No News is Good News

I've had some good calls from parents this week who let me know they were following the progress of the expedition on the web. That's great! Unfortunately some parents I couldn't give much information to because I haven't heard from their groups. That's actually a really good thing because that means that everything is fine and the group is on target for pick up tomorow.

That being said I imagine you might be wondering how do I know where they are in the event of an emergency? I thought I would show you an example of how we make a plan for where groups are going each day. Here is a picture of our Expedition Plan. You should be able to click the picture to see a larger version of it.

The Expedition Plan outlines where the group will hike each day and where they are planning to camp. It also maps out where a group would communicate from and where they would evacuate to in the event of an emergency. We've mapped this out in advance to prevent instructors in the field from having to reinvent the wheel in a stressful situation. You'll also see at the bottom of the page any National Forest guidelines for camping and fires.

So that's how I can say with reasonable confidence that Laurel and Doug's group are on track and are planning to go over the summit of Mt. Moosilauke via the Glencliff Trail today and that they are planning to stay at the Beaver Brook Shelter tonight.

Here is a quick update of what I know of all the groups so far. If you don't know what group your son or daughter is in please give me a ring and I can fill you in. My cell is (603) 455-2715 and land line is (603) 677-3404. I appologize for not publishing the group list here but I've tried to refrain for printing student first and last names on the internet.

Laurel & Doug's group (Gilman's Corner): Havent heard from them since Monday when two students were brought in to the group who had family commitments over the weekend. On track to finish up at their planned pick up tomorow morning.

Kimberly and Debbie's group (Mayhew): Added a group member on Tuesday morning, did canoeing yesterday and are having fun.

Pete, Kasia and Jon's group (Kinsman Ridge): On track for normal pick up. No news is good news.

Russ, Jon and Meghan's group (Reel Brook): Modified their route to adjust to cold temps and snow on their trail. See pictures on yesterday's post.

Ted, Jaffrie and Sara's group (Lincoln Woods): On track for normal pick up. Saw Ted yesterday as he brought out two hikers with sore knees. See yesterday's post.

Jason and Vicki's group (Gale River): Heard from Jason on Monday. They modified their route to avoid some of the peaks on their planned trail. They are staying lower and out of the cold temps. On track for regular pick up.

Dave, Jade and Adam's group (Gordon Pond): No news is good news, on track for regular pick up.

Darren and Craig's group (Liberty): Modified their route to avoid summits. Had some trail magic two nights ago when a teacher hiked some goodies into the crew.

Jayne and Travis's group (Garfield): Lost their cook pot in the river but had high spirits when I saw them last night. See pictures from yesterday's post.

That's what I know so far! Students should be back on campus by 11:00am tomorow and will be done cleaning and returning gear no later than Noon. They might be ready for a hot shower at that point and the dining hall food will look really good!