Last Saturday, I had the awesome opportunity to go hiking off campus. The hiking trip was hosted by Wellesley College Recreation, part of the school’s Physical Education, Recreation, and Athletics Department and organizer of outdoors trips like this. This trip was aimed at students who are beginner hikers.
I learned about the event and quickly signed up online. I love being outdoors and have not really experienced the nature in Massachusetts beyond Wellesley’s campus. So, I thought this trip would be a great opportunity to do so. The trip cost ten dollars and transportation, snacks, and hiking poles were included.
On Saturday morning, our group met, and the trip was led by the recreation coordinator. The group was fairly small, which I appreciated. We got ready and went in a small school van to Blue Hills Reservation, which is about a twenty-five minute drive from campus. Blue Hills has some beautiful trails, and we got very lucky with the weather; it was incredibly sunny and warm.
There were lots of other hikers too because of the sunny weather
We got to Blue Hills, learned how to set up our poles, and hiked as a group. The hike itself was a bit challenging since it was raining the days leading up to the hike. Some of the path was muddy and we had to be especially cautious when walking up inclines. The view and fresh air was all super worth it though! We slowly navigated the steep rocks and crossed over a few streams. When we got to the top, we stopped to eat snacks and take photos for a bit before looping back towards our starting point.
The view!
I loved hiking and talking to the recreation coordinator and other students in my group. We hiked for about an hour and a half in total, with several stops along the way. In all, we hiked three miles and experienced eight hundred feet of vertical gain.
Walking down a stony incline
My pants and shoes were soaked in mud and stream water by the end. But, I still had a good time and this was a great way to spend a Saturday morning. I would love to go hiking again in the area and am a big proponent of Wellesley students taking advantage of fun opportunities like this!
Thank you for reading!