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HOC members on the 2009 High Peaks Weekend trip.
HOC members on the 2009 High Peaks Weekend trip.
Four Hamilton students recently went on a “graduation” trip to the Adirondacks to complete the last step in their process to become a Hamilton Outing Club (HOC) Trip leader.

The students hiked in the high peaks region of the Adirondacks and, “spent a lovely afternoon at the top of a waterfall near Wright Peak,” according to HOC Officer Anna Bastidas ’13 , who accompanied the “graduating” students. Julia Stack ’12, Yaishna Santchurn ‘13, Susannah Parkin ‘13, and Livy Houston ‘13 are now official HOC leaders as a result of the trip.
“They did a really good job dealing with the situations that arose,” Bastidas remarked.

Becoming a HOC leader is a three-step process. These students completed the first two steps last fall. Students must first attend four classes taught by HOC officers. These classes are typically taught on Monday and Thursday evenings throughout the fall semester each year. They include logistics, map and compass, gear, and leadership. This week is HOC’s second week of leader training this year.

The second step of the process is becoming Wilderness First Aid (WFA) certified through SOLO, a weekend long class taught by a SOLO instructor that takes place at Hamilton each year. This year’s class took place on the weekend of September 11.

The final step in the process of becoming a leader is the “graduation trip.” The graduating leaders plan and organize the entire trip under the supervision of a HOC officer.

Once a student is a certified HOC leader, he or she can lead trips for the Outing Club. The advantage of this is that the club will provide money for food and gas. Additionally, there are a lot of seminar HOC trips that are open only to HOC leaders. Among these are the winter camping trip, paddling seminars and anchor clinics. HOC leader training for this fall is already underway.

Upcoming Hamilton Outing Club events include 46 Peak Weekend which will take place the weekend of October 9 and 10. This is the annual campus-wide attempt to have at least one Hamilton student, faculty, or staff member reach the summit of every one of the Adirondacks’ 46 Peaks in one weekend.

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