Dear friends, enemies, frenimes, and enemends,

Today we mourn the loss of our good friend Caspian. For those of you who didn’t know Caspian, he was a beautiful blue Subaru Forester. Caspian was born and raised in Virginia but he braved the harsh Maine winters time and time again to transport students on many a COC hike. If Caspian were here today he would tell us to continue going on outing trips without him, so we can continue to brave the wilderness and pursue the things we love. Because after all – love, is what makes a Subaru, a Subaru. 

We went OUTSIDE and it was RAD and here’s some notes about it:

• On Thursday Soren and Max led a trip up Mont Français to watch the harvest moon and eat macaroni. What a wholesome trip. 5/5 barks.
• Jared went outside with the Pugh Center and some members of the COC. They went on walks in the arb that were deemed “great” and “beautiful”
• Anna Van Dresser (full names cuz at least two Annas – but probably more –  went outside this weekend) went to Acadia and hiked some mountains. She didn’t tell us which ones because she couldn’t remember their names. There were apparently many many people there because the Sierra Club was celebrating being old or something.
• FALL FEST: THERE WERE BUNNIES AND GOATS ON CAMPUS AND A BUNNY POOPED ON ABBY.
• Kaitlin went to a different fall fest in Freeport that was – allegedly – bigger and better (but were there poopy bunnies? huh? didn’t think so).
• Kaitlin also had a herpetology (a smart people word for studying reptiles and amphibians) lab and helped save an endangered species of salamander. NEATO.
• Evan went on a nice bike ride to a *nice* place called Belfast to see the super /nice/ ocean. (disclaimer: Evan did not ride his bike into the ocean). It was a nice day!
• Grace picked apples at the apple farm, now her room is full of apples and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
• Hannah went to the observatory with the Space Club (#spacecoc) and looked at the moon through her eyes and also three telescopes (all at once? unclear).
• Lilly ran up Sugarloaf (me oh my that is impressive). It was rainy and cold, but fun!…kind of. I give it a rating of type II fun on the fun scale.
• Chris and others went on the Leader Training Trip with Sam and Anna (Caughron). They hiked up Mount Blue in the rain AND this is where Caspian, our trusty Subaru, died. I guess when it rains it pours (see what I did there?) But there were also good things like something involving nudity and fireworks???? and also the Bossi Van valiantly coming to rescue our stranded leaders and soon to be leaders.

Da future:

Next week is fall break so all our trips are set and ready to go, but we got some ideas for after break, here’s a sneak peak:

• Kaitlin wants to hike Old Speck
• Soren wants to hike his arch nemesis, Mount Redington
• There was a wildfire in the Whites and Anna (Van Dresser) wants to go see it with her own two eyeballs.

Whittling Wednesdays:

• Wednesdays will be whittled this week
• Kaitlin’s first wood guy fell through and then her Minnesota wood guy fell through (or maybe they’re the same guy? idk) so there will not be any new wood but it will still be FUN
• also @Kaitlin ur vague ramblings about shifty guys bringing you wood have me intrigued

Kayak Clinics from 7:30-9:30 on Thursday in the pool:

• there will be kayak clinics from 7:30 to 9:30 on Thursday in the pool.

How Do You Outside?™

Blurbity blurb: “This is a new campaign to engage the Colby community with the Outing Club as a way to encourage students to tell us their stories and what they love and appreciate about the outdoors. We hope to inspire more students to find things they enjoy about being outside such as stargazing, watching birds, walking in the arboretum, sledding, canoeing, etc.”

• come put post it notes on our wall and Soren’s face about the things YOU love about the outdoors
• we’re gonna do lots of other stuff but people were talking all at once in the meeting and I could not figure out what to type

Spring Break:

wut? we’re talking about spring break trips in the fall? YUP. CUZ WE’RE PLANNERS. and we like to know what we are doing at least 4 to 5 months in advance.

• Leaders that want to lead spring break trips…It’s time to get those gears turning and thinking about your WWWWWZ (who, what, where, when, why, zebra) because we want to have everything set before the end of the semester
• An email will be going out with specifics but here’s your timeline:
  • Trip proposals due the 2nd week of November
  • Sign ups around Thanksgiving time
  • Trippers finalized before winter break

Bigelow Buddies:

• Trips:
  • We will be having another LTT the first weekend of November
  • The following weekend we will be hosting a WFA training (which is fully subsidized if you become a COC leader and partially subsidized for everyone else)!
• Events:
  • The last weekend of October is parents weekend and we need leaders for a parents hike! It will be Sunday the 29th at 11am.
• Gear:
  • bring your gear back you heathens
  • also there will be a form sent out this week with any gear needs y’all may have for fall break!
• Cabin:
  • On the last week of October Kaitlin wants to redo the floors in the Cabin. It’s in need of a makeover!
  • Come help! Ryan will probably bring yummy food (Wolfdog, if you’re reading this, hi! and thanks! and hopefully you do bring food!)

You should probably get back to your midterms now. I know you may be stressed and anxious and maybe even feeling a little down. But remember everyone, even the smartest of us, have bad days. To prove my point here is an honest to goodness actual Charles Darwin quote:

“But I am very poorly today and very stupid and hate everybody and everything…I am going to write a little Book for Murray on orchids and today I hate them worse than everything.”

