Pleasant Mountain Hike

Hello All,

Just wanted to report on the great time I had on Saturday, hiking Pleasant Mountain with the Trailblazers! Although we were concerned about the weather early on, the day ended up being beautiful. We followed the Southwest Ridge Trail all the way to the summit at 2006 feet, and along the way enjoyed amazing views of Sebago Lake and Moose Pond. Once we reached the top, we were even able to see snow-capped Mount Washington!


All of the guys were troopers, with this hike being almost 6 miles round trip. We had fun looking for frozen puddles and strange plants, and appreciating how each view was better than the next.

We're looking forward to an upcoming Leave No Trace workshop, and then Trailblazers Rock Climbing in November!

Sarah

Calling All Artists

Remember the great time that we had at last year's "Sitting Pretty: A Chairity Auction"? Believe it or not, plans are already underway for this year's chair auction!

And here is where you come in: we need chair artists! If you are a teen in grades 7-12, or if you are an interested adult in the community, we may have a chair for you. We also welcome artists who might be interested in working with a partner, so don't be shy! Chairs and paint will be available by the end of this month, and all chairs will need to be returned to the teen center by March 1, 2010. So if you want to participate in this great community event by painting a chair...

Middle school artists should talk with Ms. Gosselin.
High school artists should talk with Ms. Medsker.
Adult artists should email our artist coordinator, Louise Price. You can reach her at lprice(at)suscom-maine(dot)com.

If you have questions, give us a call or swing by The PORT!

Fall Hiking at The PORT

Since fall is shaping up to be such a beautiful season this year, we here at The PORT are working hard to take advantage of it -- and that means getting outside.

We kicked off the second Trailblazers session yesterday afternoon by taking 6 middle school students for an afternoon hike at Hedgehog Mountain. Highlights include playing a few rounds of Camouflage (hide-and-seek in the woods), finding a live salamander, and trying out a wide variety of walking sticks. The guys are really looking forward to our upcoming hike of Pleasant Mountain in Denmark, as well as a Leave No Trace workshop at the end of the month.

For PORT Outdoors, our next trip is also a hike: Tumbledown Mountain. After last spring's group was unable to reach the summit, our leadership team decided to once again challenge this classic Maine mountain. We're scheduled to depart at 8am on Sunday, November 8th and spend the day hiking in Mount Blue State Park. There is no cost to participate in this trip, and The PORT will cover both transportation and a picnic lunch. If you're interested in signing up, stop by the teen center to pick up a form or to ask any questions.

See you on the mountain!

Fall Rafting Adventures

PORT Outdoors officially kicked off the year with our Whitewater Rafting Trip this past weekend, and we had a great time! After school let out on Friday, we packed our van and headed up to The Forks for an evening of (chilly!) camping. Luckily, we were able to build a great campfire for s'mores, as well as to enjoy the hot tub and lodge facilities at our campground.

Saturday morning, we headed out bright and early to raft the mighty Kennebec River! It was a big water release day, which meant that we were able to run some more challenging rapids than usual. And once the sun came out, almost everyone in our group went through some of the "swimmer's rapids". We'll be sure to post some photos of the rafting action once we have them.

If you missed this trip, but you're interested in joining us for our next adventure, stay tuned for a hike of Tumbledown Mountain in early November!

Fall Adventures

We couldn't have had nicer weather for yesterday's final session of Trailblazers Sea Kayaking. We met up with an instructor from Seaspray Kayaking for a paddle out of Winslow Park. The teens learned a lot about eel grass and sea sponges, saw an egret and a great blue heron, and even tried a little bow walking. Everyone had a great time.
We leave this afternoon on our first PORT Outdoors trip of the year, whitewater rafting. We're looking forward to a fun, if chilly, evening at our campground and a great day of paddling tomorrow. Look for a post next week about our trip!

Trailblazers '09-'10

Yesterday was the first session of Trailblazers for the 2009-2010 school year, and we couldn't have asked for a better day! 5 middle school teens joined us for an afternoon of sea kayaking near East End Beach in Portland. After learning a few basic strokes, we were able to jump right in and explore the area around the beach. Highlights of the afternoon include seeing an osprey nesting on an old railroad bridge, navigating around the rock jetty, and playing a fun game of "I Never". We're looking forward to more paddling fun next Thursday!

Getting loaded into our kayaks.

PORT Outdoors Trips

Hey PORT Fans,

We here at The PORT are excited to officially announce two fall trips for PORT Outdoors!

Whitewater Rafting will be Friday, Sept. 25th and Saturday, Sept. 26th. We plan to leave after school on Friday and drive up to Caratunk, camping overnight at an activity center with pool and hot tub, game room, fire pits, and nice campsites for us. Saturday we'll raft all day, and then head back to Freeport. The cost to participants is only $40, which is a pretty sweet deal for rafting!

Tumbledown Mountain Hike will be on Sunday, Nov. 8th. We expect the views to be incredible, as most of the leaves will be gone by this time of year. Trails should be in good shape to allow us to summit this great mountain in western Maine, and we'll aim to have a picnic at the alpine pond.

For more info on either one of these trips, feel free to stop by The PORT! We're excited about this year's PORT Outdoors program, and can't wait to get outside!