Month: June 2021

June 24th, 2021, Thursday, we gathered at the fountain before Alumni Building at 6:15 PM. After checking in with everyone’s Hawkwatch code, six cars headed out to Bake Oven Knob in Germsville, PA. It was a short 0.2-mile hike to the lookout site – many felt it was a too short hike. The sun was still high above the horizon:

Some opened their snack packs and started to enjoy the snack while observing the scenic view of the Appalachian Trail; while others began to explore bouldering the rocks.

Micheal was standing on a steep rock:

Some were going down to explore the boulders:

The lookout view was great: )

And some were smiling happily sitting on such a big rock:

We got some social time to chill and chat with new friends:

Finally the sun set:

We took a group picture before heading back:

Heading back in the dark, people started to turn on the lights on their cell phones.

It was a great weekday night trip to enjoy the sunset, have some exchanges with fellow grad students, and have a retreat away from the campus. We were rewarded with the beautiful Strawberry Moon view as we headed back to campus. The moon was right hanging in front of our wheels as we drove eastward – so orangish and big in the night sky across vast acres of country farms.

 

Trip leader: VamC, Shasha

Writing: Shasha

Photos: Everyone on the trip

June 13th, Sunday, at Pocono Adventure Rafting, the weather forecast did not give us an indication of good weather – showers and thunderstorm predicted. We still adventured out and it turned out to be a cool cloudy day 🙂

We departured from the campus at 11:30 AM, arriving at the trailhead at 1:00 PM, checked in, got the paddles, life jackets, and listened to a peppered demo by one of the guides. The whole awesome paddling team shown below: (we have 21 people)

When you meet a rapid that is totally out of your control: screaming. Jacky was sitting at the front and he stopped paddling probably because of a big rock! His teammate Balram was chill with a leg outside the boat, and others still working on maneuvering the boat.

A sneaky photographer was taking photos for us near a rapid. This team was adjusting their weights to the right side (probably because of hitting a rock on the left).

The majority of us did not take a phone as it is highly unrecommended by the crew. We only got some photos when we realized someone did have a phone at the lunch break site. Look at those smiles:

The trip ended around 6:30 PM. Everyone was thrilled and tired at the end. The bus shuttle drove us back to the trailhead and everyone changed into his/her comfy dry clothes. We drove home at the dawn of a beautiful Sunday, got to know many new people today!

Writing: Shasha

Photo: VamC, Daolong, Rafting crew

Trip leader: VamC, Shasha