
Julia Riback, '12, left, and Julia Doyle, '13, right, pose with Emma Willard at a snack break along the trail
The Emma Willard cutout from the birthday assembly on Wednesday has already had her first big adventure, traveling with the Outing Club on Saturday, February 25th to the summit of Cascade Mountain. The group of nine students and two faculty left early, departing the school at 7AM to drive up to Keene, NY where the trailhead for the mountain is located. The trail was covered with several inches of snow right from the start, so the group made good use of their snowshoes throughout the entire hike. The climb was approximately 2.5 miles to the top, with several steep switches along the way and some difficult rock climbing on the final part of the ascent. The group was ecstatic when they reached the summit, where winds were blowing at excess of 40mph and hikers huddled together for a brief picture atop one of the 46 highest peaks in the state. Though the view was blocked by clouds, the entire group agreed that the hike was definitely worth it and congratulated each other on a job well done. After completing such an exciting expedition, the van ride back was full of exhausted but proud hikers, some already experienced veterans, others having just discovered something new about themselves.