Good evening and welcome to another edition of the Apogee Summer Blog! Today brought us a number of trip starts all across the continent – from Cape Cod, Massachusetts all the way out to Seattle, Washington! This blog writer, having just turned 30, is feeling sentimental about the blog’s last day in its twenties. Tomorrow, the 2022 Apogee Summer turns 30! We look forward to great things ahead in the third “decade” of this summer’s days, but for now, let’s take a look at what our trips got up to on day 29!
Skip to a Specific Trip: MCJ, CI, NEMCA, NEMCB, CRM, CS, MCCE, MCP, DEXA, DEXB, VMA, VMB, CRLC, CRMC, CMC, AKMCA, AKMCB, NWX, PC, AXA, AXB, ECC1, ECC2, PMC
Cape Cod & the Islands (CI)
Today, our third crew of CI’ers got together on the Cape feeling primed and ready to start their journey up the cape (by way of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket) all the way to Provincetown! Leader Will says “thumbs up for CI3!”
New England Mountains & Coast A (NEMCA)
NEMCA had a great time flying around the ropes course at the Browne Center in New Hampshire today! This afternooon brought the crew into the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where they’ll prep for some stunning day hikes and whitewater rafting. Ahoy, NEMCA!
New England Mountains & Coast B (NEMCB)
Big day for NEMCB on their second full day together! They packed up camp this morning and hit the Browne Center at UNH for some ropes course fun! From Leader Josh himself “We had a great time getting waaaay high up in the air. The highlight (ha, get it, “high”light) was racing each other up a high ropes element.” The group finished their day by heading into the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where they’ve set up camp for the next few days of day hikes!
Colorado’s Rocky Mountains (CRM)
Starting a trip is as easy as A-B-CRM for these all-stars! I call the below shots “dispatches from the airport” as leader Louise was hanging with most of this goofy crew, Dana was picking up the last two arrivals. Word is they’re now all happily in their trip van headed for the Rockies. Enjoy the view, CRM!
Caribbean Service (CS)
Life is all beaches and puppies for CS. No, that’s not a metaphor, it really was a day of beaches and puppies! CS spent the morning working at a humane society on Vieques before heading off to spend the afternoon at the island’s picturesque beaches. At “blog press time,” these all stars were out kayaking in a bio-luminescent bay. What a way to finish their time on the island of Vieques!
Maine’s Downeast Explorer (DEXA)
Today was a big transit day for our DEXters, but lucky for us we got some great photos from their Katahdin hike from yesterday now that they’re back into cell-service-land. Today, they worked their way to the coast where they’ll re-stock and get ready for their upcoming paddling adventure on Maine’s stunning rocky coast.
Maine’s Downeast Explorer (DEXB)
Bonus photo alert! Our leaders, Mikey and Chase, found a pocket of service in the backcountry and were able to squeeze this gem of a photo through to us while in the backcountry! Word is spirits are high and that this group loves the peace, quiet, and gorgeous views of the backcountry!
Vermont to Montreal A (VMA)
CAN- they do it? A-DA (uh, duh) they can! Okay, that was a stretch, but we’re so proud of our VMA’ers for biking all the way across a country border! It’s hard to believe that in two day’s time they’ll be rolling into their final destination. Bienvenue au Québec, VMA!
Vermont to Montreal B (VMB)
VMB scooted their way over to Grand Isle today, continuing their way northward towards the great northland! Rumor has it that there may have been pie delivered to their campsite by the one and only Assistant Director, Claudia, who is out visiting our VM trips right now. What a way to end the day: pie on the shores of Lake Champlain! I’m only a little jealous.
Costa Rica Mountains & Coast (CRMC)
CRMC experienced some of that awesome “Coast” that’s part of the trip’s namesake as they headed out to snorkel today. They spent a beautiful day out on the water looking for all types of sea creatures near Costa Rica’s Caño Island. Leader Andrew reported sightings of turtles, tons of different fish species, and even mother and baby humpback whales! After showering off the sea salt from their adventure, the crew is now in camp and enjoying some friendly table tennis competitions. Pura Vida, CRMC!
