Greetings to you all. The prestigious honor of blogging about today's activities has fallen upon yours truly, AJ S. The day began with a feeling of hope, as the cool air seemed much more comfortable than yesterdays heat. The hike up the mountain was much easier without having to carry any tools, and work began on a positive note.
More work was done at the three main sections of the trail: at the first entrance, the rock staircase continued to take shape with more rocks becoming set. At the second portion, where I worked today, many rocks were moved, including a giant step being added after much frustration and a visit from Bob. Finally, in the third section, more rocks were added to the staircase, and a giant project of creating a perfect stair was almost completed. At lunch, the crew leaders frustrated many with their mind games (although I understood both within a few minutes. I kinda rock that way), and the day was nearly perfect.
All in all, a very good day, if I say so myself.
AJ S
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
There have been many improvements to the crews this summer! First of all, we've got a few new students joining us in our excellent trail-building venture. Also, instead of having two minivans, we've got one, and a gigantic Chevy Suburban that can fit 8 passengers and the entire tool cache, plus helmets, everyone's belongings, and the water cooler. Also, we've got a sweet flip camera with which we can take random interviews and videos with. Hopefully everyone won't be as camera-shy as they are in this video for the rest of the summer.
Today started out with a great game of Ninja that Brittany ended up winning at, then we all broke up in to smaller groups. Throughout the day, each group got a chance to work on new tread, fill/ rock removal, or using the famous CROSS CUT SAW! After years upon years of needing a cross cut, we finally obtained one from Rachel! There was no need for us to Pulaski our way through enormous fallen trees or call upon Buck and Haus, our Hunterdon County Parks Maintenance guys/ chainsaw wizards. Using the cross cut saved a lot of time and effort and the kids really enjoyed learning how to use this new tool. Everyone enjoyed their moments as a lumberjack. The day ended on a high note for me because I beat Jon in our little game of 'who has the faster route to Point Mountain from Mountain Farm'. Jon's route took 7:52, while mine took 7:00, which was excellent. Jon seemed to think his route had something to do with a hypotenuse, but I think he was just trying to sound smart.
Anyway, today was all in all a good day, lots of work got done and fun was had!
-Rose
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Days 1 and 2 of 2010 Greenteam
Greetings all,
The task of blogging for Lauren and Arielle's crew has been bestowed upon me (as well as one-upping the stellar blog post from yesterday by Douglas.) Anyway I digress. I'll start with yesterday's "opening day" of the 2010 Greenteam. As it has been for the last three years for me, seeing all of my friends that I have made through SCA together again in the Voorhees parking lot was unreal. Being that this is my fourth and final summer as a crew member, this one was special. One interesting factoid that I came across that makes this summer different than the others is the emergence of two new black Suburbans. I'm glad to see that SCA upgraded (kinda) from the soccer mom method of transportation. I digress once again.
I'll save myself (and everyone else) the time of going through the events of the first day, since Doug described them very adequately. As for our crew, I'm very pleased with what I see. Our crew, led by Lauren, Arielle and Colin is full of potential, though lacking experience. Seven newcomers to SCA make up our crew, with only four returning crew members. Everyone seems to be eager to learn the ways of the SCA. Onward to Cushetunk! Our trail is a mess, to put it blatantly. The hike up to our trail is very strenuous, as the elevation rises rapidly, causing us to stop multiple times to stay hydrated. Once we arrived to our trail, or "The Boop" as Lauren calls it, I was shocked at how short it was, and how rocky. Words cannot describe how many boulders, not rocks, boulders, are on our trail. Putting it this way, our trail is 95%, 5% dirt. Not a good percentage, considering the amount of fill needed. A tall task indeed.
