From sunrise to sunset, our students saw it all today – and we’ve got photographic evidence to back it up! Though sprinkled with goodbyes for many of our trips, the day was a great one, and we can’t wait to fill you in on all things Apo. Peek below for updates!
Skip to a Specific Trip: MCJ, NEMC, CRMA, CRMB, CS, MCCE, MCP, DEXA, DEXB, VMA, VMB, CRLS, CRMC, CMCA, CMCB, AKMC, NWXA, NWXB, PCA, PCB, SH, AX, PMC, ECC1, ECC2, ACC
Maine Coast Junior (MCJ)
Hello beautiful day! Good bye Acadia. Maine Coast Junior were up in time to greet the sunrise this morning from the top of Cadillac Mountain. Newly relocated to mid-coast Maine, they’ll get more practice setting up camp tonight. Tomorrow’s schedule includes volunteering with a local organization to give back!
New England Mountains & Coast (NEMC)
Today, the NEMC crew continued their exploration of the White Mountains National Forest, which covers over 750,000 acres of land between New Hampshire and Maine. This morning, Emma & Ryan lead their team on a hike around the Cathedral Ledge and also explored the adventure town of North Conway as they gear up for their challenge day tomorrow!
Colorado’s Rocky Mountains A (CRMA)
Another day, another great day of hiking for CRM A(mazing) as they continued their exploration of Rocky Mountain National Park. Their big hike meant a lack of cell service – and thus no blog pictures by the time of press – but we’ll look forward to some bonus pictures over the next few days.
Colorado’s Rocky Mountains B (CRMB)
CRM Bravo took Rocky Mountains by storm today, as they “sent it” (a hip term that the kids are using these days to mean “accomplished, conquered, etc.”) up Deer Mountain for some beautiful views of Estes Park and the surrounding National Park. Plus, some bonus pictures of last night’s stir fry dinner! Spotted: snow capped peaks in the background.
Caribbean Service (CS)
Hasta luego, Puerto Rico! These folks certainly left their mark on the island, putting in hard work on Vieques and in the Utuado area to help various organizations around the Isla del Encanto. And they left with a whole slew of new friends, as well!
Maine Coast College Essay (MCCE)
Today, our MCCE crew got to work on not one, but two parts of their college application, as they met with their writing instructor to get individual feedback on their essay and also had a great time working on college interview skills with a Bowdoin College admissions officer. And after “major progress” (leader Skyler’s words) was made on their essays, waffles and card games commenced!
Maine Coast Photo (MCP)
Maine Coast Photo found some of the best of Maine today – sea kayaking off of Orr’s Island before finding a quintessential Maine pond for some some freshwater refreshment! They also had a chance to practice editing some of their photos this afternoon.
Maine’s Downeast Explorer (DEXA)
Connor and Savannah have finally found phone service again! And with that, we have some stellar pictures of their hike up Mount Katahdin yesterday. And we quote, “Getting tropical at the top of Katahdin yesterday!”
Maine’s Downeast Explorer (DEXB)
What a special day for DEXB! They came off the water after a stellar sea-kayaking adventure and got to celebrate a birthday. In case you can’t tell from the photo, they painted “Happy Birthday” on their faces to really get in the spirit.
Vermont to Montréal A (VMA) & Vermont to Montréal B (VMB)
After a celebratory dinner in Montreal last night, both VM crews made their way back across the US-Canadian border to where the magic began 12 days ago – only this time, they jammed in the van instead of cycling that entire way! Congrats to both groups – until next time!
Costa Rica Language & Service (CRLS)
Today our CRLS team spent their last day in Turrialba, soaking up all of the Spanish knowledge they can from their instructors and going out in the community to give back (and practice some of their Spanish skills!). These pictures are from their hike to a waterfall yesterday — hiking through tall trees and coffee beans!
Costa Rica Mountains & Coast (CRMC)
Hang ten! This Costa Rican crew had an epic day catching some waves in the morning and eating their final celebratory dinner out on the town! It’s hard to believe these explorers will be heading home tomorrow, but I imagine they’ll have many stories to tell from all of their activities!
