Outings - Charlemont
Mohawk Trail State Forest Rafting Trip
After the extensive equipment list, the groceries, and the van rentals, we drove to the St. Peter's teen center, in Dorchester, on a Saturday morning. Here we met up with 13 of the teens and the two leaders who would be joining us from the teen center. After collecting all of the many waiver forms, the group formed a circle and commenced with introductions and a little informative rule session. After introductions, we hopped into the vans and took off for Mohawk State Forest. This was the spot we were to camp and play around in before our main event: River Rafting class III rapids.
By the time we arrived at the park, we had noticed several ominous looking thunderheads ahead. So, we were forced to set our tents up in the rain. Yes, it was raining but there was not a word of complaint from the teens on the trip. They just went to work with great attitudes and this was a bit of foreshadowing for the rest of the trip.
After the tents were up it had stopped raining, so we went on a hike led by some of the teens. Whew, did we get quite a workout in that 1.5 miles. We took some group shots and headed back down, luckily led by some trip leaders.
Next, we took the group swimming, but this too was not without its obstacles. As we approached the reservoir where we could clearly see the designated swimming area, a small creek stood in between us and the reservoir. Stream crossing is normally not the most difficult of tasks, but this stream had a particularly abundant growth of slippery moss on the rocks which made the cross slow and full of statements of caution from our leaders. In addition, the water was really cold, so by the time we got to the reservoir, our little feet were numb. This particular group was quite adept at swimming as they spent most of their younger years on the beaches in Cape Verde, so watching them enjoy their own water games was fun.
After our hiking and swimming we were all ready for a good meal. Cooking up all of our best, the ICO provided a meal of cheese tortellini, corn on the cob, various types of sausages, peppers and onions and chicken breasts. Our post meal entertainment was provided by St. Peter's which included drumming and singing, game playing and cards. This group sure knows it's fare share of group sing-a-longs. And of course one does not go camping and finish the night without the infamous smores and together with the camp fire, these took us to the end of the night.
On Sunday we woke up early and ate our delish breakfast of bagels, pb & j, cream cheese, boiled eggs and granola. Post-breakfast exercises included cleaning up the campsite and tearing down the tents. Each group was great about getting their site cleaned up and making sure we were indeed packing up what we packed in. After a bit more of the drums and singing, we headed to the Zoar rafting center.
This was the place where we were to get some rafting instructions and team up into our rafting groups. We were to get into four groups and paddle our hearts away, down the Deerfield River. Each group had a guide and each group had their own particular experience on the river. My particular group (If I may), was very handy when it came to handling the paddles. We were able to get out and swim at certain points, we were able to go backwards and spin in circles, and we were even able to do some skill building raft tricks complete with standing upon the rim of the raft and walking around the rim. Now, a rafting trip, or any trip on the water, would not be the same without the water fights and Zoar was not lost on this. Rafts all come with water buckets to ensure a complete drenching of the enemy.
We all docked mid-way for a lunch which was provided by Zoar. This was a nice time to get some sun and warm up. The morning had been overcast and warm, but with all of the swimming and the water fights it was nice to sit in the sun and dry out.
After the tour was over, we were invited to attend a slide show which featured some of the best pics of the trip. Then, it was time to get into our vans and take the long road home. When we were looking at the trip forecast, the outlook did not look good. We were supposed to have rain both of the days. However, the weather could have really dumped on us and didn't, and it helped to make a wonderful trip.
A million thanks to Daniel and Manuel for coming along from St. Peters and teaching us a bit of Creole as well as Michelle, Matt and Jenn, our ICO leaders.
- Jessie Park
