West Virginia Field Trip

Robert (and I) are back from the Seventh Grade’s last visit to the West Virginia campus of his school.

The kids hiked up to the bald and camped there the first night (in the rain). We came down with sleeping bags the next morning for a hot breakfast back the lodge.

Wednesday was a full day of activities:

• a really cool group survey, mapping exercise of the creek,
• a climb up into the tree canopy
• and then a mock town hall meeting to discuss the pros and cons of building a dam on the property.

Robert did a good job pointing the strong risk of the dam being undermined due to the soft rock that would form the foundation.

With thunderstorms predicted, they decided to stay in the dorms the second night.

The next morning, everyone got up early, hiked back up to the bald and recovered the damp tents before breakfast. Then, a bit of clean up, making lunch (for the trip back), and a closing activity in the barn to finish out a great trip.

While the weather could have been better, the kids, faculty and staff had a great time.

Waking up on the bald meant getting to experience this incredible fog shrouding the mountaintop. It was astoundingly pretty. I loved getting the chance to get up and wander a bit before the day really started.