This past weekend was a busy one for the Hamilton Outing Club. It boasts the largest Listserv on campus and its popularity was made clear with a huge response from the student body. On Sept. 9 and 10, the Outing Club sent out four backpacking trips into the Adirondacks, three of which were day trips and one overnight. The Hamilton College Marathon Canoe Racing Team (HCMCRT), sponsored by HOC, also participated in the Adirondack Canoe Classic, a 90-mile canoe race from Old Forge to Saranac Lake.
Two trips left bright and early Saturday morning, one, a day trip led by Emily Steates ’19 and Rachel Zuckerman ’19 and the other, an overnight led by Garth Robinson ’19 and Genevieve Darling ’18. Rachel and Emily summited Cascade Mountain and Porter Mountain, two of the 46 4,000 footers in the Adirondacks, with eight other students. Despite rainy weather, the intrepid group bagged both peaks with Cascade checking in at 4,098 feet and Porter at 4,068 feet. On their return to campus, they feasted on pies from the Noon Mark Diner in Keene Valley. Garth and Genevieve, along with five brave peers, set out to tackle the MacIntyre Range, which boasts Algonquin Peak (5,155 feet), Wright Peak (4,587 feet), and Iroquois Peak (4,843 feet).
The other two trips launched from the Glen Haus Sunday morning, headed for the Adirondack Park. Jared Mandelbaum ’18 and Claudia Morse ’18 each solo-led rigorous day hikes to the Adirondacks High Peaks with eight participants.
Jared and his group tackled four out of the five peaks in the Dix Range, only missing out on Dix Mountain. They hit South Dix (4,060 feet), Macomb Mountain (4,405 feet), Grace Peak (4.012 feet), and Hough Peak (4,400 feet). On the way, the group ran into some like-minded Hamilton students, Jade Thomas ’20 and James Southwick ’20, as well as alumna Noelle Short '01. Claudia and company took on Dial Mountain (4,020 feet) and Nippletop (4,620 feet), catching some great views before returning to campus.
Finally, the Marathon Canoe Racing Team entered three boats of paddlers into the Adirondack Canoe Classic, a canoe race that spans three days and 90 miles from Old Forge to Saranac Lake. The club entered a Voyageur war canoe, which sits eight paddlers, a tandem boat, which sits two paddlers, and a solo kayak.
The war canoe was captained by Alex Holmwood ’19 and time was set by Megan Bates ’18. Filling out the rest of the boat were Morgan Walsh ’18, Irina Rojas ’18, Tate Bierut ’18, Keith Ruggles ’20, Erin Walicki ’20, and Emmaline Keene ’20. Aside from Megan and Tate, who were competing in their second and third 90’s respectively, the boat was full of first-timers.
Laura Kwasnoski ’18 and Maggie Horne ’19 fielded a C-2, the term for a two person canoe, from the Hamilton Adirondack Program in Keene Valley. Anna Mowat ’18, competing in her third 90, took on the challenge by herself, just like last year, and conquered the race yet again.
The paddlers wouldn’t have been able to do it without the boundless encouragement and support from their pit crew, made up of Marley Napier-Smith ’21, Audrey Nadler ’18, Mo McDermott ’18, as well as Kaitlyn Thayer ’19 and Mary Lundin ’19 from the Adirondack Program. None of this would have been possible without the help of Andrew Jillings and Sarah Weis Jillings, the director and assistant director of Outdoor Leadership.