– Charles Darwin, the dude that figured out evolution

buh bye,

Julia

hey y’all here’s some minutes, fresh out of the oven!  just like momma used to make

stuff we done did

• Michael Kramer hiked to Early Bird and dipped in the Messalonskee, “very refreshing”
• Jared, Soren (that’s me) and Anna went through the Natch and stayed at Speck Pond, “cold”
• Max, Soren, and trippers went to The Mountain, “maybe found the summit”
• Keenan went to Prout’s Neck for a field trip, wants to lead coastal hikes in the future
• Grace and Taryn and ppl tried to go surfing, but the roof rack malfunctioned to much dismay, then went to Popham beach anyway which was fun
• Mo and Anna Ramsey accidentally ran a half marathon (!)
• Sam Wells went up Sugarloaf and Spaulding and Abraham with Katie
• Michael Stone used the slack line!
• Keller led a trip to Philip with Ana and ASA, Phil Collins prompted some tears
• Soren napped in a particularly grassy spot in the arb
• Sam went up Philip on Wednesday, it was dark and they barely got lost
• Hannah went up Philip, saw 11 yr old Logan (dog)

stuff we gon do

• Soren wants to go to French Mtn and cook all the leftover food in the office
• Michael Stone will have kayak klinics! at pool 7:30 – 9:30 Thursday
• SPACECOC! November 2nd (a Thursday), there will be a trip to the cabin with telescopes!

LTT

• next weekend!
• leader training trip!
• mandatory if you want to lead fun trips! and boring trips too!
• second one in november, 1st weekend, or maybe not
• learn stuff!
• priority for first years in november

Demo day

• Friday 4-7 on Dana Lawn!
• We’ll be demoing gear, also knot tying and cooking maybe
• A nice wholesome learning experience
• Volunteers needed! And you don’t need to be a leader!

Fall Fest

• The very next day!
• Run by SPB, a big ol festival of fall
• Whittling maybe?
• Volunteers also needed
• Ice cream churner will be present!

Fall Break Trips

• Descriptions going out tonight! (10/1)
• Lottery-style sign ups, with rank choice
• Results by Thursday (10/5)
• CMC also sending out two trips simultaneously

Arb Hikes

• This Saturday, 11-1:30
• Combined with the Pugh Center
• Beginner arboretum walks and subsequent BBQ
• Get to know ppl!
• We need leaders! let us know pls

NOLS film

• Wednesday 6:30-9 PM!
• NOLS = national outdoors leadership school ft. derek
• stickers!
• whole slew of short films
• thusly no whittling ( 🙁 )
• office hours?? maybe

Committees

• sugaring
  • meeting after this meeting!
• trips
  • leaders-in-training, get ya shadows in
  • shadows are a good / easy way to learn
• events
  • iplay soccer!
  • rec / intramural soccer
  • email kaitlin / brittany if you want in!

hot seat!!!

• Austin Joseph Lee
  • trunks
  • some bathroom
  • crumple
  • didgeri doo
  • curduroy
  • slick
  • sophie joffrey
  • lolcakes9
  • bob dylan

That’s all folks!  Congrats on another productive week of adventure and such.  also fall is HERE right now and it’s pretty so go out and stare at some dying leaves!

– soren

If you’re in the mood for hours, I can’t help you.  If you want seconds, go elsewhere.  But… WE GOT MINUTES so feast your eyes on this glorious semi coherent heap of words (courtesy of ya boi soren this week):

here’s all the fun jazz we done diddly did:

• Keenan went to Albany (hometown of the famous Keenan) for geology and looked at fossils and swam underwater to a CAVE
• Davis and co. hiked Katahdin, and everything went according to plan with 0 hiccups and 0 flat tires, also there was blood sweat and tears yay! jk flat tires were had and Brittany and Chloe saved the day and rescued our valiant hikers
• Lilly biked to the Common Ground Fair and met a thru biker named “thumbs” 
• Hannah hiked Round Top w Max and Ana and also Max knows every word to hips don’t lie
• Michaela found a beaver dam in the arb (site of dragonfly exoskeletons)
• Dominic went fly fishing in Moosehead lake (no fishes were caught)
• Caroline and Julia went to Mt. Philip and ran into underwear models (!!!!) sweat, lots of nudity ensued
• There was a W1 field trip to Stratton Brook Hut yay
• Chloe went to Acadia with the Bossi clan and hiked the Precipice and walked around Jordan Pond and then rescued the Katahdin Krew
• Max and Soren and Austin went up sugarloaf and spaulding it was fun, there was blood sweat and LOTS of nudity
• Eric hiked French Mountain and it was normal mostly
• Taryn hiked the Bigelows with Soren and co and there was blood and sweat and NUDITY again (where there is soren there is nudity)

Here’s what we gon’ do

• Sam wants to lead a night hike after whittling with Nat
• Eric would lead a trip to Early Bird with a bit o hiking too
• Lilli wants to lead a Friday trip to Reid State Park
• Michaela wants to explore the Arb during some afternoons (not as an official trip)

LTT (Leader Training Trip) yay

• Leaders will be trained on October 6 7 and 8
• Notifications will be sent soon we promise, and sign ups are closed
• No outdoor experience necessary to become a leader!
• None!
• Zero!
• There’s gonna be a second LTT in November for all y’all that missed this one

Fall Break

• Fall Break is Oct. 14-17th!  We lead generally longer trips during this time and they’re all super fun
• Trip leaders wanting to lead a fall break trip should have descriptions in by Friday
• Trip descriptions go out this coming Sunday, sign ups are lottery style
• Sign ups close next Thursday

Everest!

