Nov. 21, 2015—Boonton Township, NJ

On a cold morning ICO volunteers, school staff and teens met in front of Ellis High School to take a bus to Farny State Park in NJ. The ride was filled with the sharing of snacks, extra layers of clothing to stay warm, and introductions/conversation.

Our group was diverse in many ways: age, ethnicity and languages spoken. We even had the youngest ICO hiker ever (a 10 month old baby), and a super friendly golden retriever to bring extra smiles on the trail. Two of the teens had recently immigrated to NYC from the Dominican Republic. Many on the trip could speak Spanish, and the shared joy of conquering 6 miles of rocky hilly terrain while taking in a beautiful view transcended any language barriers. Another student on the trip was fluent in 5 languages (French, Spanish, English, and 2 Togo dialects).

Our hike was led by Will Hirschfeld. He did a great job of keeping us informed, safe, and engaging with the teens. At the end of the hike we were able to celebrate his becoming a certified leader as Katie, the ICO chair, was there to make it official. Hiking in the crisp weather, crunching the fallen leaves of autumn; we worked our way up Wildcat Ridge to Hawkwatch. The view was stunning and we could see the NYC skyline way off on the distance.

After taking in the view, on the way back we all shared in a unique trail experience: hiking half of the way back “alone.” We staggered ourselves so that we could experience being alone on the trail while knowing that another hiker is not that far ahead or behind. This created an entirely different experience of noticing the sights and sounds of the forest. It also provided valuable lessons in trail safety, navigation, and independence.

We came back to the bus happy, tired, and proud of our accomplishments. The goodbye laughs and hugs were testament to a day well spent in the outdoors!