Mini Golf and the Beach Make a Great Day for Cape Cod Trekkers

We spent a leisurely day in Brewster, Massachusetts. Our first stop was Harbor Lights Mini Golf, where we played 18 holes and then each savored an ice cream cone. Farther down the Cape Cod Rail Trail was JT's Seafood Diner, which offered a variety of wraps, sandwiches, and seafood. We all chose different lunch items and enjoyed the air conditioning. On the way back to Nickerson State Park, we stopped in the Teichman Art Gallery. After perusing the sculptures and paintings, we headed back to our campsite, changed into swimsuits, and hiked to the beach we found yesterday. The water was beautiful and clear and the sand was soft. Nic found dozens of clams, but when we called the park they said not to eat them. Instead of feasting on clams, we had fajitas and s'mores for dinner.

Pacific Northwest Trek Ends With Another Day in Seattle

The trip ended in Seattle and while everyone was ready to return home, the end was not complete without hugs  and a few tears as everyone said goodbye. The hostels motto was "enter as strangers leave as family" and I believe that we did just that.
-Trip Leader Mary

New England Shore Trek Ends in Boston

Hey everyone! Today the Teen Trekkers finally made it to Boston!! Everyone was overjoyed because we didn't have to bike up any more hills However it was very hard because one of our members, Victor, sadly had to leave us after we docked in Boston. After our ferry ride into the city, we all stopped at a Mexican restaurant. "This is way better then Chipotle"-Teen Trekker Chris. Shortly after we had eaten, we made our way to our first hostel. Everyone was presently surprised because it felt like we were in a five star hotel. We all left our bikes and we walked to the Boston Aquarium and we saw the trendy Chinatown. When we were at the Aquarium everyone made a hard decision to choose between the IMAX theater or the Aquarium and we split it even. The Trekkers that went inside the Aquarium saw many different kinds of fish and were able to touch Sting Rays! The other group saw an IMAX movie about the Galápagos Islands. They thought that it was very interesting for except one of the Trekkers, who shall remain anonymous, who fell asleep during the movie because of how we had to get up early that day because of our early wake ups and nonstop biking! After the aquarium, we took the subway and a bus ride to go to Cambridge Boston. When we were in Cambridge, we made a pit stop at a thrift shop and a few Trekkers purchased some funky clothing items. For dinner, we walked to a Japanese BBQ where we cooked our own food at the table. Everyone thought that it was the best meal of the whole trip! After the amazing meal we walked into an ice cream store and we got whatever we wanted. We sat down on some benches in town, eating our ice cream and sharing stories and it was a great way to end the night! Finally we took a bus ride and walked a little back to the hostel and everyone went into their rooms and fell asleep. Today was an amazing day! WE MADE IT TO BOSTON!!

Written by Trekkers Emily & Maura

Cape Cod Trekkers Enjoy the Cape Cod Rail Trail

Today we slept in until 8:00 in a hotel. I [Cabell] was point. We biked 25 miles, most of it on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Once we got to the campsite, we set up our tents and went on a hike. We got to a pond and decided to swim for a while. After swimming we showered and started making dinner. We made an Asian dish that was delicious. We forgot to buy soy sauce so we walked around the campground and asked our neighbors. We did find some soy sauce! Tonight we are going to play some cards. Today was a great day.

-written by Trekker Cabell

Cape Cod Trekkers Ride Mid-Cape to Hyannis/Yarmouth

We finally left Martha's Vineyard today after exploring the island for three days. We enjoyed the ferry once again, then set off on our long ride to Yarmouth. The weather was perfect for biking—it rained in the morning, but cleared up and stayed cool in the afternoon. Once we arrived at the Yarmouth Resort, the gang enjoyed a dip in both the indoor and outdoor pools. After dinner, we played Heads Up and took turns acting out ridiculous activities.

New England Shore Trekkers Leave the Cape for Final Day in Boston

We woke up in Provincetown to have a delicious breakfast of pancakes and eggs. Then we took a nature walk in the dunes which were located behind our campsite. We climbed and climbed hills of sand, determined to find the ocean at the end. The Teen Trekkers got tired but decided to roll down the sand dunes. We then trekked back to camp and walked into Provincetown for some dumplings, free time, and shopping. Then we all walked to the beach in town and we watched the perfect view. We hung out at the beach for a while before we decided it was time for dinner! Everyone got up and we made our way to the nearest Stop & Shop. The whole group decided that our last night on the Cape would be the perfect day to have a barbecue. We made hot dogs, hamburgers, and onion rings and shared funny stories of the trip. It was a great night and we could not wish for another way of finishing our last night of camping. 

Written collectively by all the Trekkers while riding the ferry to BOSTON!

