Here you will find all of the information for each of these awesome trips!
Remember, all trips will be a primitive camping experience. No special equipment is necessary (except advanced biking) but if you’d like to bring gear of your own it is highly encouraged. It is asked that if you want to bring your own equipment, just run it by your trip leaders first. Please note that all trip assignments are made on a first-come, first-served basis. Depending on who registers, you may be sleeping in a tent or lean-to with people of the same or different gender than your own.
Each listing will have the difficulty, description, and even a link to a map showing the route of the trip (with the exception of climbing and biking as climbing will be in one location and biking will link to the trail system) so be sure to check everything out! On the Caltopo maps, you can also check out the terrain by selecting the route and clicking “Profile” in the pop up menu.
**Also: Please check out the Trip Types and Difficulty Levels page for any disclaimers relating to our trips**
Trip 1: Turning it up a Notch
Sampler
(this includes a day of hiking, climbing, and white water kayaking)
Difficulty:
Leaders: Quinn Risen, Gio Cerutti, Bernard Carroll, Nyk Jessiman
Description:
Do you struggle with picking options? Do you wish you could do all that you could in the outdoors? We have the trip for you! Do a little bit of everything: camping, beginner friendly whitewater kayaking, rock climbing, and scenic hiking. Over this week you’ll learn the basics and get to experience all of these great activities. Not convinced? Read again. 🙂
Camping: Copperas Pond
Day 1: Hike in to the campsite & get ready for some exciting yet beginner friendly whitewater. This is a great first experience for those new to the sport.
Day 2: Climbing Notch Mt. The climbs will be friendly to beginners and be a great first outdoor climbing experience.
Day 3: Hiking. Either Whiteface, Whiteface and Esther, or Bear Den Mt. We are planning multiple different hikes, so we can choose which to do depending on what the group is feeling that day!
Day 4: Hiking out.
Trip 2: When Life gives you Emmons
Hiking
Difficulty:
Leaders: Jon Wilson, Robert Greenberg
Description: Moderate Hiking in the Sewards with Robert and Jon. We’ll be hiking the 4 high peaks in the Seward Range in the Adirondacks!
Camping: Sewards Mountain Wilderness
Day 1: A little over 4.5 miles and just over 500 feet of elevation this will be a very easy trip on the Blueberry Trail to our basecamp for the next 3 nights!
Day 2: This is our big day! We’ve got 8.5 miles 3800 feet of elevation and 3 high peaks ahead of us. Luckily we have all day and very little approach. Prepare for big mountains big views and big fun.
Day 3: Our cool down lap from Day Two, 5 miles 2000 feet of elevation and the lone peak of Seymour. We’ll see more views of the ridge we were on the day before and over have a real chill day.
Day 4: Hey, this one’s just like day one, except it goes the other way most importantly mostly down hill. Early wake up call on this one to make it to the pick up spot on time and return to civilization.
Trip 3: Follow the Yellow Dix Road
Hiking
Difficulty:
Leaders: Colby Leggo, Mia Greco
Description:
On this adventure were going to tackle to Dix Range of the Adirondack High Peaks. On this 4 day 3 night stay-cation we will basecamp in a lean sitting right on a nice babbling brook. The first day is a nice leisurely hike into camp and then we will begin the fun stuff the next day. Grabbing 3 of the Dix is the plan for the second day as a nice warm up to the third day. The 3rd day involves summitting 2 of the highest peaks in the range and will be followed up by some delicious meals back at the camp. The last day we get up at the butt crack of dawn and hike out the where the bus will us up.
Camping: Dix Mountain Wilderness
Day 1: Hike in 2.25 Miles to the Slide Brook Lean-to. Easy Mellow day to learn how the group works together
Day 2: We wake up eat breakfast and head up the slide brook herd path. this is a 1.6 mile, 2090′ elevation gain to the summit of Macomb. This is the tallest peak that will be done today. Then we will hike another 1.8 miles hitting South and East Dix. Descend back down to basecamp.
Day 3: Next were gonna hit up Hough and Dix which is a 3000′ climb over 2.7 miles and then descend back to basecamp to eat some grub
Day 4: Hike out 2.25 miles back to the trailhead. easy peasy
Trip 4: Peak Comedy
Hiking
Difficulty:
Leaders: Haley May, Sophia LoDico
Description: Easy, breezy, beautiful, covergirl. kidding ! (kinda). A nice easy walk into Lake Colden, accompanied by some swimming, camping, sophie’s amazing backcountry cooking and a little bit of hiking some really tall hills called Cliff and Redfield. Madam President, Haley May, will guide you through the woods, all with a smile on her face and the wind in her hair. Come and join h-may and so-phe-phe as they preform stand up comedy on an incline you’ll wish you weren’t on.
