Lucy Werner Signage is key when hiking

 Calista and I woke up pretty early to start working on our papers. After finishing our papers we decided to work on our presentation for Express Fess. We wanted to make sure our presentation represented what we did on senior project. So Calista and I gathered all the materials we needed. After we collected materials Calista and I got some hiking in before we parted ways. After we got some hiking in I went to the gym and workout. Then I saw mountain classroom and it was the best day ever. It was so exciting to see my friends again and Carol and Jeff.  Hours Today: 5 hrs Total Hours: 56.5 hrs

 Calista and I woke on the earlier side to drive on over to EVO! On the way to EVO Calista and I were a little nervous because we were told that we would be tested on lead belaying as well as lead climbing. Calista and I had watched videos about lead belaying but hadn't practiced it. So the first thing we did at the gym was lead belay which ended up being easier then I thought. After we practiced climbing we got tested for both lead climbing and belaying! It went very smoothly and both Calista and I passed for lead climbing and belaying. After we passed, I also got tested for normal belaying and passed. With a successful day so far Calista and I head back to Proctor to get more down. We spent most of the afternoon organizing our presentation and our photos.  Hours Today: 6 hrs Total Hours: 51.5 hrs Photos:

This week I learned lots again! I learned a lot on top of what I learned last week. Calista and I traveled to the EVO gym in Concord. At this indoor climbing gym we worked on lead climbing even more. On top of working on our lead climbing I was able to work on belaying again. This made me a lot more confident in belaying Calista and trusting my skills. Along with learning more about climbing Calista and I learned lots about the Proctor woodlands. We learned how to navigate our way to each path so that we could put up as many signs and be efficient. I had a great time this week climbing and hiking. I really enjoyed climbing at very high heights and just dangling at the top as Calista belayed me down. On top of enjoying climbing, I also enjoyed being in the woods putting up signs. I especially enjoyed hiking because I know it will probably be one of the last times I hike in the Proctor woodland. The only surprise Calista and I ran into this week was when we hiked down Flovid back onto Up...

  Today was a very exciting day! We went to EVO in Concord which is an indoor climbing gym. I was very excited to practice my belaying again at the EVO gym. Calista and I did a total of 3 routes today. On our second route Calista and I practice clipping in to the carabiner. It was great to practice and at the end of the session I was extremely tired. I got so tired during our third route and got close to the top but didn't make it. I had so much fun climbing and dangling at the top while taking a break and spinning as the rope untangled. Calista and I are excited to go back to EVO on MONDAY!!!! Total Hours Today: 3 hrs Total hours: 46.5 hrs Photos:

Before the rain came Calista and I got up early and put up more signs. After we put up a few signs the rain started coming down so we had to switch plans. We walked to the library to meet with Rosanna and decided to plan for tomorrow. We made the plan to go to EVO tomorrow in the morning to get as much climbing experience before we try to get certified. After we planned our day for tomorrow Calista and I started working on our presentations for express fess. We went through our photos and organized which ones we wanted to use. We also organized all our materials in the room. Then Calista went to get ready for the play. And she killed it @shrek the musical. Total Hours Today: 6 hrs Total Hours: 43.5 hrs

Calista and I woke up this morning planning to put maybe one sign up and rock climb. But our plans took a turn and we decided we would put up the Upper Hopkins signs instead. We honestly didn't think this would take more than an hour and a half. But little did we know that it would take much longer. We drove my car over to the Hopkins Pond and parked. Once we were parked we started hiking up and up and around and down and then up again. We finally got the signs up for Upper Hopkins and thought why not just get Flovid while we are up here. We walked on Flovid for a while and got the signs up. Feeling pretty accomplished with the work we did Calista and I searched for Upper Hopkins trail to go back to the car. However, the trail online didn't match the trail in real life so Calista and I decided to take Lower Hopkins on the way back. Which ended up being a really pretty path along Hopkins pond. Overall a beautiful day to hike! Total Hours Today: 5.5 hrs Total Hours: 37.5 hrs Phot...

 Calista and I got a lot of hiking in today! We started hiking right after a great breakfast with Pete my advisor and stayed out on the trails for most of the day. It was so much fun walking through the Proctor  woodlands putting up signs. We were lucky because there were very few bugs because the wind was very strong. I want to say we put up about ten signs today while hiking. Calista and I had a great routine down she would put a sign up and then I would. Calista however is much better at nailing than I am. My highlight of today would be spending the day outside! Or when Calista fell down while hiking -don't worry I helped her up and she was AOK. Can't wait for tomorrow! Total hours Today: 5.5 hrs Total hours: 32 hrs Photos:

Calista and I woke up in time to get breakfast before the day started. We knew that the afternoon was going to be filled with rain so we planned to get everything done in the morning. We got in the car and drove over to upper Hopkins and Flovid trails to map out where we are going to hike. We got back to campus and put up Cistern Trail sign. As we mapped out our plan for the signs for tomorrow and put up the signs we could, it started to rain. With the rain, Calista and I went inside to organize our plans. Once we felt organized we used the rest of our time to practice clipping into carabiners and knots. Hopefully this week will bring good weather and less bugs:) Total Hours Today: 5 hrs Total Hours: 26.5 hrs Photos:

This week I learned a whole lot! The first thing that I learned this week was how to nail a sign into a tree. But not just any tree because some trees have bad bark, are dying, or will blend with the sign-you need to find a just right tree. Not only did I learn how to properly hang up signs in the Proctor woodlands I also learned how to lead climb/clip in. In the gym Calista and I along with the help of Rosanna practiced lead climbing. To lead climb you have to clip into multiple carabiners as you climb up the wall. It’s important to practice holding onto the wall with one hand and using the other hand to clip in the rope. Along with practicing your balance on the wall we worked on falling when lead climbing. We went a little bit above the carabiner and then practiced falling. When you fall from lead climbing you fall further than you would with normal climbing because lead climbing has more slack in the rope.  I really enjoyed rock climbing this week. It has been a while since I...