• Ed Webster is coming to Colby!
• Thursday at 7 pm in Olin 1!
• He ascended without sherpas and oxygen and radios!
• Office hours are moved up an hour from 6-7 M

NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School)  Film

• October 4th!
• There will be a bunch o short outdoor films
• A NOLS rep (Derek) will be there givin out stickers and swag
• Come watch movies with us in Ostrove in Diamond!

Committees

• Gear
  • Bring yo gear back pls
• Cabin
  • We’re workin with PPD in October to redo the floors
• Events
  • Game night on Tuesday, 7:30
  • Coincidentally my office hours yay
  • Whittling Wednesdays from 7-8!
• Sugaring
  • To join sugaring talk to / email Martin Deutsch!
  • There will be a meeting next week!
• Conservation comrades
  • Help clean up Maine’s trails!
  • Take trash from trails and put it in a communal garbage can here in the COC!

Also lastly there was an awesome microaggressions training following last night’s meeting that was mandatory for all leaders / leaders in training so if you couldn’t attend then please email me or K-Council or the Diversity & Inclusion Comrades and we’ll work something out.  Thx yall

And that’s that!  Aren’t we a productive bunch

Also it’s warm out guys take advantage while you can before the snow monsters set in on colby and you can’t feel your face for weeks at a time and rime ice starts to form on your nose and the line for hypothermia treatment extends out of Garrison Foster.  So get outside peeps!

Until next time amigos,

– soren

Uh hello, yes, is this thing on? Can you – can you hear me? Ok good….WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME TO THE ONE HUNDRED AND THIRD ANNUAL OUTING CLUB GAMES. This here blog page will be updated once a week with accounts of shenanigans past, present, and future. So without further ado…the minutes:

Before we dive right in to this weekend’s trips a few events occurred at the meeting that must be addressed:

1. HOLY SHOOT IT’S THE FIRST MEETING OF THE YEAR AND SO MANY NEW FACES AND NOT ENOUGH SEATS FOR EVERYONE’S BUTTS…
2. as a follow up to that, for those that couldn’t make it, we have a meeting every Sunday at 7:00 and they usually last only 30 minutes but stay in our hearts forever and ever
3. Today my phone flew off the top of a car on I-95 (don’t ask) on my way back from UMaine and I thought it was lost forever, BUT THEN my friends got it off the side of the freakin’ highway and returned it to me during the meeting (for those that need a visual, imagine me jumping up and making pterodactyl screeches as a crowd confusedly applauded) AND IT TOTALLY WORKS AND THE SCREEN DIDN’T BREAK (more pterodactyl screeches). I’d like to thank our apple overlords (sry android peeps, nothing against ya) on this blessed day.

Alrighty, here’s what we done did in the neature this week:

• Dean and others went to Katahdin this weekend. They reported blood, sweat, tears, and nudity. That’s the whole enchilada, way to start off strong doods.
• Anna, Sam, and Paula went to New Hampshire and did trail work in the White Mountains. They put rocks in holes. (PSA if you’re ever hiking and see volunteers doing trail maintenance you should say thank you and swear your firstborn child to them…okay maybe just the first part).
• Ian and others camped on Allen Island…….FOR SCIENCE.
• Max, Soren, and Caroline went geocaching in the arb and only geo’d some of the caches. I award them an E for effort.
• Abby took a “chill, awesome walk” it was gorgeous and “good for breathing your mind…I mean mind breathing”
• Lucie went on the “butt rock night stroll” which, after much conferring with linguists and anthropologists, I’ve come to translate as the Mount Phillip night hike that went out on Thursday.
• Lucie, Dominick, HB, Julia (moi), and others went to Blueberry Mountain which was rated a 10/10 trip for a scenic drive, good views, swimming hole, and baked goods. The rating bumped up to 12/10 because we ran into a 6 month old chocolate lab named Ruby. She’s the cutest pupper in all the land (sry I don’t make the rules).
• Lilly, Chloe, and Brittany went to Mount Moriah and got lost, but then they ran into a Tufts group that was also lost and a lord of the flies like scenario played out. Kidding, they got unlost and beat the Tufts group up and down (HA!). Brittany ate a giant pickle on the summit, the only thing I have to say to that is…are you okay?
• Sam and Lilli went to French Mountain on Saturday morning and then got Purple Cow (a diner) I applaud them for starting the year off strong by going straight to the giant pancakes.
• Michael, Hannah, and others went to French Mountain (in the night time) and stared at the stars for an hour and a half. The stars stared back.
• Jared was on a run and saw a snake and got scared and jumped in a puddle. I 10/10 would have done the same thing, snakes are scary. Where are your legs you dumb twerking lizard?
• Lilly jumped out of a PLANE. She physically could not stop herself from smiling for hours after she plummeted through the sky at 120mph. (PS she had a parachute).

