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NortheastTimes.com
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2024
NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA’S AWARD-WINNING COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
Making the wilderness their house By Tom Waring Northeast Times
Seventeen Northeast High School students recently completed their freshmen year with a unique experience outside the classroom – hiking and canoeing at the Delaware Water Gap. Nine students hiked for five days, from June 3-7, while eight navigated canoes for the week. The teenagers had no cell phones or traditional ways to cook, sleep and go to the bathroom, but returned with smiles on their faces. “I learned to appreciate the stuff I have,” said Xavian Bell, one of the hikers. Philadelphia Outward Bound School, located at the Discovery Center at 3401 Reservoir Drive in Fairmount Park, sponsored the expedition. The school, in existence since 1992, has a contract with the School District of Philadelphia to provide free outdoor class-
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room activities for students. Each group was accompanied by a chaperone from Northeast and three instructors from Outward Bound School. They drove to the Delaware
Water Gap, which is more than 100 miles away and sits near the Pennsylvania/New Jersey border. Areeb Chowdhury, one of the hikers, described the experi-
ence, including a chance to do some rock climbing, as “awesome.” He and his classmates were able to meet other people hiking the trail. In all, Areeb and the others
hiked 16 miles, and picked up some cuts and bruises while rock climbing. He said the expedition could be physically demanding at times, but worth the effort. “It was fun,” he said. ”The view was amazing. The instructors were nice and helped us with everything.” Both groups battled bugs, carried heavy gear and learned to pitch tents, read maps and cook as they made the wilderness their house for the week. They saw some wildlife along the way. The expedition is meant to teach leadership, teamwork, self-reliance, organization and responsibility. Catalina Vasquez, one of the canoers, said the food – oatmeal, cereal, spaghetti, mac and cheese, pizza bagels and burritos – was pretty good. Vasquez added that it was fun to learn to pitch a tent, especially in a way see WILDERNESS / Page 6
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