California Mountains & Coast (CMC)
Our CMC team hit the trail today to go check out the redwoods in Big Sur! These large trees offer more than just lots of shade – they offer some sweet views! After their hike, they stopped in the quaint town of Carmel-by-the-Sea for a picnic lunch and a little bit of town exploration.
Alaska Mountains & Coast A (AKMCA)
Wahoo! Our AKMCA’ers returned from our their kayaking adventure at Holgate glacier! They had both sunshine and rain and saw lots of cool critters (porpoises, humpback whales, black bears, seals, sea lions, puffins, mountain goats, bald eagles, jellies, just to name a few…)! Now that they’re back on the mainland, they’ll re-stock their food supply and get ready for an awesome day on the glacier tomorrow.
Alaska Mountains & Coast B (AKMCB)
AKMCB shot us these awesome blog pics last night in a brief patch of service they had in the backcountry. Looks absolutely gorgeous out there – we’re jealous! I’m sure we’ll get the full report soon once they emerge from their backcountry adventure – and we can’t wait to see what they got up to!
Northwest Explorer (NWX)
The excitement of the trip start had our leaders, Maeve and Ben, Sleepless in Seattle just waiting for their students to arrive! Bad movie puns aside, this crew looks like they’re best friends already, and they only just met. Looks like a fun twenty days coming up for NWX! Onwards!
Pacific Coast (PC)
Like many other Apogee trips today, PC was on day one today! Students from all over converged at the Eugene airport where they met up with their leaders, Kramer and Sarah, and their super stoked support staffer, Ben! They, and all of their bikes and bags, began their journey by taking a bus out to the coast, where in a mere 15 hours, they’ll be making their way south on two wheels! Thumbs up, PC!
Alps Explorer A (AXA)
Our Alps Explorer crew cruised their way through their first day hike as a team today, taking in stunning views of the Matterhorn along the way! Rumor has it that they were going to do a “sticker competition” upon returning to the town of Zermatt post-day hike. This blog writer has no idea what that means, but it sure sounds fun!
Alps Explorer B (AXB)
Similar to their sister-trip, AXB also took in impressive views of the Matterhorn on their first day hike together. This team is getting their legs warmed up for the hiking to come – the glorious Tour du Mont Blanc! And who wouldn’t love a “warm up hike” with this type of view?!
Europe Coast to Coast 1 (ECC1)
Freshly revitalized after their wonderful rest day in Glurns yesterday, ECC1 battled thunderstorms on their ride today, but that didn’t stop them from having a fantastic ride! Remember a few days ago, when they had that massive day crossing the Alps? Well, as the saying goes, “what goes up, must come down,” and today was a great example of that: the crew rode along scenic bike paths through riverside Italian towns, fruit orchards, and weekend tourists… all while cruising on a (relatively) easy 52-mile ride! Way to go, team! Venice beckons!
Europe Coast to Coast 2 (ECC2)
Despite a few storms in the area, ECC2 had the most magical day exploring the charming little town of Glurns, Italy on their rest day. This was their last rest day until they make it to Venice, so they are truly entering the final stretch now – they can probably smell the Venetian lagoon all the way from Glurns! Fun fact about Glurns… it’s in Italy, but like many towns in Northern Italia, the primary language spoken is actually German!
Pyrenees Mountains and Coast (PMC)
Our PMC crew were as nimble as the mountain goats that they passed today as they made their way up TWO peaks on their 4th day of hiking the Carros de Foc! They summited both the Pic de Tort and Vidals today, and I think you’ll agree, those pictures are flippin’ fantastic! They even had a visitor on the first peak – they waved hello at a vulture who flew by as they took in the fabulous views. Then they headed back to their refugi for some well-earned rest after such an epic day!
