Ponkapoag Pond with St. Peter's

Trip Report

November 23, 2019

On Saturday, November 23, twelve teens from the Teen Center at St. Peter's went camping at Ponkapoag Pond, along with ICO volunteer leaders Julia and Matt and St. Peter's staff Augusto and Jessica.

We started the day with an opening circle where we each shared our favorite temperatures - quite a diversity! Then a BBQ lunch at the campsite and hiking around the lake to the 1/2 mile long boardwalk that ventures out into the bog. As expected, one camper fell into the water up to his knee but managed fine.

With early sunset, we arrived back just in time to rekindle the fire, have snacks, and play a few rounds of Mafia before the teens dispersed into free time. Dinner was hot chili (veg and non-veg), brown rice, and cornbread, followed by s'mores, of course!

The trip took a turn from pleasant to "challenging" with the expected heavy rain in the early mornings. All the tents held up extremely well under the water with the exception of newly discovered Lake Julia which impacted one ICO volunteer adversely around 6am. Despite the torrential downpour, the campfire was rekindled and an oatmeal & egg breakfast was enjoyed, along with eggnog, hot cacao, and coffee. The campers were incredibly resilient with the heavy rain and spirits, though dampened, did not refute the claim that "Saturday was lots of fun, especially playing mafia."

We're planning mountain biking in December on the 14th or 15th - please join us!

With best wishes,

Julia and Matt