I was a member of the Hiking Club at Bedford Jr High School in Westport Ct. We would meet on club days, the last class hour on  Wednesdays. With the canteen in hand well loaded onto  a bus that took us into the hills. Our teachers/leaders had mapped out local mini hikes so we could  return home  by dinnertime. This was the practice for the weekend backpacking trips.

Our fearless leaders took  us to so many places. Mr Puterbaugh, a social studies teacher who had hiked many of  the great European mountains, and Mr Bump, the Science teacher who could outhike any of us!

On school breaks and long weekends we would meet at some unGodly hour and head off to a part of the Appalachian trail not yet conquered by our misfit crowd of 20 or so 13-15 year old boys and girls. With loaded backpacks we would set out for a good day’s hike 3 days or so in a row. Some 10 or so miles into our adventure we would break camp. Girls paired up and set up their tents and the same for the boys.

We carried in all our cookware, a mess kit and Sevia stove, and some terribly dehydrated overpriced food we bought at the local sports store, sleeping bags, etc.

We learned endless skills from our experienced leaders – what to do and not do. Always bring moleskin for the eventual blisters, pack the lightest of everything and do not overpack. Kelty backpacks for the kids who could afford them and Jansport for those of us who bled our parents dry with endless sports equipment requests!

I do remember fellow hikers hitch hiked a few mile stretch in Litchfield Connecticut near Mohawk Mountain once. Not sure if the fearsome leaders caught wind of it. We made up rhymes like “Mr Bump wears monkey vomit green down booties” as we chanted hiking along – needless to say we drove our leader nuts, keep in mind we were 14!