The past week has been a busy one for all involved in the Questers Program. The conclusion of session one meant that I, as the Quester Coordinator, spent two days rock climbing with the Classic Questers. Along with our trusty Field Specialist, Tim, we ventured to Artist’s Bluff and Elephant’s Head in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Meeting up with this group meant that they had just hiked through the Presidential Range and reached the summit of Mount Washington. This hike, they said, was a big challenge. Each day took them up and over mountains with serious elevation gain and loss. I expected to find some very tired hikers when they arrived at our camp site, however, this group was full of excitement and could not wait to tell me all they stories about their grueling hike. They laughed about seeing a dog that had a backpack on and how strange it was being atop Mount Washington surrounded by so many people for the first time in so long.
After returning to camp, the Classic Questers walked into SAM Camp arm in arm singing Que Sera, Sera, a song that their leaders has been singing with them for all of their trip reminding them to just go with the flow and live in the moment for the time being. The SAM Campers ran up the hill to hug all of the Questers and bring them down to a delicious macaroni-and-cheese dinner. All of the Questers filled their plates and without pause everyone comment that somehow this mac and cheese was infinitely better than they mac and cheese they had been making themselves.
Two adjourning activities that we perform as Questers are trip skits and appreciations. This session, the Questers wrote their skit as a time warp back to when they arrived at camp through their canoe section (including their four-mile portage during which they were in lightning drill for an hour), their hiking section, and climbing section. This skit kept all of SAM Camp in stitches with the description of the group battling the Kraken in an intense game of Trail Dungeons and Dragons in addition to seeing people who were outside of their hiking group. This session’s appreciations of each other were as moving and heart felt as always. Each person had three people speak about them and their contributions to the group. From where I was sitting, I would say that everyone took away a new strength from this trip.