Here’s what we gon do in neature next week:

• Kayak Clinics will commence on Thursday!
• Hannah and Sam plus Fini and Michael will be leading two Katahdin trips this weekend (the lottery for this trip was already sent out!)
• Nat and Max want to do an easy hike somewhere and then go to the Common Ground Fair.
• Soren wants to lead a trip to the Bigelows (*swoon*) on Saturday.
• Soren wants to lead a trip to Sugarloaf and Spaulding up the AT.
• Additionally, Soren needs do find time to do his homework.

LEADER TRAINING TRIP (LTT)

• It’s that time of year again folks.
• Leader training season.
• Ahhhhh.
• This is a mandatory step to becoming a COC leader.
• The trip will be on the weekend from October 7th-9th
• NO. OUTDOOR. EXPERIENCE. IS. NECESSARY. TO. BECOME. A. COC. LEADER.

Fall Break:

• Fall break will be from October 14th-17th! We try to lead 2-3 longer four day trips (like backpacking or canoeing).
• Leaders that want to lead for fall break need to contact K-Council A$AP.
• If you’d like to go on a trip, there will be more info coming out soon!

Next week after our COC meeting:

• Leader training in micro aggressions/ speaking to privileges / being a good human bean
• Mandatory for leaders but open to ANYONE

Committees:

• Gear
  • GEAR WAIVER (this is a google form that was sent out to outing last week)
  • FILL IT OUT IF YA WANT GEAR
  • Someone will always be in the office M-T from 7-8 and Fridays 3-4.
  • If you can’t make those times please email us to schedule a time!
• Events
  • Tuesday night there will be an informal Movie night at 7:30 with popcorn
  • Whittling Wednesdays every Wednesday 7-8…on Wednesdays
  • If you have something you are excited about and want to plan an event or lead a clinic or do a clinic come talk to K-Council or Events Committee

I’m a little rusty on my sign off blurbs so I’m just going to type a stream of consciousness until I decide I’ve written enough. The tea that I am drinking right now is really good. I put a little bit of milk in it. Milk is kinda like cheese. I love cheese. Cheese is the only goodness in this world. Sorry, that was dark. Cheese and dogs are the only goodness in the world. But don’t give cheese to your dog, that seems like a bad idea. Now I miss my dog. Darn. Okay I think I’m gonna stop typing now because I am running out of thoughts. My brain is rapidly emptying. Adieu my friends, adieu.

– Julia

And so (almost) concludes the 2016-2017 Outdoor Tomfoolery…

What we did:

• Lisa, Michael, and the Wolfpack went kayaking, and the Wolfdog himself said it was rad, so you know it was rad
• The Bossi duo slept overnight on Runnals and successfully avoided moisture while also befriending the alarm clock/dog named Rudy
• On Saturday, people journeyed to the Climate March in Augusta and marched against climate
• A crew led by Max and Soren and driven by a daring Logan ascended both Crockers on snowshoes – a nude moose was spotted
• Martin carried sap across campus and Roxanne subsequently approved of the resulting syrup
• Maddy and Amy led a spring break reunion trip to Round Top
• A whole slew of folks got WFA certified with an unidentified instructor!
• Park and associates went swimming at the Hume Center and is planning a sequel for Wednesday
• Sam and Logan led a trip to Tumbledown, and were blessed with blood sweat and nudity
• Katie led her grand ‘rents on a walk along the Kennebec, no one fell in
• Lilli mocked (hammocked for the uninformed) in the arb and encountered scary frogs
• Soren went to Popham Beach on a field trip and watched ospreys eat seals
• Spencer skied in Tuckerman’s Ravine with Collette and her parents, mucho snow was present

What we will do:

• STUDY for ya finals since there aren’t official trips during reading period
• Let the ever faithfuls know if we’re heading outside because who wants to study
• Kayak clinics this Monday (5/1) from 7-9!

T SHIRTS:

• They’re in
• They’re awesome
• Come sign the one in the office if you haven’t
• Sign up for tabling HERE since we’re selling them for $10 in the spa

End-of-Year Cabin Shindig!

• Sunday from 4-7 PM
• Both meat and faux-meat will be present
• Canoeing! Awards! Fun for all!
  • Nominate people for awards at coc@colby.edu because people did awesome things this year!

Committees:

• Community Outreach:
  • Congrats to next year’s head Nat!
• Events:
  • Hooray to Brittany who will head events next year!
  • CCAK BBQ is this Friday from 11 AM to 1 PM
    • Fun team building! Free food! Free T Shirts!
    • Sign up HERE
  • Congrats to our photo contest winners!
    • Julia von Ehr, Katie Nicolaou, and Sam Wells took home gold, silver, and bronze for their rad pictures
• Gear:
  • Congrats to Michael Stone and Katie Kelley as next year’s gear heads!
  • Also bring your gear back unless you wanna pay for it!
• Sugaring:
  • Yay Martin, headin up Sugaring next year!
  • Boiling is DONE and we have three gallons of syrup!
  • It’s delicious
• Cabin:
  • Yippee new head Kaitlin!
• Trips:
  • New platforms are in! Look at em HERE
  • Also update your leader profile or email Brittany to get one if you took WFA!