California Mountains & Coast (CMCA & CMCB)
It was a bittersweet day for both CMC groups, as they sadly bid each other farewell, but also look forward to sleeping in their beds tonight and sharing their stories of the last two weeks of their California adventures! We imagine that there will be at least a few Yosemite-based dreams for the next few weeks… P.S. some bonus CMCB pictures from their service project yesterday in Half Moon Bay!
Alaska Mountains & Coast (AKMC)
After two weeks of exploring the Last Frontier by foot, kayak, and crampons, Garth & Olivia bid adieu to their intrepid explorers this morning. Flights home will provide the perfect opportunity to reminisce on quiet nights in the Chugach backcountry, moose sightings, paddling up to glaciers, and ice climbing up glacial crevasses – and probably catching up on sleep, too…
Northwest Explorer (NWXA)
NWX A(mazing) set off on the first day of a two-night backcountry expedition through the beautiful Olympic National Park. They’ll enjoy a few days of isolated wilderness together, which means that we’ll have to wait patiently for them to return to civilization for blog pics. Stay tuned!
Northwest Explorer (NWXB)
Today’s blog post is straight from the source. In the words of Morgan and Jake: “NWXB aka The Pride of Lions woke up this morning and journeyed through the great Cascadian Savannah in search of meals for the next few days. In the Burlington Safeway, we prowled the aisles for delicious GF and nut-free ingredients, which we found to be bountiful. This afternoon, we’ll let our manes blow in the wind as we pack our bags for the great trek ahead—our three day backcountry section. The jungle awaits, and with it, a chance to get even closer and take another step towards group Hakuna Matata. If you listen real close over the next few days, you might hear our roar!”
Pacific Coast (PCA)
A strong, 38-mile day for our PC Alpha team lead them through quintessential Oregon today. Domi & Daryl report that spirits are high – and today also featured a photo of the group posing as their spirit animals. Can you guess who is what animal?
Pacific Coast (PCB)
While today was small in mileage (20 miles), it was big in hills – and Andrew & Meg’s crew absolutely crushed Oregon’s famed Seven Devils – and got into camp before 10 AM to prove it. The awesome day of riding means an afternoon of games, beach time, and an early bed time in preparation for tomorrow’s big ride!
Scottish Highlands (SH)
Tis with a wee sigh that Gennaro and Michelle bid “Guidbye Bye Bye for noo See ye efter!” to all of their lads and lassies. In other words, SH finished up today as students made their way back across the globe to sleep in their own beds tonight!
Alps Explorer (AX)
Birthday alert! Rachel, Jack & crew celebrated a trip birthday in the best way today – with a cake… made out of ice cream containers and a candle (and maybe a Swiss pastry, too, because you can never have enough birthday treats). In addition to the birthday celebration, these folks moved from Zermatt to the German-speaking town of Fiesch, Switzerland in preparation for tomorrow’s hike along the epic Aletsch Glacier!
Pyrenees Mountains & Coast (PMC)
Those look like matching bracelets to me! Our PMCers, sadly, parted ways today, but at least they have a physical reminder of the trip that they can always look at to remember the good times they had in Spain and France! Maybe they’ll see each other in the Alps the next summer?!
Europe Coast to Coast 1 (ECC1)
What’s that?! This group just biked across a continent?! Like, a real, whole, entire continent? You bet. These all stars biked through the Dunes of the Netherlands, the rolling hills of the French Countryside, Germany’s Black Forest, Austira’s Alps, and so much more to get to this — the Adriatic sea, and Venice, their final destination. We’re so proud of all of these bikers! Maybe next year they’ll want to tackle another continent on bikes… North America, maybe?
Europe Coast to Coast 2 (ECC2)
Benvenuto a Borso del Grappa! This group took a mid-day dip in the river to cool off in the middle of their 78 kilometer ride as they came out of the foothills of the Alps today. Next stop? Venice! Stoke levels, as they say, are high.
America Coast to Coast (ACC)
There’s nothing quite like a nice, restful day off of the bike, even if 80 miles sounds like a walk in the park to this group at this point. Have we mentioned that they’re only 12 days away from dipping their front wheels in the Pacific?! Incredible!