Hello, dear blog readers! Now that we’re on day 10 and the Apogee summer days have officially hit double digits, we think it’s time for the blog to mature. No more silly poses, no more jokes, and definitely no puns. JUST KIDDING! Scroll on for your daily dose of blog shenanigans featuring lots of exciting photos that hopefully remind us all about the importance of staying young at heart.

Skip to a Specific Trip: CI, NEMCA, NEMCB, CS, MCCE, DEX, VMA, CRMC, CMCA, CMCB, AKMC, NWXA, NWXB, PCA, PCB, AX, PMC, ECC1, ECC2 ACC

Cape Cod & the Islands (CI) 

As Paul Revere would say, “CI is coming!” Today, the crew packed up their camp in Provincetown (after taking some amazing photos) and took a ferry to Boston. Congrats CI, you’ve made it to your final destination! Now all that’s left to do is explore beautiful “Beantown” and maybe have a few lobster rolls while you’re at it.

New England Mountains & Coast A (NEMCA) 

Today, NEMCA left their camp in the beautiful woods of New Hampshire to wrap-up the “mountains” portion of their itinerary. They made tracks for the Mid-Coast region of Maine to complete the “coast” part of the trip’s namesake. Between today and tomorrow they have some sea kayaking, community service, an exploration of Portland, and their final celebratory dinner to squeeze in — staying busy and having fun!

New England Mountains & Coast B (NEMCB) 

Check out our all-star NEMCB group in front of this gorgeous waterfall! Seems like they got a taste of the river before whitewater rafting in the Androscoggin. Way to get your heads in the zone NEMCB! After rafting, the group dried off and made their way from New Hampshire back to good ol’ Maine!

Caribbean Service (CS) 

Grab some goggles and get those feet in flippers on because CS just went snorkeling! The group had an amazing day splashing around the warm waters of the Caribbean. This afternoon, the group helped out at one of the many beaches on Vieques affected by Hurricane Maria, doing a beach clean-up. It looked like an amazing day to be out at sea!

Maine Coast College Essay (MCCE) 

While MCCE is officially over, the writing skills this group gained will be with them for a lifetime. Congrats on a successful trip — we’ll miss those smiling faces!

Maine’s Downeast Explorer (DEX)

Hurray! We’ve come to the second day on the Appalachian Trail for DEX. Unfortunately, that means another day without a blog photo. Not to worry, though! I’m sure there will be some amazing photos coming our way once they get out.

Vermont to Montréal A (VMA)

VMA has made it to Canada! I repeat, VMA has made it to Canada! Today was the day our crew rolled into the beautiful province of Quebec. Forget miles, we’re talking kilometers now and this group biked 58 of them today and made it to their campground before 1 PM. Impressive!

Costa Rica Mountains & Coast (CRMC) 

What a day! CRMC woke up in their stunning Costa Rican ecolodge, and spent the day volunteering in the gardens right in their backyard, swimming in the river, and soaking in life in the rainforest. This fab group learned all about the importance of maintaining a self-sustaining garden and the effects that it has on the local community. As of now, we don’t have any plant-based jokes so if you do just lettuce know.

California Mountains & Coast (CMCA) 

Farewell Yosemite! Today CMCA hiked out after 3 glorious days in the Californian backcountry. Goodbye mountains, hello sweet showers! Pictures are hot off the press! Better late than never.

 

California Mountains & Coast (CMCB) 

Similar to their sister trip, CMCA, today our CMCB group also hiked out of the Yosemite backcountry. Congrats on finishing such an epic part of your trip! We hadn’t yet received a photo as of press time, but we’re hoping it comes in soon and we’ll update accordingly!

Alaska Mountains & Coast (AKMC) 

Day 2 of kayaking for our AKMC’ers, which means they’re headed back into the front country tonight — hooray for showers! Unfortunately, as of press time, our AKMC team was still out of the cell-service zone. We’re sure AKMC is having a great time paddling and we’ll see some great pics soon. Hot off the press! Better late than never: a preview of kayaking pictures.

Northwest Explorer (NWXA) 

Hello from the backcountry! NWXA headed into the wilderness of the North Cascades today for their six-day, five-night backcountry loop. Here is the group cheesin’ in front of the sign for the national park before they popped out of service.

Northwest Explorer (NWXB) 

When in doubt, paddle it out! Today NWXB hit the pristine waters surrounding the San Juan Islands and spent the day sea kayaking. Even better, they get to camp on an island beach tonight — what luxury! Check out that beautiful coastline and those sensible water shoes.

 

Pacific Coast (PCA) 

Ring ring! That’s the sound of PCA cruising through those red woods on their biggest mileage day yet. Today the group had another beautiful bike ride along the Pacific coast and got into camp with enough time to to prep for their exciting day of community service tomorrow.

Pacific Coast (PCB) 

It looks like PCB might be trying to one-up PCA’s poses yesterday. The Apogee blog crew lives for some healthy pose competition, especially when it results in a five person pyramid! After taking these pics, the group continued on through the beautiful redwoods to their campsite for the night.

Alps Explorer (AX) 

Today, AX had a well-deserved rest day. After taking the train into Chamonix, the group had a chance to explore the town before walking down the valley to their campsite for the night. It wasn’t all rest though. Along with the photos below, leader Jack sent over this groundbreaking formula the group figured out and wanted to share with the world.

If n = number of baguettes you currently have

then n + 1 = number of baguettes you should have

Seems like solid math to me!

Pyrenees Mountains & Coast (PMC) 

Everybody’s gone surfin’… surfin’ in Hendaye! It’s surfing day for PMC and they spent the day riding some waves and working up an appetite for those afternoon crêpes. Seriously, what is the age limit for this trip again? Is it too late to sign up?

Europe Coast to Coast 1 (ECC1) 

Today was the day of the cow for ECC. After mooing themselves awake, they began their journey passing by plenty cows in the countryside. The first big group of cows broke into a full jog/trot/sprint alongside them on the other side of the fence. Looks like we’re not the only ones trying to keep up with this speedy crew.

Europe Coast to Coast 2 (ECC2) 

Bye bye Belgium, Bonjour France! Our ECC2 folks spent the morning biking along some picturesque canals before arriving in Le Quesnoy. Boy, would it be lovely to be eating a sandwich in a French field with this bunch!

America Coast to Coast (ACC) 

ACC slept at a fire station last night because they biking like they are on fire! For real though, can you believe that this group is already all the way in Marion, Alabama? ACC is definitely a dedicated bunch. Do you think they slept in those bike helmets as well?