Camping: Lake Colden
Day 1: A chill and non-steep 6 mile hike into Lake Colden. We’ll set up camp and hang out for the rest of the day!
Day 2: Hike Time! Wake up, take in the views, and get on our way. We will hike Cliff and Redfield, a total mileage of 7.2 and an elevation gain of 1800 (you so got that)! We’ll sing some songs and huddle around the fire (whisperlite) to close out night 2.
Day 3: RIIIISSEE AND SHHIIINNEE If y’all are feeling pumped UP and ambitious, we can throw in a THIRD high peak (Gray Peak). However, the real plan is to hike out this day and stay at a campsite at the ADK Loj. Showers and a real fire!!! oooooo ahhhhhhh
Day 4: Since Hmay and Sophie are so sweet, you’ll already be at the pickup point that morning! Chill relaxing wakeup followed by a lovely busride back to Clarkson (yay!).
Trip 5: Advanced Wind Breaking
Mountain Biking
You must own a functional mountain bike
Difficulty:
Leaders: Taylor Vandewalk, Shawn Alexander, Owen Gandt, Megan Kelsch
Description: What’s up shred lords? If spending four days sending it on some of the best trails in New York sounds good to you, then join us for an epic week of biking. We will be riding at McCauley Mountain Ski Resort in Old Forge NY and camping at Nick’s Lake Campground 5 minutes from the trails. This trip is labeled as “Advanced” because previous mountain biking experience is necessary. Essentially, we are looking for people who have mountain biked before because we are going to be hucking every jump, schralping tires on berms, and sending every drop. We will be eating amazing food all week (far better then the hiking trips since we don’t have to worry about weight). Along with shredding all week, there is some amazing scenery and possible swimming holes that we can cool off in. Be ready to get sendy on your rig. We are amped up to send and hope you are too because we will be hucking ourselves all week. Be ready for it to rain cause we’re riding either way. (Trip may include a possible visit from Bike master and absolute hucker of a trail builder to tow us in to the most rowdy lines at McCauley that he himself built…)
Camping: Mcauley Mountain
Day 1: We will be biking McCauley Mountain all day and around Old Forge
Day 2: We will be biking McCauley Mountain all day and around Old Forge
Day 3: We will be biking McCauley Mountain all day and around Old Forge
Day 4: Packing up camp amidst tearful goodbyes as we drive back to Clarkson.
Trip 6: Mud, Sweat, and Gears
Mountain Biking
Difficulty:
Leaders: Dante Cuoslito, Lilly Magnus, Sam Ellingson, Kai Kendrick
Description: Have you ever tacoed a rear wheel from schralping too hard? This trip isn’t for you! Who is it for then? If you’re a beginner to intermediate mountain biker who is new to riding a bike off road and want to be introduced to some more difficult terrain on bomber mountain bike trails, come ride with us! We will be camping at a campground for 3 nights and riding at GreenWoodlands for 3-4 days. These trails are some of the most flowy in the northeast, and are a great way for anyone to have fun on two wheels regardless of skill level. The area also boasts some great swimming holes so bring a towel! One last thing- we will be cheffin’ it up so let us know if you have any food requests.
No bikes needed 🙂
Camping: Greenwoodlands NH
Day 1: Ride at Catamount, then continue on to D acres campground
Day 2: Ride at green woodlands (no pay), distance variable based on how they’re feeling
Day 3: Ride at green woodlands again with variable distance
Day 4: Wake up early. Pack up camp. Drive. Go home. Eat Robro.
Trip 7: Canoe believe this is the best trip?
Canoeing
Difficulty:
Leaders: Rachel Mietlicki, Lauren Marci
Description: Canoe believe this is the best trip? Of course you can! We will be going on a difficult, but not crazy canoe trip from Little Tupper Lake to Lake Lila. As long as you know how to paddle and walk, this trip is for you. Over four days we will travel 18 miles with five portages over a series of six ponds. The views are beautiful and secluded. Every night we will get to choose campsites along the ponds. To cool off during the day we can explore islands, or go for a swim. If we’re lucky we will see tons of wildlife, and remember DON’T GET DEAD!
Camping: Little Tupper
Day 1: Drop off at Little Tupper Lake Access. Paddle 4 miles to campsite, set up camp. Explore around Little Tupper Lake, there’s a lot of small islands we can paddle to.
Day 2: Get up early for our longest day of paddling. Start with a 3 mile paddle into Rock Pond. Paddle through Rock Pond to our first portage of about 1.5 miles to Hardigan Pond. Once we reach Hardigan Pond we’ll stop for lunch before taking on a long 10 minute paddle to the next portage. This portage is .5 miles to Little Salmon Lake. Once we’re back on the water we’ll paddle for 1 mile to a campsite of our choosing and set up camp. We can then relax and explore.