Today Calista and I both had games for most of the day. I had my tennis tournament and Calista had a lax game in Boston. After a long day of sporting events Calista and I came back into the dorm to watch more videos on lead climbing. After we completed watching the videos about lead climbing we decided to practice our knots. We tied our eight knots that we use to connect ourselves to the rope by tying into to our harness. Along with doing eight knots we practiced clipping into a carabiner that Rosanna gave us to practice with. At the end of the day Calista and I were very tired. So we are heading to bed early and are going to plan out the week tomorrow.  Total hours today: 2.5 hrs Total hours: 21.5 hours

 This morning Calista and I got 10 more signs up in the Proctor woodlands. Once the signs were up both of us were feeling extremely hot. We decided it would be fun to go drive up to Squam Lake, to go hiking and swim before we needed to be back for sports. We drove up listening to country music with our windows rolled down. When we got to Squam we decided to hike rattle snake first-which over looks Squam lake at the top of the look out point. After the hike Calista and I were even hotter so we headed down and went to my families cabin we have on the lake. We jumped into the lake and floated around for a few hours-the water was very refreshing. Before we knew it we were back on the road headed to campus. I had practice at 3:15 pm and Calista was leaving for a game at 3:30 pm. The car ride back was very similar, filled with country music and the windows down. Today was a BEAUTIFUL day that was filled with so much fun! Todays Hours: 4 hours Total Hours: 19 hours Photos:

 Today was exciting! Calista and I started the day by heading to the hardware store, but ended up not getting anything. We got back to campus and met with Rosanna who had given us four videos to watch about lead climbing and belaying. I'm not going to lie I was nervous about lead climbing especially after watching the videos because the falls seem pretty scary. With a better understanding of lead climbing and belaying Calista and I headed to the OC to go climbing. Rosanna was already there, ready to teach us. So Cal and I put on our shoes and harnessed up. We first climbed with the auto belay will simultaneously being tied into a rope to practice clipping in. Once we became comfortable with clipping in we got off the auto belay and had Rossana belay us. While one of us climbed the other watched Rossana and her belaying technique. It was super funny because Calista was scared about releasing and falling with lead climbing. She stayed holding onto the wall for a solid 2 minutes until...

Today Calista and I woke up excited for omelettes but we were too late. So instead we headed to jakes and got breakfast sandwiches. On our way back from jakes we picked up our laminated signs and talked with Rosanna. We realized that it would be a good idea to go to maintenance to get the nails we needed to hang up the signs. Right as we got down to maintenance we got an email from Josh telling us he had the nails we needed. So we turned around and walked to Josh's house and got nails from Josh. After getting the nails we went and put up two of the signs with Josh. We put up signs up near the tennis courts and they looked super great! After hanging up our first signs, Calista and I put up the Spotify playlist QR code and the Leave No Trace sign right next to the map of the Proctor woodlands. I had to leave at 12 for my match which didn't leave enough time for anything else. We are excited for tomorrow because we are climbing and putting up more signs! Hours: 3 hours  Total Hour...

 Calista and I started are day at the blue bird bakery. After fueling up with a muffin and a cookie Calista and I headed back to the dorm to get our work started. We sat down to focus on the map outside the tennis courts to see what we could add to it. Calista focused on making a playlist and a QR code to go with the playlist. While Calista worked on the playlist I worked on the leave no trace sign. Once we both finished our work we headed to the library to print off our work and give it to Rossana to have laminated. After the library we went to Shirley and met with Laura to go over how to put up the signs respectfully. Then we headed to the Wood shop and got supplies from Greg in order to put the signs up. The last task of the day was heading to Hannafords to grab some bars and snacks for the long days of hiking we have ahead of us.   Total Hours Today: 4 hours Total Project Hours: 8 hours  Photos

 Calista and I woke up this morning and started at 9:00 am to work on our Senior Project. Our first task of the day was getting the signs from Josh Norris. We collected the signs that were ready thus far and headed off to the OC to get gear for Bouldering. Calista and I collected a crash pad and shoes from the OC and with our water bottle and chalk in Baby Gregory(Calista's tiny backpack) we were ready to hit the road. We didn't adventure too far from campus before we got to our climbing spot. By the time we got to the climbing spot which is 10 minutes from Proctor it was already 1 o'clock. Calista and I checked out the route and started easy both making it to the top after a few tries. I tried to go up another route however got tired and decided to try it again next time we came back. We came back to campus and sat in the dorm going through photos and videos. Once we organized our photos we talked about goals and plans we have tomorrow. Calista and I will be solidify our p...