Hot Seats!

• Caroline
  • Otter, carrot, bobs, mudd 2nd floor, hannah’s the prettiest, hannah’s the mommest, maine, hannah’s the bossiest in k-council, washington, spoon, oak, thunderstorms
• Keller
  • 0.7 mm, fold, toes not cold, tevos are better, minny, 7 up, maybe in minny, plastic things, def in minny, asparagus, broccoli, this ugly couch, idk no fruit in minny
• Tom
  • Garamond, word, jellyfish, 3 miles, nephew of joe biden, dead body in runnals, invertebrates, hand in a blender, bigelows, all mtns are pretty great

And that just about does it for official Outing Club shenanigans this year, sadly.  But there’s plenty of outdoors to enjoy anyway, get out there and get tan / freckled / burnt!  See y’all next year, and you seniors better come back to visit!

Con mucho amor

Soren

Ok. Please don’t freak out…but we are more than halfway through April. That means we have a couple short weeks of very busy *official* outdoors shenanigans left.

Before today’s meeting:

• Sam and Ana led a COC dialogue trip to Flagstaff hut. They reported good dialogue and some blood.
• Soren, Max, and others went up Saddleback. It was both “awesome” and “legitimately awesome”. There was also some nudity.
• Soren also went up Mount Megunticook with his Aunt and cousin. There was significantly less nudity.
• Amy and Logan led yet another dialogue hike. In addition to good dialogue Logan got to see the Bigelows from another amazing, and equally beautiful, angle.
• Kaitlin went on a hike to a place that was in NO WAY aptly called The Mountain. There was NO summit and NO views. She also went to the COC cabin and reported that there is still some ice on the lake but the majority is water. (cue Lisa urging everyone to go swimming in freezing cold water).
• Logan and the Woodspeople went canoe practicing on the Messalonskee stream.
• Chris and the crew team had a regatta (which is a pretentious word for boat races). The days events were as such: hop on a bus and sit, hop in a boat and sit whilst rowing, hop on a bus again and sit.
• Caroline and myself went to Bowdoin and played two games of frisbee, we lost both games, but played well and had fun, and that’s all the matters…right?!? (pls affirm me, I don’t like losing).
• Speaking of discs, Samwise and Scoot played disc golf. They hit two windows and had two people curse them out. Not bad!
• Lastly, an LL bean boot shaped vehicle came to campus on Friday afternoon. You know, in case you forgot what LL Bean boots look like.

After today’s meeting:

• Spencer and Logan have senioritis and want to get outside during the week…hit them up for adventures!
• We need leaders to lead hikes for the MLRC event this Saturday. Hit up Hannah Bossi or Maddy Wendell for more info.
• Kayaking clinics are still going on 7-9 on Mondays in the pool in the AC. (even though the Linehan family won’t be there it should be fun)
• There will be whittling on Wednesday!

Democracy – The Saga Continues: 

• Platforms for Bigelow Buddy positions will be due next week. These positions include:
  • Trips Facilitation Committee
  • Gear Committee
  • Events and Community Outreach
  • Sugaring Committee
  • Cabin
• We are also adding another level of leadership roles, these jobs will be a step lower than a committee position in terms of responsibility and we are calling them Camden Comrades. Peep your emails this week for more info.

Committees:

• Gear:
  • This Tuesday there will be a whisperlite repair clinic.
• Trips:
  • There will be office hours tomorrow night
  • LTT is this weekend (probably)
• Sugaring:
  • This past Thursday Spencer, Martin and other boiled sap
  • The sap is being refrigerated right now
• Events:
  • On Thursday from 10- midnight the COC will be having s’mores with admitted students! Come eat gooey campfire goodness and get some prospective students stoked about the COC.
  • THERE’S A PHOTO CONTEST. ENTER A PHOTO YOU’VE TAKEN IN NATURE TO cocnaturephotos@gmail.com TO WIN FREE COC SWAG.

Because I am feeling uninspired about my ability to write a blurb for the ending of these minutes I will leave you with this weird cliff hanger of a final sentence.

– Julia

Today we were joined by a very special guest, a relic of COC days of yore, who descended upon our meeting from the realm of adultdom to tell us that, yes, life goeth on after college. I’m talking about Sara LoTemplio ya nerds…last year’s co-president and the outing club’s once and future queen. Thanks for visiting ya troll. ANY WHO, here be the minutes:

Here’s what happened:

• People went to Sugarloaf to ski and listen reggae music. Hint hint ’twas Reggaefest.
• Abby went outside and hit Lisa twice (translation: Abby and Lisa were skiing and ran into each other).
• On Saturday Julia and Sam led a dialogue hike to Flagstaff hut, there was good food, good trippers, and good discussion about hypermasculinity in the outdoor liberal elite.
• On Sunday Maddy and Anna led a dialogue hike to Flagstaff hut, I’m going to assume there was good food, I’m going to assume there were good trippers, and I’m going to assume there was good discussion (basically y’all gotta come to the meeting and talk about your trip).
• On Sunday Keller and Lilli and co. went on a hike. They ran into, or rather drove into, some trouble…

… but after some skillful driving from Keller they were off again with no further problems. Woot woot!

