get onto the Lehigh river, where there would be an opportunity to cool off.
We walked down to the river, and our team leader Todd Bauman went 75 yards ahead to set up a drone for overhead footage. Once that was ready, we set off, ready to conquer the eleven miles of rafting ahead of us. A little over three hours later our team got off the river, exhausted from the paddle.
After the river we all relaxed, made dinner, and recuperated for the next few hours, trying to avoid the intense heat.
When dark arrived, we got ready to set out again, hoping to make it up the mountain and onto the Appalachian Trail before setting up camp. The hike was steep and rocky, and we got increasingly tired as the hours went by—our steps began to slow, and our breaths quickened. We made it onto the trail and up about a mile and a half, but due to blistered feet and fast-fading energy, we finally decided to turn in for the night at the nearest available space around 1 AM.
That night we all fell asleep after a twenty-one hour long day, exhausted, but content with our day’s progress.
The next morning we set off again, and continued to hike all morning until we reached Bake Oven Knob, and had lunch brought to us. We then were shuttled to the Blue Mountain Summit Restaurant, where we all slept the afternoon away before eating dinner, bandaging blisters, and setting off rested and ready for that night's miles. We traveled eight more miles that held a variety of breathless singing of “Country Road” (with adapted lyrics that fit our trip), and speed walking before pitching camp.
Our last morning, we woke up early and prepared to head out for our final stretch. We hiked a few miles before reaching the Hawk Mountain Skyline trail. After getting more drone footage as we hiked up to North Lookout, we finished our hike looking out over where we had traveled, a satisfied feeling knowing that we were almost finished.
Although, the trip really finished with a bang when Todd went bounding from rock to rock to catch the drone that had snagged a tree but thankfully came tumbling down to his arms unharmed. A loud cheer went up from the team when he caught it!
Forty-five miles, ninety-five degrees, twenty-five to forty lbs. packs on our backs. Can we do it? Can we brave the heat and circumnavigate the place we call home?
Yes. Yes we can.