This next paragraph will be short, because I'm straining myself trying to jog my memory. Today was a good day, as Ice Cube once said. It was significantly cooler out, and we started the day off with the first Big Booty game of the year. Considering how many newcomers our crew has, I was pleasantly surprised with how everyone played. The hike up to the trail was, to put it this way, god awful. Carrying the tools with us, combined with the already steep climb, was not enjoyable. The work was great for the first day. One group installed four rock steps after finally winning the battle against two behemoths of rocks. Another group found the largest rock in the area, pushed it down on its side, only to crack in half, becoming the best thing that could have happened to us, the larger half of the rock became a perfect step for what could be the most treacherous section of our trail. Like I said, today was a good day. Alas, I am tired and my eyes are growing heavy, this post ends now.
Take it steady,
Zach H.
The task of blogging for Lauren and Arielle's crew has been bestowed upon me (as well as one-upping the stellar blog post from yesterday by Douglas.) Anyway I digress. I'll start with yesterday's "opening day" of the 2010 Greenteam. As it has been for the last three years for me, seeing all of my friends that I have made through SCA together again in the Voorhees parking lot was unreal. Being that this is my fourth and final summer as a crew member, this one was special. One interesting factoid that I came across that makes this summer different than the others is the emergence of two new black Suburbans. I'm glad to see that SCA upgraded (kinda) from the soccer mom method of transportation. I digress once again.
I'll save myself (and everyone else) the time of going through the events of the first day, since Doug described them very adequately. As for our crew, I'm very pleased with what I see. Our crew, led by Lauren, Arielle and Colin is full of potential, though lacking experience. Seven newcomers to SCA make up our crew, with only four returning crew members. Everyone seems to be eager to learn the ways of the SCA. Onward to Cushetunk! Our trail is a mess, to put it blatantly. The hike up to our trail is very strenuous, as the elevation rises rapidly, causing us to stop multiple times to stay hydrated. Once we arrived to our trail, or "The Boop" as Lauren calls it, I was shocked at how short it was, and how rocky. Words cannot describe how many boulders, not rocks, boulders, are on our trail. Putting it this way, our trail is 95%, 5% dirt. Not a good percentage, considering the amount of fill needed. A tall task indeed.
This next paragraph will be short, because I'm straining myself trying to jog my memory. Today was a good day, as Ice Cube once said. It was significantly cooler out, and we started the day off with the first Big Booty game of the year. Considering how many newcomers our crew has, I was pleasantly surprised with how everyone played. The hike up to the trail was, to put it this way, god awful. Carrying the tools with us, combined with the already steep climb, was not enjoyable. The work was great for the first day. One group installed four rock steps after finally winning the battle against two behemoths of rocks. Another group found the largest rock in the area, pushed it down on its side, only to crack in half, becoming the best thing that could have happened to us, the larger half of the rock became a perfect step for what could be the most treacherous section of our trail. Like I said, today was a good day. Alas, I am tired and my eyes are growing heavy, this post ends now.
Take it steady,
Zach H.
Day 2!
Today was a really good day for my crew (Ellen and Rose's crew). We got a decent amount of trail done for it being our first day working. We split up into three groups, one was for corridor(and basically everything besides tread), another for tread, and the last was clearing away the leaves off the sides of the trails and making it more hikeable All in all, things went rather smoothly. It was a sucessful day and hopefully it'll be another great day tomorrow!
Oh, and a number of us suffered from PLS(Post Lunch Sleepies), but we managed!
Sorry this post is a bit short, currently I am suffering from PDS(Post Dinner Sleepies), but I tried to make up for the lack of content by using SCA colors!
-Brittany
Oh, and a number of us suffered from PLS(Post Lunch Sleepies), but we managed!
Sorry this post is a bit short, currently I am suffering from PDS(Post Dinner Sleepies), but I tried to make up for the lack of content by using SCA colors!
-Brittany
Monday, June 28, 2010
Day 1 - 6/28/10: Best first day ever!