What’s gonna happen:

• Soren wants to lead a hike up Saddleback! Speaking of backs, everyone needs to pat Soren on the back for being rad and leading so so so so so so many hikes.
• There will be two dialogue trips this weekend. One led by the dynamic duo Sam and Ana, and one led by the static duo Logan and Amy.
• Logan wants to get sendy in a canoe, and hopefully someone else does too!
• Roll clinics are still Mondays from 7-9 & there will be a RAD beginner paddling trip before the end of the year!
• …also get yer running shoes out and yer legs ready for some mud because it’s almost trail running season KIDDOS
• The Bootmobile will be here on Friday, April 14th yeehaw!

Poll! We forgot to do a poll so I’m making one up off the top of my head right now.

• Who is a better sexcretary (Sam or Julia)?
  • Sam: 0
  • Julia: 0
  • Gunther the plastic penguin that lives in the gear closet: 7.5 billion

COMMITTEE COMRADES (I’ve just made an executive decision to change the name of our Bigelow Buddies):

• Gear:
  • RETURN YOUR SPRING BREAK GEAR (ERIN)
• Trips:
  • The Leader Training Trip (LTT) will be LIT. It’s on April 21st-23rd and ya gotta do it to become a leader.
• Sugaring:
  • It looks like sugaring committee is going to have 4 to 5 gallons of delicious syrupy goodness. Yum.
• Events:
  • Eat s’mores with admitted students (April 20th)
  • Sign up to work at Colby Cares Day (April 22nd)
  • Peep yo emails because we’re gonna be having a photo contest.

MLRC (Maddy Loves wRiting Curriculum…)

• …but not alone. If you want to help come up with the curriculum/ agenda/ activities for our diversity and inclusion retreat on April 22nd to the Maine Lakes Resource Center contact Maddy Wendell (mwendell@colby.edu).

In case you live under a rock you probably noticed that Maine finally remembered that April is when spring happens. So take off your shoes and get out your shorts, your hammocks, your slack lines, your frisbees, your bikes, and go sit on Miller lawn procrastinating like the rest of us.

peace n luv n vitamin d,

JULIA

Welcome back my outing peeps! With spring break behind us we have 4 short weekends of outdoors goodness ahead of us before the end of the year, and you can bet yer butt that these weekends will be filled with maximum send. Buckle up, my friends, because these minutes are jam packed with information on upcoming events:

Yesterday (all my troubles seemed so far away):

• SPRANG BREAK FUN: Maddy + Amy led a COC trip to Bryce, Zion, and the Grand Canyon, they liked Bryce the most most, their favorite meal was “some interesting pancakes”, there was also thunder and lightning
• SPEAKING OF THUNDER AND LIGHTNING: Abby and I led a COC trip to Point Reyes National Seashore in California it rained and stormed a lot but overall it was amazing and beautiful.
• RED RIVER GORGEOUS: Logan and others went on a CMC trip (*gasp*) to Kentucky where they ate Miguel’s Pizza and Chipotle, drank Ale 8s, and got sendy in the sport climbing hub of Murica.
• A B C D E F G H I J-TREE: Fini, Austin, Peejay, and others went to Joshua Tree in California and did some tRAD climbing. “It was very dirty and fun”
• MICHAEL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA: He was lookin’ for a soul to steal. He rowed some boats with the crew team.
• HANNAH FREAKING PETERS: came back from UMO to tell us about her National Park touring spring break trip to New Mexico
• R.I.P. TO LAURA’S CAR: Lilli, Laura, and Katie went backpacking in the great smoky mountains and unfortunately Laura’s car died. PSA the great smoky mountains are prettier in the summer, according to Lilli.
• HIGH TIDE: Scott drove to one of the Carolinas (I can’t remember which) to play some frizzzbeee. The women came in 3rd place. The men did not.
• WOLFDOG AND POW: the perfect spring break trip. Ryan Linehan took Lisa and others to Canada and they shredded the gnar.
• SPENCER: did nothing of importance.
• THE END OF BIKEBERNATION: Jared took his road bike out of winter bike hibernation and went on joyous spring ride

• This past weekend Soren, Max, Austin, and others (but not Caroline because she slept through it) drove to upside down Vermont (aka New Hampshire) and went up Mount Waumbek.
• Logan went splitboarding down Runnals…the only thing of importance in this story is that Wolfdog has a splitboard in his office that YOU can borrow.

