Vibe-Fall-2024 - Flipbook - Page 54
SACO RIVER
BEGINS
START
THE PLANNING
The vision for this trip grew out of our passion for paddling and
aspirations of a source-to-sea trip. A chance to truly see an entire
river and help students connect in a new way to our home. The
class of 2024 were those people: enthusiastic about the river and
fishing, some with tremendous paddling experience, and all up
for an adventure.
As the 2023/24 school year
commenced, we began to hype
up the idea with the students. We
invited Freddie Wilkinson and
Ryan Ranco Kelley to school to
talk with the middle school about
their awe-inspiring, multi-month
canoe voyage circumnavigating
New York and New England. We
looked at maps and talked about
trip possibilities.
Meanwhile, we sought out
all of the beta we could. We
met with Mike Morin who had
completed a source-to-sea of the
Saco on stand-up paddleboards
in 2022 with Joe Klementovich.
We picked his brain for all he
could remember about campsites, rapids, regulations, and
portage details. We studied the
AMC map and talked to other
members of our school community who lived along the river.
Just before April break,
we gave the class the choice
54
between the more rigorous
source-to-sea (we called it this,
though we missed the section upriver from our school) or a section
paddle, which would be a more
mellow option. Ultimately, they
chose the source-to-sea, though
we opted to do it in a supported
fashion, with one staff member
trailing in a van and meeting us
each night to allow us to move
with lighter boats and to make
the portages and low water
more manageable. From there,
we solicited further support
from the community, borrowing
canoes and paddles from Camp
Waukeela in Eaton and PFDs, dry
bags, and canoe wheels from the
AMC. We lined up camping plans,
primarily with members of our
school community.
As the trip neared, the
students practiced shouldering
canoes, brushed up on paddling
strokes, and refreshed their
throw-rope technique, skills they
had learned during outdoor
education in 7th grade when we
studied the Saco and visited its
headwaters in Crawford Notch.
With a rough itinerary planned,
we worked with the students to
figure out mileage, portages,
areas of concern, and backup
plans. Pulling from their previous trip experience, the students
put together menu ideas to keep
us nourished and happy while
on the river. And when the time
finally came to set out, they
organized gear, read the map,
and loaded the boats, van, and
canoe trailer.
FINISH
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