Cape Cod Trekkers Continue to Enjoy Martha's Vineyard

For our second full day on Martha's Vineyard, we biked to the southeast corner of the island. We caught a little ferry over to Chappaquiddick, where we visited the Mytoi Japanese Gardens. Andy gave us an intro to meditation and we all tried it out. After catching the ferry back to the big island, we ate lunch at a '60s diner in Edgartown. On the way back to the cabin, we stopped at Island Alpacas to see the farm. The workers there were eager to teach us about alpacas. Unfortunately, alpacas cannot bear weight so we decided not to buy one to carry our panniers. We ended our day with shepherd's pie, frisbee, and M&Ms poker.

A Fond Last Day for the Maine Coast Trekkers

Our last day biking was a bittersweet day! We woke up early to pack up camp, feeling sad yet relieved to stuff our tents and panniers and boxes for one last time. Once we were packed, we biked along quiet but hilly roads, stopping to look at gorgeous views peaking through the fog. We reached Bangor, our final destination in the afternoon. We checked into the hotel and then shared a wonderful evening together eating takeout and talking about all the fun memories we created together in the past couple weeks. Its hard to believe its already coming to a close. We are all so grateful for this amazing experience to learn and grow together and glad we get to share one last day together.

Cape Cod Trekkers Spend a Leisurely Day on Martha's Vineyard

Today we woke up at 7:15 after a great night in a cabin. We ate chocolate chip pancakes before biking to town. We looked around and bought souvenirs from some really cool shops. We traveled through East Chop, where we visited a lighthouse. In Oaks Bluff, we went on the Flying Horses carousel, which is the oldest carousel in America. Nic won the brass ring twice, so he got two free rides. After that we jumped off Jaws bridge. Some of us were hesitant, but eventually we all went in.

Written by Trekker Emma

Pacific Northwest Trekkers Enjoying the Washington State Shore

After waking up in the fairgrounds with the sounds of fiddles still in our heads, we realized that the fiddlers had actually woken up early to continue practicing. We started the day to view yet another majestic Safeway in Townsend, Washington. We then headed South on a beautiful scenic highway. However the headwind distracted us and made us pedal faster to stay balanced. After the hard work we ended up on a pristine beach with views of the mountains in Olympic National Park. Now we are settled up in Kitsap State Park with tubs of ice cream after a windy day.

Written by Trekker Spencer

New England Shore Trekkers Make it to the Cape's Tip - Provincetown

Today the Teen Trekkers made an eventful journey across the Cape. The day began with us practicing some bike mechanics skills while visiting a quaint Cape Cod town. The journey continued with a stop at a small general store in another town where we noshed for lunch. After a quick stop at a farmer's market and a longer attempt at spelling out "teen trex" with our bodies, the Trekkers traveled to our final Cape destination of P-town. After unpacking at the camp ground we entered the amazing nightlife of p-town. The shops brightly shined on us and the many friendly people greeted us. We felt so welcomed by the locals and enjoyed candy and fresh taffy. We ate at an outside eatery and enjoyed famous onion chunks. After walking back to the campground, everyone fell asleep as we were tired. We are excited to explore the town more tomorrow!

Written by Trekker Eva

Maine Coast Trekkers Head North Out of Acadia National Park

Thursday was a foggy morning when we sadly biked out of Acadia. We left early to grab hot drinks in Bar Harbor and decided to hop on the bus to avoid the rain and the hills. We took a leisurely bus ride all the way to Ellsworth where we stopped for groceries and continued into the fog to Balsam Cove Campground. We decided for our last night of camping to get extra fire wood and have a big celebratory dinner cooked  over the fire. Pasta alfredo with Italian sausage, spinach, broccoli, kale with tomatoes and mushrooms and roasted marshmallows.  "It was really delicious, Kyle is the greatest cook ever." - Trekker Kyle

Pacific Northwest Bikers Share Campground with Fiddle Festival

Today we bicycled to the historic town of Port Townsend. After a full morning of biking under cloudy and sometimes rainy skies we made it to town for lunch. Some of us stopped at the bike shop to fix problems with our bicycles. Afterwards we went up to Fort Warden State park which was awash with fiddle players, there for the fiddle festival.

New England Shore Trekkers Ride the Famous Cape Cod Rail Trail

Today the Teen Trekkers went on a strengthening 40 mile bike ride. Since we were biking from Sandwich to Brewster, we got to see most of the Cape along our bike ride. We stopped for a quick lunch, because everyone was so hungry! Our lunch included fried chicken and lots of guacamole. After, we headed straight for a bike path. We suddenly saw an AMAZING swimming spot! There was a float located in the middle of the lake and all the Trekkers enjoyed jumping off of the float! After our swim ended we headed right for the camp site and began to make dinner. At first we had a little trouble finding our supplies, but shortly after we began to make delicious fajitas. After a lovely dinner we decided to hit the tents a little early and get a great night sleep! 

