Outdoor activities, kayaking planned

Panama City, Daytona Beach, Cancun. These may be some of the most popular student spring break destinations, but the Student Recreation and Wellness Center is offering something a little different this year.

The Adventure Center at the rec center is hosting its annual spring break trips in March. The trips this year include a kayaking trip to the Okefenokee Swamp and Cumberland Island in Georgia and a backpacking trip to the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail in Pennsylvania.

“I’m looking forward to kayaking and seeing the wildlife with new people,” said senior international relations major Megan Petroski, “and just experiencing something totally different than the usual.”

It may not be your traditional spring break, but the trips are sure to offer plenty of experiences for those seasoned with the outdoors and the new to kayaking and backpacking.

“It’s kind of our intentions to target people who have never been backpacking or kayaking before,” said Chris Hendricks, graduate assistant at the Adventure Center. “It’s great for people who have never been before. You’ll learn how to backpack and paddle.”

Some students signed up for the trip may already have experience with kayaking and backpacking but are still looking forward to getting out and doing something different for the week.

“I’ve been kayaking before back home,” said freshman chemistry major Kelly Materna. “I’m most looking forward to escaping from society. It’ll give me a chance to leave all of the stress behind and start fresh without technology interfering.

“I’m not worried about not checking my phone or computer, as far as I’m concerned, all I really need to have a good time and relax is nature.”

The students who work at the Adventure Center and those leading the trips don’t see this trip as anything out of the ordinary because it’s just what they do.

“For a lot of us here, these trips are the kind of things we like to do on spring break,” Hendricks said. “Most of us, even if we’re not going on a trip, we’ll go do our own thing outdoors.”

Hendricks also said it is not necessary to be in top physical shape to participate on these trips because it will be a very relaxing environment that won’t require a lot of physical ability. This opens the trips up to more than just outdoorsy people.

“The program is around to help students who are just looking for something to do for spring break,” he said. “It’s also a chance for students to meet people they probably wouldn’t have met before.

“It’s a really cool atmosphere because at first you don’t really know anyone, and by the end of the trip those people will end up close because you’re out camping and spending time together, that’s just the nature of it.”

The deadline to sign up for the spring break trips through the rec center is Friday. There are six spots available for the Georgia kayaking trip and eight spots available for the Laurel Highlands backpacking trip. The price of the trips also includes all transportation, food and equipment for the week. Interested students can contact the Adventure Center at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

Contact Student Recreation and Wellness Center reporter Amanda Klitsch at [email protected].