So today was pretty much the best first day ever. It's tough to describe how excited I was about SCA this year. Especially since I didn't do the commuting crew last year. Although my national crew was amazing(ask me about it)... But I did miss you guys. In fact, I was so excited to get back to SCA that I actually visited Point Mountain for the sunset last night. I couldn't wait another day to get out to the park. By the way, if you've never watched the sunset off of the top of Point Mountain, that's very tragic and we'll have to make arrangements for that to change.
Anyway... today rocked. It was sweet seeing all of my old pals. And it was very exciting to meet all of the new folk. I can tell already that I like you all. Although I guess part of that is my theory that the kind of people that get involved with SCA are the same kind of people that I'd get along with. But the other part is that you are all awesome individuals. It was particularly exciting to meet Ellen, the "mystery crew leader." I was totally impressed with her ultimate Frisbee skills.
Which is another point I'd like to bring up. How can a crew possibly not be the coolest crew ever if they were all willing to play Ultimate Frisbee on day one? It's a dream come true. Between the Ultimate and a solid round of Spread 'Em and even the first game of Mafia I've played in quite some time, it was a phenomenal day of bonding.
I'm also totally stoked about our trail this year. My crew has a particularly exciting project. We have the job of connecting the Northern Point Mountain section with the Central Point Mountain section. Essentially, after this summer, the entire park can be hiked continuously, opening up fantastic day trip opportunities. The spectacular vistas, peaceful meadows and mellow river scenes from the central section mixed with the pleasantly tranquil northern section are sure to make for a wonderful hike. And with the amount of experienced members we have, I have no doubt that our trail will demonstrate some serious craftsmanship and excellency.
The most interesting thing about today though was the feeling it left me with. I figured that once I got to see everyone and the first day was over, my excitement would die down. Not the case. I am even more excited for tomorrow. I'm pumped to get started.
I was listening to Michael Franti on my way home (don't worry, I'll bring in the album eventually) and this lyric stuck out to me. "At the end of every rainbow, you might find gold; the last bite of your sandwich, hope you don't find mold." I don't really know where I'm going with this. I just thought it was cool so I figured I'd share. That's all of today. Kinda stream of consciousness. Seriously lacks continuity. But it's a blog, not a memoir, so get over it.
Peace.
Doug
Anyway... today rocked. It was sweet seeing all of my old pals. And it was very exciting to meet all of the new folk. I can tell already that I like you all. Although I guess part of that is my theory that the kind of people that get involved with SCA are the same kind of people that I'd get along with. But the other part is that you are all awesome individuals. It was particularly exciting to meet Ellen, the "mystery crew leader." I was totally impressed with her ultimate Frisbee skills.
Which is another point I'd like to bring up. How can a crew possibly not be the coolest crew ever if they were all willing to play Ultimate Frisbee on day one? It's a dream come true. Between the Ultimate and a solid round of Spread 'Em and even the first game of Mafia I've played in quite some time, it was a phenomenal day of bonding.
I'm also totally stoked about our trail this year. My crew has a particularly exciting project. We have the job of connecting the Northern Point Mountain section with the Central Point Mountain section. Essentially, after this summer, the entire park can be hiked continuously, opening up fantastic day trip opportunities. The spectacular vistas, peaceful meadows and mellow river scenes from the central section mixed with the pleasantly tranquil northern section are sure to make for a wonderful hike. And with the amount of experienced members we have, I have no doubt that our trail will demonstrate some serious craftsmanship and excellency.
The most interesting thing about today though was the feeling it left me with. I figured that once I got to see everyone and the first day was over, my excitement would die down. Not the case. I am even more excited for tomorrow. I'm pumped to get started.
I was listening to Michael Franti on my way home (don't worry, I'll bring in the album eventually) and this lyric stuck out to me. "At the end of every rainbow, you might find gold; the last bite of your sandwich, hope you don't find mold." I don't really know where I'm going with this. I just thought it was cool so I figured I'd share. That's all of today. Kinda stream of consciousness. Seriously lacks continuity. But it's a blog, not a memoir, so get over it.
Peace.
Doug
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