On a very beautiful and brisk spring day, 6 of us traversed Mt. Tammany in the Delaware water gap. We filled the van and drove the hour and a half out to the bottom of Mt. Tammany just off of route 80. From the start, the three students, one from Technology High School (Newark), one from Elizabeth High School and one from West Side High School (Newark) took to a pace that WELL outpaced the three excursion leaders. Bill. Josephine and I were often left winded as the three boys raced their way up the steep initial climb to reach the beautiful vistas near the top of the mountain. Within 35 minutes, we reached the first stopping point overlooking the river and highway. The students were very impressed with view; One student could not stop taking photos. After a few groups photos as well, we continued on up the path towards the top, with the energetic youth pushing the three excursion leaders to the point of sore legs and heavy breathing again. Once at the top, the six of us took a few more photos and sat down to eat the sandwiches we packed for the hike. It wasn’t until this point, when we had reached the pinnacle of our hike, that the three boys started to talk to us adults a little more. We discussed colleges and prospects of where the students wanted to go and what the students wanted to study.
The view from the top as we ate our lunch overlooked miles and miles of trees across the border in Pennsylvania. Students continued to look out and describe how nice the view was. Soon after finishing lunch and taking one last photo to remember how awesome the day was, the 6 hikers started the decent down the mountain. Going downward took a lot less effort than going up, thanks to the help of the gravitational force. Towards the end of the hike, we came across a small waterfall and a river crossing piqued the three students’ interest. One student climbed down from the path looking for any signs of different life forms that he had not seen before, bugs, fish, etc. The other two, along with the three excursion leaders, followed. Soon we were climbing across logs in the small river and looking at tree mites and other insects. All of which fascinated the three students, who talked about how different being out in the woods was compared to the cities they lived in.
Once we reached the car the students could not stop talking about how much they liked the journey up and down the mountain and how they would want to do something like that again, because they never had before that day. It was a bit different than what they normally did on a Saturday, and it was even more exciting. The six of us then stopped at Cold Stone on the way home, enjoyed some ice cream, and headed back to Newark Penn Station. As one boy pointed out in his post excursion survey, the hike was a welcomed positive Saturday experience for all three, as well as us three excursion leaders who got to learn from and have positive discussions with three such amazing young men.
--Colin
The view from the top as we ate our lunch overlooked miles and miles of trees across the border in Pennsylvania. Students continued to look out and describe how nice the view was. Soon after finishing lunch and taking one last photo to remember how awesome the day was, the 6 hikers started the decent down the mountain. Going downward took a lot less effort than going up, thanks to the help of the gravitational force. Towards the end of the hike, we came across a small waterfall and a river crossing piqued the three students’ interest. One student climbed down from the path looking for any signs of different life forms that he had not seen before, bugs, fish, etc. The other two, along with the three excursion leaders, followed. Soon we were climbing across logs in the small river and looking at tree mites and other insects. All of which fascinated the three students, who talked about how different being out in the woods was compared to the cities they lived in.
Once we reached the car the students could not stop talking about how much they liked the journey up and down the mountain and how they would want to do something like that again, because they never had before that day. It was a bit different than what they normally did on a Saturday, and it was even more exciting. The six of us then stopped at Cold Stone on the way home, enjoyed some ice cream, and headed back to Newark Penn Station. As one boy pointed out in his post excursion survey, the hike was a welcomed positive Saturday experience for all three, as well as us three excursion leaders who got to learn from and have positive discussions with three such amazing young men.
--Colin