Syracuse University Outing Club hits trail for West Virginia
Laura Sowalskie celebrated her 19th birthday in an unusual way during her freshman year Spring Break trip. The now-vice president of the Syracuse University Outing Club was suspended in a tree in West Virginia, waiting to fly down a zip line, when the clock struck midnight. Everyone below, sitting around a campfire, sang happy birthday.
While most college students spend Spring Break vacationing in exotic and tropical locations, more than 60 Syracuse University and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry students will head down to Thorn Spring Park in Franklin, W.Va. as a part of the SU Outing Club’s annual Spring Break trip. The students will spend 10 days hiking, kayaking and rock climbing, among other activities.
Students on the SUOC trip stay in cabins that usually house eight people and come fully equipped with small refrigerators, bathrooms and the classic childhood favorite — bunk beds.
“SUOC has been going to West Virginia since the 1940s and we have gone to the current site since the 70s,” Sowalskie said.
The immediate appeal to most students is the price and opportunity to get out of Syracuse and spend some time outdoors. The trip costs $100 for drivers and $160 for everyone else, and drivers get reimbursed for all their gas money. The cost does not include food expenses.
“At most you will spend $100 on food and you can’t even get a flight anywhere for $200 dollars,” Sowalskie said.
Corey Landis has been involved on and off with SUOC for the past four years, and even competed in a rock climbing competition with the club. He decided to go on the trip after some friends told him how much fun they had and asked if he wanted to go.
“I haven’t really done anything for Spring Break yet and for the price, how could you pass it up?” said Landis, a senior biomedical engineering major. “You get hang out with cool people and spend time in the woods.”
Landis plans to spend his time in West Virginia hiking, spelunking and repelling into a cave or two, but really wants to get the chance to climb a mountain or a few rock faces depending on the weather.
“Climbing reminded me how much I liked climbing trees when I was younger. Just being on top of stuff, conquering nature, is a great feeling,” Landis said.
While everyone is packed and prepared for the big trip, Mother Nature may have plans of her own. There is a likely chance of snow and rain for the Franklin area next week. But a little precipitation won’t stop SUOC, which is used to the extreme temperatures of Syracuse.
“It’s definitely not Cancun. Probably going to be 40, maybe 50 and rainy, but if you bring some boots you should be fine,” Landis said.
Chris Janjic, SUOC’s president and senior photojournalism and international relations major, said his most memorable outing club experiences came last year during the Spring Break trip.
“We did a climb that took the better part of the day. It wasn’t too difficult, but it took four hours and involved 10 different pitches,” said Janjic, who is also a staff photographer for The Daily Orange.
No matter rain, snow, sleet or shine, the group usually gets together and has at least one big celebration around the campfire during the trip.
“Dress warmly and be prepared to be wet for the entire week,” Janjic said.
Last year the group had a big party to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
“At the end of the week we had a big pig roast, where someone roasted this huge pig over the fire for 14 hours,” Janjic said.
If you want to do something for Spring Break, and you like adventures, campfires and the outdoors — or maybe don’t even like the outdoors and just want to have fun and meet some new people — consider heading down to West Virginia with SUOC. You may get a little wet this year, but it is an experience the club’s members say you will never forget.
