I had a great question today from a parent who was asking about how we confirm that students have the correct clothing on course.
It turns out we're kind of obsessed by this! Of course we publish the clothing list, mail it home, and give it to students a couple of times. But it's during the weeks leading up to the trip that we really start to dig into this.
A couple of weeks before course we have a class meeting where we look at the most essential items of gear to make sure everything looks good. That includes sleeping bag, boots, long underwear and rain gear.
Next we have several weekend shopping trips to EMS and L.L. Bean, and even Walmart for the bargain hunters.
Sleeping bags can be expensive, so we rent those to students who don't want to buy one.
Finally right before the trip on Sunday morning, we spend about two hours going through all the clothing, checking and double checking. We have a stash of last minute loaner gear on this day. Unfortunately we can't completely outfit every student, but if someone thought cotton socks were okay, we can help in a pinch.
I believe that when students are (relatively) warm, dry, and well fed, then the magic of the SophX can happen. Checking clothing is a great first step to make this happen!
2 comments:
As I've learned over the past few years of hiking in the Whites, having the right clothing for hiking/backpacking is a key ingredient for the success of a trip like this.
It certainly sounds like you folks have your bases covered and are thorough in outfitting the Soph-X participants.
The long-range forecast is looking good for much, if not all, of next week -- dry, and even sunny on some days.
(NB -- if you need anything shuttled to any of the groups on the days I'm headed up on the trail, let me know...)
Looking forward to this!
Clay
Hi Clay - thanks for this, I couldn't agree more! I remember early in my backpacking career canceling a personal trip due to rain and then kicking myself all weekend when it turned out to be lovely weather!
There is no bad weather... only bad clothing!
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