This blog post is brought to you by Binnacle Member number three of five. Our cabin, Binnacle, is located in a more secluded part of the Chewonki campus. Getting to Binnacle requires that you walk down very large steps and into a pathway populated with trees and bushes. Naturally, it is terrifying trying to walk down there at night if you just so happen to forget a light. 

This encounter occurred near the beginning of the semester, minutes before cabin check-in at 10:00 pm. Binnacle member number one of five and I were venturing down to our cabin to get our things to brush our teeth. As we walked down the steps, the only thing that illuminated our path was my flashlight. Binnacle member number one and I walked at a regular pace as we discussed our day. All of a sudden, no more than four feet away from us, a massive blur gallops across the stairs leading to Binnacle. We were too stunned to speak. After 5 seconds of silence passed, Binnacle member number one spoke at last, only a tentative “Hello?!” escaped her lips. Meanwhile, I yelled a little too loudly into the night.

At first I believed it to be a wild streaker that ended up inside the Chewonki campus. Another part of me thought that perhaps it was one of our neighbors in South Hall Cabin. However, after thinking about it rationally with Binnacle member number one, we came to the conclusion that it was just a deer. It was quite the exhilarating experience for one of the first weeks at Chewonki. The experience has been a great story to tell to others and break the ice. Sometimes I think to myself: What if it wasn’t a deer we encountered?

Dhaligh Paulino, Match Charter Public High School, Brighton, MA