Day 3: We’ll start a little later after exploring Little Salmon Lake, then paddle .5 miles to our first portage of the day. Portage .5 miles to Lilypad Pond. Spend some time exploring Lilypad Pond before portaging .7 miles to Lake Lila. Paddle along Shingle Shanty Brook to Lake Lila and then our campsite on Lake Lila, about 1.8 miles. Setup camp and then explore Lake Lila. (If we’re feeling ambitious Frederica Mountain hike is an option, 1.6 miles, would have to paddle to trailhead, can be accessed from water)
Day 4: Wake up early for our last paddle and portage. Paddle about 2 miles to our exit point, after getting off the water we will portage for .3 miles to the parking area to get picked up.
Trip 8: Ground Beef
Hiking
Difficulty:
Leaders: Emelyn Sullivan, Alex Evans
Description: STOP scrolling right here because this is the trip to be on! Come with us for a week full of high peaks, heavy packs, and delicious backcountry culinary creations (ground beef not included)
Camping: Great Range in the High Peaks
Day 1: We will be dropped off by the bus at the AMR and will begin our 5 mile hike in to our first campsite. Once we set up camp, we’ll have the option of hiking (with light packs!) up Lower Wolfjaw for a sneak peak at what we have in store the next few days.
Day 2: After a hearty breakfast we will pack up & start our 6 mile day up & over Upper Wolfjaw, Armstrong, and Gothics peaks. After many snack breaks & summit naps we’ll descend to our next campsite for dinner and maxin’ relaxin’. And if you still haven’t gotten enough views by then we can scamper up Mount Haystack with very light packs before supper!
Day 3: For our final full day we’ll take it easy making our way to our final campsite by Marcy Dam. If you’re still itching to bag some more peaks we’ll have opportunities to drop packs and run up Tabletop & Phelps after lunch, too!
Day 4: Wake up bright and early to hike 2 miles out to our bus. Cry that the trip is over & start planning your next backpacking excursion immediately.
Trip 9: Boats and Oars
Canoeing
Difficulty:
Leaders: Drew Price, Matt Matt Wildermuth
Description:
How would you like to embark on the best possible way to start your journey at Clarkson? Some might say by studying, hiking, or a climbing preo. Although those might be fun, they aren’t the funnest. This is thé funnerest. This will be a Caribbean Cruise ( Canoe ), on the atlantic ( Follensby Clear Pond ),with fine dining ( Backcountry food ), and plenty of activities* ( This one is actually true ).
*May include but not limited to fishing, swimming, island hopping, learning the best trail spice, slacklining, burnt brownies…
Day 1: After setting up camp, island hopping, exploring the norther part of the pond, fishing or whatever floats your canoe we will do.
Day 2: Wake up, eat a banger breakfast and make our way to our first portage (161 ft.), explore, and fish horseshoe pond. Little exploring in Little Polliwog Pond then head back to our lean-to for the second night where we will relax with some smores and slacklining.
Day 3: After waking up we will set sail for the real Polliwog pond. After double the portage distance as yesterday (361 ft.) we will figure out if the real Polliwog pond is better than the little guy with some fishing and exploring some of the surrounding ponds to it. After heading back to camp swimming will take place along with some more fun activities.
Day 4: Wake up early, pack all of our stuff, possibly catch the sunrise, leave no trace, and paddle back to our pickup point.
Trip 10: Take me to Church
Climbing
Difficulty:
Leaders: Evan Vogan, Jack Reed, Martin NO
Description:
Are you interested in climbing? A trip to Chapel Pond will surely satisfy all of your climbing needs. We will be spending our days climbing 5 star rock routes in the area, and our evenings sitting around the fire, telling stories, and slacklining by the water. There are a lot of pre-o options, but look no further than a trip to the chapel. Try climbing once, and you will be hooked!
Camping: Chapel Pond
Day 1: Fresh off the bus, we’ll go drop off our stuff at camp and go to the beer walls to get acclimated with the Adirondack climbing scene.
Day 2: After a hearty breakfast, we’ll head over to the Creature wall to put our climbing skills to the test. In the evening, we’ll be slacklining, and telling stories around the campfire.
Day 3: There will be 2 things going on for our third day – Jewels and Gems is a quality cliff with some 5 star chill climbing. For those looking for a challenge, right across the road is Chapel Pond Slab; a tall slab of rock which will prove adventurous every time.
Day 4: Our last day will be chill, as the bus comes at 9 am. We will spend the morning feasting on a delicious breakfast, and slacklining of course.