Tomorrow (now it looks as if they’re here to stay):

• Lilli and Keller are gonna lead a day hike this weekend
• Logan wants to go canoeing sooooooooooooooon so keep yer eyes peeled fer a canoe trip in the near future
• Dartmouth invited us to Riverfest  on the weekend of April 21st-23rd there will be a white water race (class 4) amongst other paddle related things. Contact Lisa (ldblackm@colby.edu) for more info!

Poll – Narrow or wide mouthed Nalgene:

• Narrow: 3 (heathens)
• Wide: I lost track but it was the overwhelming majority of people in the room (I think about 3 people didn’t raise their hands)

DIALOGUE TRIPS AND MLRC:

• HEY THERE HO THERE lets talk about privilege.
• On the weekends of April 8th and April 15th we will be having day hikes to Flagstaff hut (of the Maine Huts and Trails). At Flagstaff trippers will have a facilitated discussion about issues of race, gender, social class, privilege, and inclusivity in outdoor spaces. YAY! If you want to lead one of these trips contact me (jvonehr@colby.edu). If you want to go on one of these trips check your email for sign ups.

• In addition to dialogue trips we will be having an off campus conference at the Maine Lakes Resource Center where we will have activities, discussion, etc. all regarding these same issues of diversity and inclusivity in the outdoors. YEE HAW.
• Contact Maddy Wendell (mwendell@colby.edu) if you want to help plan this day!

COMMITTEES:

• Gear
  • currently recovering from spring break hence the messy office
  • return your gear from spring break
• Trips
  • The Leader Training Trip will be on Friday April 21st – Sunday April 23rd
  • Sign up if you want to become a leader
  • Also, sign up if you want to shadow to become a leader trainer
• Cabin Sugaring
  • sap is being collected
  • boiling will be happening soon
  • email Ryan (rclemens@colby.edu) if you want to get involved
• Events/ Community Outreach
  • This Friday snowboarder Kevin Pearce will be coming to Colby to talk about his experience in dealing with a life changing traumatic brain injury 8pm in Ostrove (and it’s a wellness credit).
  • On Thursday, April 20th come to the COC office to have s’mores with admitted students
  • On Friday, April 21st the L.L. Bean Bootmobile will be here!!!
  • Volunteer with the COC for Colby Cares Day (April 22nd) from 9-12
• Whittling
  • whittling is effectively canceled unless people show up

DEMOCRACY DEMOCRACY:

• It’s almost the end of the year which means elections for positions in the COC are coming up!
• Platforms for co-presidents (must be rising senior) are due by 7:00pm on April 9th
• Platforms for secretary (can be half year position) and treasurer (at least rising junior and up, must be here for the full year) will be due on April 16th by 7:00pm
• Platforms for Bigelow Buddies will be due on April 23rd by 7:00pm
• email coc@colby.edu if you have any questions

HOT SEAT ANSWERS (Martin edition): times new roman, bern—oh can i chose both ok maple syrup, davis, 802, marijuana??, bobs, crunchy, i didn’t, it fits with the aesthetic, four

OKAY ALRIGHT, BIG BLUE MOON, APRIL IS CRAY. There is so much stuff going on this April so be on the look out for emails. Lastly, I know that school is ramping up right now and finals (and graduation *ahhh*) are looming. But don’t forget to take some time to catch your breath, get outdoors, and send it. Your brain will thank you later.

With love,

Julia

Although it seemed like spring had sprung, the weather quickly said “nope” and plummeted back to arctic temperatures. Which means we’ve got SNOW coming our way. If that makes you excited for more snow shenanigans then get amped! If that makes you angry beyond belief because you just put away your snow boots and are sick of winter…well, sorry (but, hey, spring break is in a week)! Here’s what we’ve been up to:

Some time in the past:

• Spencer and Mom Spencer went in the arboretum for a stroll, they got lost, Spencer contemplated leaving his mother alone in the woods, they got unlost, they went to pub night, all was well.
• Spencer attached sticks to his feet and went downhill (skiing). Woo!
• Abby said she went for a walk around Johnson Pond on a warm, sunny day…nobody believes her because “warm” is not how I would describe last week’s weather.
• Logan and Brother Logan and Father Logan went cross country skiing at Sloaf.
• Speaking of cross country skiing…Charlie went to New Hampshire to watch NCAAs and apparently someone named Zane did well. Go Zane.
• Owens, Lisa, Ian, and Michael went on a guided jaunt up Katahdin. I hear that’s a pretty easy hike to do in the middle of the winter. (In case you didn’t pick up on my sarcasm I am KIDDING and they are RAD).
•  Max and Sam and others walked into the arb before sunrise on Saturday and promptly left because it was freakin’ cold. They then randomly decided to go watch the sunrise on Miller steps, no one else was there as no college student has any reason to be on Miller steps at 5:58am on a Saturday morning.
• LOL kidding, happy belated Perrocabeza.

SPRANG BREAK

• There won’t be any trips going out next weekend due to the fact that EVERYONE WILL BE ON SPRING BREAK.
• But while you are still at Colby enjoy the snow this week!

SPRANG BREAK: THE SEQUEL- GEAR

• If you want gear from the COC for your outdoor adventures YOU NEED TO SEND AN EMAIL TO asmullig@colby.edu  BY TOMORROW.
• Gear is being allocated to spring break trips right now so if you come in on Thursday evening looking for gear chances are there won’t be any left for you.

