The Beginning of our Gap Semester
Gap Blog 1- Weeks 1-2It’s Week 3 of this year's semester of Gap at Glenbrook and so much has already happened. Upon arrival, Gappers were greeted by Liv and MJ and introduced to our new home, Hill House. From mealtime chores to dance parties, Hill House’s kitchen has been a central spot for our little group. The oven has gotten a lot of use. So far, we’ve baked muffins and chocolate-chip cookies. During our first weekend here, we made some banana bread, which we brought to our first potluck, along with some watermelon and cucumber fruit salad. The potluck was a lot of fun, the children of the full-time staff were there and tired us out with some gaga ball.
And then we were off! Last Monday, we started prepping for our first trek. The Gappers and Liv were joined by School Programs Instructor Joseph for 3 days on the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway trail. We said goodbye to MJ at the trailhead and started backpacking. Day one was around 5 miles, and the group quickly set a fast pace (with extra-long breaks). We planned to have lunch at the summit of Pitcher Mountain but ended up reaching the top at 10:30–a little too early for lunch. We took some questionable routes to find water and closed the day off by cowboy camping. Day two was a daunting 12 miles. In a turn of events we took a lunch break at a church in Nelson and met a very nice man named Al! He showed us a shortcut that got rid of a crazy hill and cut our trip down by around 1 mile. He also provided our first bit of trail magic–at the end of our lunch he gave us some much-appreciated popsicles! We spent a lot of time walking along roads and at one point we had to cross Route 9. Before our crossing, 2 big trucks drove past and honked their horns. They were followed by a much smaller CRV who joined in and gave us a few beeps.
That night we wrote a note in our shelter's logbook that included a poem about the importance of being open and honest about going to the bathroom in the woods and our friend, Tim Cheese from Portland, Oregon. By day 3 we were ready to head back to camp. We hiked past a little library and took a stop there, although no one ended up taking any books home. Farther down the road we took a turn at a small sign that advertised homemade cheese, and we were greeted by another little library at the start of a long driveway which led to a farmstand. To finish off our trip we had to cross two streams. The first one didn’t have a bridge but was shallow and wasn’t very wide. The second one was a lot wider, and the bridge was closed off as it was breaking down. Joseph and Liv set up a pathway with rocks, and we hopped our way across. We took a final snack break at a beautiful part of the Minnewawa Reservoir and made the final kick home. As we made our final steps up the hill to Glen Brook, we were greeted by MJ and collapsed onto the lawn. That night we went to a Bread and Puppet performance and got some cool posters. The show was very interesting and was in a beautiful field that overlooked a forest and some mountains.
Once back at camp, we got started on our canoe paddles. We set up shop in the barn and picked out our slabs of paddle. With draw knives, rasps, and planers, Gappers began slowly carving off layers of wood. By the end of our first session, the floor was filled with sawdust and shavings. We cleaned it all up and went back to Hill House for a delicious vegetable-filled meal.
Throughout our 2 weeks we have spent time in the kitchen, woodshop, and throughout the farm. We learned the proper techniques for chopping veggies, wrangled chickens, learned about compost and manure, picked beans, and whittled chopsticks. We’ve also spent some time at the waterfront and throughout the trails around camp. This week will be primarily focused on paddles, but we have time dedicated to other activities like farm foundations and visiting the food bank that Glenbrook donates to.