On a bright Sunday morning, I was up and at ‘em at 5:45 am for farm chores. I begrudgingly rolled out of bed, but five minutes later, my cabin and I were skipping up to the barn. The stillness of the surrounding cabins created a peaceful and motivating atmosphere, encouraging us to work our hardest that morning. After feeding the sheep, sweeping the barn, and carrying milk to the kitchen, I was back in bed. Once 10:30 brunch rolled around, I found myself back at the Wallace, eating a hearty breakfast, preparing for the exciting hike ahead of me.

In the remaining hours of the morning, I finished up my homework, called my parents, and got ready. I threw on shorts and a fleece, put together a quick daypack of a banana, my book, water, and my inhaler, and met my friends at the vans. Per usual, Natalie and I were DJs. We selected a robust variety of tunes, spanning from the Coco soundtrack to “Castle on a Hill.” Our van chatted about friendship bracelets, past semesters, and the previous weekend’s camping adventures, all while we traveled through beautiful coastal Maine, eagerly awaiting our hike. When we finally arrived at Oven’s Mouth, a nature preserve in Bristol, we quickly departed the vans and enthusiastically started our walk.

The group headed in two directions, a coastal walk and a steeper hike– I opted for the steeper hike. We started walking, laughing while tripping over roots and discussing our favorite pasta shapes (I chose fusilli but Phoebe went with farfalle). After about 25 minutes, the groups were reunited at a scenic overlook. There, we played fetch with my math teacher Katie’s puppy, snacked on Kettle corn, and had plank competitions on the rocks. I knew then that this would be one of my favorite days of Semester 68, I woke up and did farm chores, had a delicious brunch, and got to spend time in nature with my friends. What could go wrong? Well….

We did find ourselves in a small predicament– Dani, Natalie, and I accidentally led the group astray, we left the quaint trail and wound up on a treacherous cliff. I found myself caught between two sharp boulders, slipping on the damp dirt. Everyone was wondering if I was OK, but I just told them the truth: I was having the best time! Once I was back on solid footing, we all laughed it off and found our way back to the trail. The rest of the way, everyone poked fun at Natalie, Dani, and I for losing our way, but we just laughed, knowing it would make for great memories. A mile later, we ended up back at the parking lot, sad that our adventure was over, but excited to tell the rest of Chewonki all about it.

We returned to campus, had a snack, and leisurely enjoyed the rest of our Sunday. I had so much fun  that I was excited to propose future off-campus adventures, eager to explore not only the stunning Chewonki Neck, but beautiful coastal Maine.

Kiera Hackett, The Chapin School, New York, NY