This week was very exciting. Everything we did was not only physically exhausting but also breathtakingly beautiful. Each day keeps getting more eventful. I am constantly amazed at how much there is to do around our area. I look forward to this upcoming week of testing and I am curious to see how my results play out. This course has definitely affected my summer for the better.
This week was pretty good. The bike ride on Monday was intense but rewarding. The terrain on Moosic Mountain was really cool, and I liked learning about the controlled burns and the barrens. The Mount Minsi hike was “vigorous” in some parts but mostly enjoyable, and the history was interesting to hear. I really enjoyed chopping the Japanese knotweed, and I think I found my zombie apocalypse weapon of choice. This week sucked a little because Tara wasn’t there, but overall it was pretty good.
The bike ride through Clarks Summit was difficult, but aside from this, all the other events this week were good. The views at Mount Minsi were exceptional, and I liked the trails at Moosic Mountain. The work at Sweeney beach was fun, as it was easy to see the direct impact of our labors on the shoreline, though given the knotweed’s shockingly fast rate of regrowth, it may have been an exercise in futility. Overall, the week provided some of the course’s best experiences to date.
Week 3 was a lot of fun. I got to re-experience one of my greatest outdoor achievements as well as learn something new about the city I’ve lived in all my life. One of the cool things about this course is that you never know what you’re going to expect. All of the different people we meet each tell us a piece of the puzzle. Bernie McGurl helped me realize that when he made it all come together. You never really think about what’s involved in order to conserve and protect nature for enjoyment. A lot of it is taken for granted and it’s really cool to see the process and meet the people that fought for it!
