By Alicia Nemiccolo MacLeay '97

The latest generation of Colby "COOTers" poses on the Appalachian Trail.

Take 470 strangers and divide them into groups of 10. Name the groups things like "Surplus-Elephant A" and "Flagstaff-Bigelow B." Drop each group off in the Maine woods for four days. They'll confront challenges like finding trails, climbing mountains, purifying water and claiming the best sites for shelter.

Sound like Survivor? Well, it's actually COOT–Colby Outdoor Orientation Trips–designed to bring first-year students closer to their classmates and to the surrounding environment. And the challenge has been going on for 25 years now.

Colby's first official freshman wilderness orientation trips, organized jointly by the Outing Club and Student Activities Office, took place in 1975, when 18 freshmen were selected from 90 applicants. Along with nine upperclassmen and professors Robert Reuman and Donald Small, they arrived on campus five days early and split into two groups. Most hiked Maine's highest peak, Mount Katahdin, but a small number worked on a volunteer trail crew on the Appalachian Trail.

"It was very seat of your pants," said Susan Benson Turnbull '75, who served as director of student activities from 1975 to 1977. The concept was the brainstorm of Nancy Noreen '76, who was active in the Outing Club. She worked with Bruce Cummings '73, director of student activities from 1973 to 1975, to organize the first trip.

The following year the number of trips increased to five, including hiking, canoeing and biking. "Even to send out five was a big production," said Turnbull.

Now trips are four days long and each includes a trained male and female upperclassman leader. This year's 49 trips included sea kayaking, backpacking, fly fishing, canoeing, theater and conservation projects. "We have a COOT for everyone," said Alex Chin '96, former assistant director of student activities. "Even if you've never camped out in the woods before, we have a COOT for you."

Though recent classes have come close, the Class of 2004 was the first to achieve 100-percent participation–including President William Adams, who visited fishing, theater, kayaking and hiking trips.

COOT's influence is felt even before students enroll. After taking a tour of Colby, Jordan Burke '04 told her parents, "I'd go there just to go on COOT."

Chris Sussman '02, a transfer student who offered his thoughts on the trip while hiking the Appalachian Trail in western Maine, said COOTers are too busy to be homesick, and the camaraderie of the trips exemplifies the community atmosphere of the College.

Not only do students learn about the Maine environment, but life at Colby is discussed in depth. Leaders share thoughts on who are the best teachers in which departments, where you can get good pizza or Thai food and how to maximize your dorm space.

"The first impression these kids get as students is your trip, and if you can make that awesome, that affects how they do at school," said Alex Browne '03, a trip leader.

In 1975 leaders were taken straight from the Outing Club roster; now there is a formal selection process and a week of wilderness leadership and medical training for all leaders. "So much energy is put in to make it fun," said Burke. "The leaders can make or break the trip."

"These kids go back and, even though they may not be similar, they have a base group," said Browne. "Instead of wandering into this big dining hall alone with all of these upperclassmen, they have friends."

Spending four continuous days hiking with other students not only offers scenery but opportunities to bond in ways that would never happen on campus. "You learn about people in different ways," said Elizabeth Turnbull '04 (daughter of COOT pioneer Susan Turnbull). "People get pushed out of their comfort zones."