SPRANG BREAK: THE TRILOGY – PHOTOS

• If you happen to be taking photos while you are out and about romping in the wild over spring break send them to coc@colby.edu so we can post them to the COC INSTA!
• PICS PICS PICS WOOT WOOT WOOT

Franks vs. Cholula

• Franks: 3 (heathens)
• Cholula: 9 (Chloe Boehm phoned in from New Zealand and voted for Cholula an additional 37 times)

Committees:

• Gear:
  • if you need anything for spring break fill out the form before TUESDAY
  • don’t move anything in the COC office or ABBY WILL PERSONALLY SEE TO YOUR DEMISE
• Sugaring:
  • the weather is funky but they’re collecting sap
• Events/Community Outreach:
  • Movie night on Thursday?????
  • possibly

Next Year Elections:

• Elections for next school year’s committee heads and K-council positions are going to be soon after spring break
• So keep that info in yer noggin if you’re thinking of running for one of these positions

ALRIGHT NERDS, HAVE FUN ON SPRING BREAK.

PEACE, I’M OUT.

– Julia

Did you know that the Colby Outing Club was founded in 1914?

Anyways, here’s what we did this weekend:

• Sam and Michael and Soren and others went up Mount Phillip this Saturday. IT. WAS. WINDY.

• Soren and Maddy went to Blue Hill, but the most important part of this story is that they visted Grandma Soren and she MADE DOPE HOT CHOCOLATE AND GOT THEM A 4 FOOT LONG SANDWICH. (I wonder if this is the same Grandmother who knitted Soren a scarf in Colby’s official school colors of Colby Blue and Priscilla Gray).

• Caroline, Logan, Sam and others snowshoed up and down Saddleback. The adjective that best described conditions on this trip was “crusty”.

• Lilli “Life Alert” Garza and Parky Park took a funky bunch to the Hidden Valley Nature Center (no relation to the salad dressing). They snuggled in sleeping bags and had two fun days of adventure.

• Julia (me!) and Hannah and Max and others woke up EARLY this morning to watch the sunrise from French Mountain. After this long and strenuous endeavor we all ate our body’s weight in Early Bird food.

• Carter and others went Nordic skiing (one of Colby’s 32 varsity sports teams) this weekend, conditions were chilly. Gavin from Dartmouth won, but what matters most is that Colby looked the best.

• Fun fact: Colby is the 12th-oldest private liberal arts college in the country, and was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution

Next Week:

• SGA wants us to lead a Sunrise hike that ends on Miller steps for Doghead (fun fact: Colby’s campus has only been on Mayflower Hill since 1952)

• Max wants to lead another XC skiing clinic at Quarry Road

• Roll Clinics will begin tomorrow (Monday) from 6-8

Dialogue Trips and Green is Not White 2.0:

• facilitated discussion about privilege in the outdoors + Maine Huts and Trails lunch + hiking = the perfect weekend (aka Dialogue trips)

• Green is Not White part deux will take place on April 15th at the Maine Lakes Resource Center…keep your eyes pealed for more info about this

• contact coc@colby.edu if you want to help organize these events

• (cool tid bit: Mary Caffrey Low Carver was the first female graduate of Colby College)

NEW WAIVER, I REPEAT, NEW WAIVER:

• so…we have a new waiver

• you can find them printed out in the office in a bin that says “Blank Waivers”

• don’t use the waiver that’s online (that’s the old waiver)

• did you know David Greene is Colby’s 20th president?

Committees:

• Gear:
  • we got 10 new pairs of microspikes
  • if you want gear for spring break there will be a gear request form going out soon

• Trips:
  • Ryan has WFA dates, we don’t have WFA dates, hopefully we will soon have WFA dates
  • There will be a Leader Training Trip going out at the very end of this year
  • Sam and Brittany weren’t here to pass on this info because they were deliberating for COOT (which btw was started in 1975)

• Sugaring:
  • Sugaring is partnering with other clubs on campus to do a sugaring open house so peeps can learn all about how we make syrup right here on Colby’s 714 acre campus
  • Email Ryan Clemens if you want to be added to this list

• Events:
  • Jared sent in a platform to be the new events chair!!!

COC INSTA: 

• fact the first, Colby College used to be called Waterville College

• fact the second, Colby College also used to be called Colby University

• fact the third, the COLBY OUTING CLUB HAS A DOPE INSTAGRAM (send us your pictures if you want us to post them)

ICE AIN’T NICE:

• there is ice lurking EVERYWHERE

• wear yer microspikes and snowshoes kiddos

• this has been a PSA

• Colby’s first female varsity sport was Basketball…this has been another PSA

Ok, you’ve now read all of the minutes and you may be wondering “why all the Colby fun facts?” WELL LET’S JUST SAY THAT OUR GOOD ALUMNI FRIEND, BYRD, AND OUR GURL, SOPHIE, LED US TO COLBY TRIVIA GLORY ON FRIDAY NIGHT. It. was. exhilarating.

Lux Mentis nuditas Scientia,

Julia