Trip 11: Gneiss Rock
Climbing
Difficulty:
Leaders: Carson Bruening, Angie Zeoli, Nick Sheldon
Description: HALT! You there! Do you seek the greatest Pre-O trip to ever grace this earth? Look no further, because you’ve come to the right place. Join us on our quest to find the gneissest rocks the Southern Adirondacks has to offer. If you’re lucky enough to come along, you’ll spend your days catching lake views on the tops of our favorite cliffs, sampling gourmet crag snacks, and learning the climbing craft. When the sun gets low you’ll find yourself sitting around the fire playing cards, telling stories, and enjoying our fine camp cuisine. If the thought of trying climbing for the first time gives you the heebie jeebies, worry not! We were once in those shoes too. Give climbing one try and you’ll be hooked, the first one’s free anyway.
Camping: Inman Pond
Day 1: We’ll hit the road bright and early, and drive on down to the Queen of American Lakes. On our way we’ll take a pit stop at Ark Wall to show y’all the ropes. After a half-day of rope wrangling, we’ll waddle over to our waterfront campsite to set up our tents and hammock stacks. Us leaders will whip you up a delicious backcountry meal before we tuck in to the sound of bull frogs and crickets.
Day 2: Whenever the pond wildlife wakes us up we’ll strap on our packs and trek over to New Buck for a day of gravity defying feats and crag naps. Once we’ve climbed high and low we’ll stumble back to camp for an evening of swimming, slacklining, and exploring.
Day 3: Now that we’ve learned a thing or two about climbing and geology, we can take our skills to even greater heights! Shelving Rock will be our home for the day, as we catch some panoramic lake vistas and sun ourselves on the talus fields. Before we head back to camp for the night, we can take a shower in a nearby waterfall and play mermaid in the crystal clear waters of Lake George.
Day 4: On our last day woods we’ll break camp and high tail it back to campus. If we’re in the mood we could even catch one last bit of climbing in the Chapel Pond pass. Rest assured, you’ll make it back to your dorm with enough time to shower and return to civilization.
Trip 12: Saranac Shenanigans
Canoeing
Difficulty:
Leaders: Maddie Sesnie, Stuart Wilson
Description: A nice moderate paddle through all of the Saranac Lakes with a rope swing along the way!
Day 1: This will be about a 4 mile paddle to middle Saranac lake from upper Saranac lake with a small portage! This will take us to our first campsite to set up! We will talk about canoe and camping safety and getting a nice relaxing start to our trip!
Day 2: This day will be a 5 mile paddle from middle Saranac to lower! we will be paddling around the locks and get to see a bunch of the islands from our next campsite! We will be hanging out and enjoying the amazing views on the lake!
Day 3: We will start off with a 1 mile paddle to Bluff Island to find a sick rope swing! We will hang out here for a bit and swim around before heading off to our last campsite which is a 2 mile paddle from Bluff Island.
Day 4: We will end our trip by padding about 2.5 miles to the boat Launch and getting picked up to head back to campus just in time for orientation!
Trip 13: Four Score and Seven Blisters Ago
Hiking
Difficulty:
Leaders: Levi Pyke, Stephanie Kloda
Description: How do you feel about an easy-peasy walk through the ‘Dax with your fav Pre-O leaders? We will be blessing you with killa food and killa views. We will start with a little walk into our campsite. If y’all are feeling spicy maybe hike up big slide. If not we will wake up promptly the next morning with the delicious smell of backpacked pancakes(maybe). Then will either hike up Big Slide or Gothics. We will be using fruit roll ups as motivation. There will be plenty of time to stop for many breaks or many views. We will be doing ALOT of peak sunbathing like little lizards. We then hike back to the campsite for some very well deserved dinner. We will be playing plenty of card games and telling scary ghost stories. Thursday, depending on the vibes either hike around some more or go and find a delicious waterfall to play in. What ever y’all are feelin. Finally, Friday we will hike out and sadly return back to civilization
Day 1: Hike in 3 miles to campsite. Set up camp and explore camp site
Day 2: 4 miles up and back to Big Slide
Day 3: Wake up and hike 7.21 miles up and back to Gothics Mountain
Day 4: Hike out of campsite- 3 miles
Trip 14: Rattlin’ the bog on Santanoni
Hiking
Difficulty:
Leaders: Zach Zientko, Seamus Fogerty
Description: We will be advanced hiking the Santanoni Mountain wilderness range!
Day 1: Hike up to the campsite, enjoy the beautiful views, and our new home for the week in the bog!
Day 2: We will be hiking all the way up to Couch.
Day 3: Wake up, hike Panther and look onto the gorge and wish we were all climbing, then hike up to Santanoni.
Day 4: Hike out of our lovely campsite, back on the bus and right back to school to get ready for our next excursion!