Features

The cabin in Jackson is just 24 feet square, with an open first floor and a loft above with what Denton calls "ancient, derelict UNH mattresses" that serve both for sleeping and sometimes, in the winter, for sledding. The cabin is beloved by club members new and old, even though it is beginning to show its age: the foundation is weak, and the walls are supported by cables. Propane serves for lighting and cooking, and mice-proof cabinets keep food safely stored. And, of course, there is a supply of games: tonight the students play Scrabble, cards and "Big Booty," a group game that Desrosiers describes as "a good way to get to know each other by humiliating yourself."

Another good way to get to know each other is to sleep squished together on the porch, which is what the group opts to do. It's a clear night, and the appeal of stargazing outweighs the shock of the 20-degree air. Wrapped in sleeping bags and lined up, as Desrosiers says, "like a row of slugs," they watch for shooting stars, "steamroll" one another, tell scary stories of White Mountain legends and, finally, fall asleep.

The next morning they wake to the glare of the rising sun and the smell of egg sandwiches being cooked by Denton in the kitchen. The aroma lures most from their warm sleeping bags, but first-timer Lily Finnigan-Allen, a freshman studio arts major, is sent to roust out the lethargic with well-placed thumps. In the clear morning air, they don their boots, polypropylene clothing and daypacks, and set out for Mount Pierce.

The trail is a fairly easy grade, running along old horse trails built to bring travelers up to Mount Washington. They reach the summit by mid-day, and pause to take in the 360-degree vista of the Presidential Range.

Lunch, however, quickly becomes more important than admiring the view. Since they forgot to bring utensils, they eat gorp, peanut butter, hummus, pita bread and veggies with cold fingers. Nobody complains. Complaining is actually something in very short supply on club trips due to the No Discount Policy, which bans derogatory, hurtful, negative or insulting talk. The No Discount Policy, plus the No Drug and Alcohol Policy, define the attitude and philosophy of the club, and the attitude is upbeat, even when the going gets tough.

Which is just what lies ahead. Recent rain and snowfall have turned the trail to Mount Jackson into a sheet of ice, and the hikers grab trees, roots and rocks to pull themselves up the steep grade. By taking things slowly and helping each other along, they finally make it to the top. There's not much time to linger, however, as light is fading, and they have several miles to go to reach the base of the mountain before dark.

They arrive at the van just as darkness falls, feeling both exhausted and enlivened by the eight-mile hike. "Hiking makes me feel more awake than sitting in my dorm all day does," says Jan Boyer, a sophomore biology major. Trip co-leader Pat Smart '04 has been hinting about a "surprise" all day, and now he unveils it: an Oreo cake smuggled in his backpack. They dig into the cake with their bare hands, standing in the parking lot.

There are no complaints. ~

Shannan Goff '03 is an acquisitions editor at Arcadia Publishing in Portsmouth, N.H.

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