ADK Semester 2021 has officially begun!
The University has just launched a new website and bits and pieces of it have still been under development, hence the delay in posting the first Weekly Update which is typically done by the Director. All the rest will be written by the students themselves and will give you a taste of their semester experiences.
Students spent their first days of ADK Semester 2021 at St. Lawrence’s Camp Canaras taking a Wilderness First Aid certification course (they all passed!), repacking their gear for the expedition, learning some basic skills and getting to know each other.
We waved goodbye as they paddled away on Saranac Lake with Assistant Directors Will and Amanda.
A week later we waved hello from the dock at their new home for the semester, Arcadia, on Lake Massawepie. They arrived hot and tired after a particularly long, hard day experiencing some white water canoeing, paddling Dead Creek, which has that name for a reason, and multiple portages and were greeted by ADK Semester alumni and delicious fresh melon from the local farm that provides us with our produce for the semester.
The next couple of days were spent in learning the systems and practices of living at Arcadia from wood chopping to water purification to how to use the sauna, not to mention frequent dips in the lake. It has been hot, though much cooler there on the lake with nice breezes and refreshing water.
The students had their first class on Friday, Aug. 27 and are looking forward to a relatively relaxing weekend with nothing officially planned before their first full week of classes and life at Arcadia!
Next week will be busy with classes, taking their weekly turn cooking for the crew, weekly chores, enjoying an outdoor performance at Arcadia by folk singer-songwriter, Dan Berggren and a weekend field trip to do some rock climbing.
Barring unforeseen technical or logistical glitches, the next Weekly Update will likely be posted by Sept. 10 since these are graded assignments for class that are handwritten and then transported back to campus for typing and posting. Thereafter, they will be posted weekly except when students are on their hiking expedition Sept. 19-25 and over Mid-Semester Break.
