Harvard Outing Club

Herein begins the chronicle of an excursion to Mount Monadnock in the glorious state of New Hampshire. Formal dress requested, black tie optional. After a driver debacle, seven of us piled into a mini van dressed in our Sunday best, headed out for a two hour drive to Monadnock. We made it to the park by 11:30 and, after a lecture from the park ranger curious about our fantastic attire, we headed up the mountain decked out in suit jackets, ties, dresses, and, of course, raincoats.

HOC and STAHR ventured to the cabin on a wonderful, spring weekend for stargazing and hiking. We had some last-minute transportation difficulties on Friday, but after sorting it out most of the group was on the way to the cabin. The others joined us the next day. The first contingent arrived at the cabin on Friday evening, made dinner, played some games, and then went stargazing! It was a wonderfully clear night, and we were able to look at the moon, Saturn, the Beehive Cluster, and more through STAHR's telescope.

Through SOLO, the Harvard Outing Club is offering a Wilderness First Aid certification class the weekend of April 2-3. The WFA class covers the basics of medical response to a backcountry emergency. The course will run from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm on Saturday the 2nd and Sunday the 3rd. The course will be held on Harvard's campus in Cambridge, MA in Sever Hall (room TBA - map available at map.harvard.edu)

The certification offered by this course is valid for two years.

The cost for the course:
$120 (Harvard Affiliates)
$135 (non-Harvard Affiliates)

“At that HONKY TONK RADONKADONK
Keepin’ perfect rhythm
Make ya wanna swing along
Got it goin’ on
Like Donkey Kong
And WOO-WEE…”
-Trace Atkins

While it might seem incredibly random that I have began this trip report with the lyrics to a Trace Atkins country western song, when reminiscing on the EPIC cross country ski trip I co-led this past weekend, this song plays on repeat in my mind. For reasons that will become clear soon, this trip was, in the words of Scot Miller was “HONKY TONK RADONKADONKulous!!!”

After some trouble with those pesky car rental people, the seven members of the HOC contingent finally loaded into the van and headed toward the mountains. We arrived at the Dartmouth Outing Club's Billings Lodge, to the north of Mt. Madison, in the evening. A delicious dinner was cooked and eaten, and we settled in to enjoy the fire and await the arrival of the DOC members, who arrived not long after. Introductions were made, and someone suggested that we go for a walk.

When thinking of how to effectively describe my HOC winter training trip experience, I believe that one word encompasses the entirety of the trip---this word is CLASSY! Our group of five trainees, two valiant leaders, and the amazing Jan began our training trip in the posh-est way possible, with a FLEET of black SUV Mercedes Benz’s. At around 9:45 am, after having loaded all of our gear into our FBI squad vehicles, we were on our way.

After a luxuriously late 9:15 meet up at the HOC office, three leaders and four participants piled into Scot's newly rented soccer mom minivan and headed over to Dunster to pick up food. Unsurprisingly, our pack out was forgotten, and 30 minutes and one trip to the walk-in freezer later we headed to NH with basically enough food to feed the entire HOC list for the weekend. By one we were on the trail, headed up South Moat. The trail was fairly covered in snow, but it was pretty steady going most of the way up.

Here's a wrap-up from trainee Stephanie of some of the recent adventures the HOC trainees have been on - and yes, Michael Hersher did jump into a freezing river in order to simulate a possible hypothermia situation.  I'm not sure he understands the meaning of the word simulate. . .