Day 4, Session 1
We got up earlier than normal today and ate a quick breakfast and then packed lunches for the day. The girls sat in the back of the cars making friendship/good luck bracelets for hikers and also writing a menu for what we were going to give to hikers.
Today was a day of trail magic and hiking. Trail magic is an act of kindness for a stranger or friend who is thru hiking. While hiking a long distance trail, one does not carry much so they begin to appreciate little things a LOT more. A cold soda or some cookies can make somebody’s day!! The girls had the option today of doing a hike closer to home or driving a little further to give food and cold drinks to hikers and then go hiking ourselves. They were very excited about the idea of helping others so we decided to do that! The girls even sacrificed the cookies we made yesterday to give to hikers instead of eating them ourselves.
We drove to the Height of Land in Rangeley and provided trail magic to hikers who passed by. The girls were very concerned to hear that these hikers only shower once every week or two. We smelled a couple of them but luckily it was a windy day! We ate our lunch and played games while looking out over a clear view of Mooselookmeguntic Lake.
After we were done doing trail magic, we went for our own hike. A few of the girls were not too happy with Chloë and many complained of stomach pain, back pain, fevers, etc. She told them they were welcome to wait with Marijke at the bottom while the rest of us hiked but the condition was that only the girls who hiked to the top would get ice cream after. This thought seemed to cure all their aliments.
Every girl made it to the top!! We were very proud of them! There is a large fire tower at the summit and we climbed up it to see a 360 degree view of the Rangeley Lake region. We ate our homemade blueberry fruit leather and admired the surrounding beauty!
The ice cream after the hike was deemed “worth it”. We ran into a couple more thru hikers and gave them our remaining cookies.
The combination of hiking and ice cream left the girls exhausted by the time we got home. They had some free time to relax while the counselors made them dinner - a burrito bar tonight!
After dinner Marijke and Chloë put on a comical skit which ended with Chloë’s face covered in very bad makeup and whipped cream. The girls were almost crying they laughed so hard.
It was raining outside by this time but that didn’t stop the girls from wanting to go swimming! They all sweat during our hike today and wanted to feel refreshed. After swimming they put on their PJs and gathered around the dining room table for one last activity before our bedtime routine. We made essential oil roll-on spot treatments. They are an all natural remedy for skin irritations on your face. The ingredients were: witch hazel, tea tree oil, lavender essential oil, ylang ylang essential oil, and geranium essential oil. We didn’t try them tonight but will report back tomorrow.
It was then time to quiet down before bed! Chloë read Nancy Drew while the girls drank tea, drew in their journals, and worked on friendship bracelets. They were very ready for bed by the time Chloë finished reading!
*Yesterday’s riddle answer: walking
Thru hikers we met!
