You wake in the throws of friends’ blankets, pillows, sleeping bags and snores, all packed inside your cozy tent. Tucked under a pine, you can hear the tree’s boughs brush against the wind, threading itself through the swell of leaves.
Someone is making pancakes, attentively tapping each of the six dollops of batter with a spatula, and stacking them on a plate. People slowly pour from the tents and venture toward the smell of food.
After breakfast, you walk a ways down a dirt road, where the swimming hole boasts the shimmering reflection of a mid-September sky. Some kids wade in the water, while others spring from rope tied to leaning trees at the bank. A few perch at the bank, pressing their bare toes into the sediment.
Later, you’ll all sit around the fire and eat homemade chili, watch the sun melt between the cracks in the forest, listen to the natural hush and the skilled strum of Emerson on guitar. Some venture into the woods with flashlights that dot the path, hollering and laughing; others squeeze around the fire to sip hot chocolate, toast marshmallows, and play “mafia.”
Finally, in the black hours of the morning, with faces lightly toasted by the fire, everyone crawls into their tent with leaves, dreams, and expectation for tomorrow’s adventures swirling above their heads.
This is what the Outdoors Club does best; encouraging excitement for what’s to come. In the face of writing paper after paper, and taking exams upon exams, it can seem arduous to see the forest through the trees. Sometimes, it can feel as if you’re only trying to survive each week. Of course it’s important to take care of your homework, your grade, your GPA. But it’s even more important to take care of yourself.
The members of the Outdoors Club know that “getting dirty in the woods” is so much more than just a cheeky quote we put on our t-shirts. It’s how we aim to live; adventuring, striving for the unknown, and pushing ourselves out of the comfort zone.
If you’re wondering if you’re the Outdoors Club type, don’t picture the person with the most expensive hiking boots, the latest camping technology, and miles of impressive hiking experience under their belt. It’s the person with a spirit that thrives on those simple pleasures – good people, good food, and memorable adventures, that you’ll always find here.
John Muir famously stated, “Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.”
If you’re thinking of joining, feel free to contact Gab Ientile at s1014761@monmouth.edu to receive emails about upcoming meetings and events.
Also follow our Instagram (@ monmouthoutdoorsclub), and our Facebook page, Monmouth University Outdoors Club, where you’ll be featured if you join us on trips and other events.
PHOTO COURTESY of Gabrielle Ientile