Written by Trekker Maura

Cape Cod Trekkers Enjoying Martha's Vineyard

Today we arrived on beautiful Martha's Vineyard.  After only a short bike ride and a ferry, we finally arrived at our campground where we'll be staying in a cabin for three days. We are all grateful to be finally sleeping in a building. After lunch we found a great beach at Owen's park to relax and swim.  We plan on exploring many activities over the next few days on MV to make our experience the best possible.

Impromptu Community Service Effort by the Pacific Northwest Trekkers

Today we left Port Angeles and biked to Sequim, Washington. This morning we went on a tour of the Captain Joseph House. Betsy's non profit that she started in honor of her son Joseph who died in combat. The Captain Joseph House is a respite house for all Gold Star families where they can go to

have a therapeutic retreat. Betsy is an amazing women who has the ability to do so much while remaining so humble and selfless. I felt that we entered as strangers and left as family.
The immense community involvement speaks volumes for what Betsys can do for attitude as well as the tight knitness of the community who are all more than willing to help and provide services. I left feeling inspired and hopeful for someday touching lives and impacting those around me as Betsy does.

Maine Coast Trekkers Hike to View the First Sunrise on the East Coast

Wednesday morning we woke up at 3 a.m. to climb up Cadillac mountain and watched the sunrise.  It was a 5 mile hike through the woods and on huge rocks. It was one of the most beautiful experiences on our whole trip.  (But seriously, it was 3 am.) We were serenaded by mysterious bird songs we had never heard before along the way.  It made for an amazing sound track to our hike and comforted us through the darker hours of the climb. We made it to the summit by around five thirty in the morning in time to see the sun just rising above the clouds.  The sea was so sublime, totally covered in mist.  The view went on for miles.  We slowly made our way back down the mountain and had a short hour of rest before getting on our bikes to tour the carriage roads around a few of Acadia's largest lakes.  We made it back to camp and had an early dinner followed by s'mores and were all sleeping by nine thirty.

Cape Cod Trekkers Bike South Towards Martha's Vineyard

Trekkers viewing Plymouth Rock

Today was a little different due to  leader Andy and Trekker Cabell having to go to a bike shop to obtain a new crank for her bicycle. The ride was 20 miles today and half of it was on a bike path. We may have even seen swans from the path!  At least that's what leader Andy thought those two birds were.

Coincidentally, even though we split up, both groups had burgers for lunch! Nic described them as very good.  After getting to camp and setting up our tents we headed to the beach to swim! While at the beach one of the leaders went to get groceries for some wonderful camp nachos... Onions peppers, beef, jalapenos and guacamole? Yummy!

Trekkers are especially excited for parent calls, for Martha's Vineyard, cabins, and the ferry tomorrow!

Dictated by Nic to Andy with slight editting/additions

A Well-Deserved Beach Day for the New England Shore Trekkers

Today the New England Shore Trekkers hung up our helmets and took a rest day by the beach in Sandwich, MA. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast and started packing our towels and sunscreen. Once we got to the beach we went swimming and laid down on the soft white sand. The water was ice cold and it took some convincing from Jenna and Max to get the Teen Trekkers swimming. Later in the day Victor and Eva discovered a popular bridge jumping spot on the beach boardwalk. We all had a great time jumping in groups and alone off the side of the bridge and into the water. We also played several long and competitive card games which ended with a lot of bragging and funny sound effects. At 5:00 pm we left the beach and ate a delicious dinner in town where we inhaled our meal very quickly. Once we got to the campsite we had s'mores by the fire and watched the stars gleam in the night sky.

Written by Trekker Meagan

Pacific Northwest Trekkers Bike Up the Daunting Hurricane Ridge

I sometimes feel as though we all are looking for the shortcut; the fastest route, the flattest road, the easiest climb. But life isn't about taking the easy way out, its about challenging ourselves, looking adversity in the eye and laughing, then turning around to look up at the mountaintop and saying "I am going to get there."

18 miles up a steep mountain road is the summit of Hurricane Ridge, a place a few of my friends and I were going to bike to. Topping out at 5,282 feet, the climb to the top is not one to be taken lightly. However, through thick layers of clouds and along winding mountain passes we persisted upwards, no matter blistering winds nor downpours of rain. Each successive mile felt longer than the last as the air grew thinner and the temperature colder. Very soon, the trees were exclusively pines, sparsely located along the rocky mountainside. Our legs felt ablaze from the constant peddling, and my eyes stung with sweat dripping down my face. But when we reached the summit, all of the pain and suffering we endured on the accent ceased to matter. We were overwhelmed with joy and pride as we took our first good look at the surrounding landscape. The view was amazing!

Written by Trekker Peter