I often talk about Amherst’s extensive collection of trails when I give campus tours; however, aside for a few short-lived running excursions, I had never really experienced them first hand. Thus the mission that drove this week's blog post: explore the trails.
Most of this post will consist of photos with cute lil' captions.
Jenna, Dan, Maria, and I prepare for the time of our lives.
We started with the hope of fully exploring the trail network that looks like a sweet pair of shades (since it’s mad bro), but we ended taking some different turns, eventually entering deep within the deer head system.
Put those glasses on that deer and you'll have one chill deer.
Starting out on our voyage, we all hoped to gain a greater connection with nature. After a few yards, I asked them to express how they felt that connection was going.
In Dan's defense, this was right after a fly flew in his eye.
Around the rim of the shades, we found one of the muddier ponds in the Pioneer Valley.
Didn’t even use Instagram or any of that nonsense. It was candid, too.
Like all Amherst students, we were eager for a grueling physical challenge. The off season red-leafed tree beckoned to be climbed, and climb it we did.
Proof of evolution, amirite?
This sentence provides a nice visual break between picture sections, but doesn't really bring anything else to the table.
You'll remember me when the west wind moves / upon the fields of... weeds
We eventually found our way into the Amherst College Wildlife Sanctuary. Students normally refer to it just as the bird sanctuary, since, well, there are birds there. Though it can get pretty muddy, it's a great area to walk through and ponder the essence of being.
Funny story about this project. Someone told me that, at one point, too many samples were being taken (or something along those lines), which caused a majority of the birds to leave the area. They’re back now. If this story is wrong, I'll probably get a lot of hate mail from the bio department. If that happens, I'll let you folks at home know.
Before getting back to campus, I had a chance to ask Jenna, a neuroscience major, what she thought of studying science at a liberal arts college. Since this site's article editor makes it difficult to embed video, you can find the interview here.
Move, tennis courts, I want a picture of the college.
Each of the four of us learned something on our walk through nature. Dan learned that he doesn't like nature. Maria learned that she can safely stand on railroad tracks, as long as she listens for incoming trains. Jenna learned that... actually, Jenna probably didn't learn anything.
Finally, I learned that I haven't been lying on my tours and that there really are trails back there. That's a relief.
Be sure to tune in next week for more fascinating looks at Amherst College.
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