Hey Wonderful Supporters,
Our last expedition with Charter Oak Boxing Academy was 100% community funded by folks just like you! To everyone who took part in the fundraiser for this trip, this blog is dedicated to you! We wanted to take the time to tell you all about our amazing experiences and how it all went down because you were directly a part of making it all happen.
First of all we want to give a huge shout out to our instructor teams, Ben Drake and Farlin Black for the boys and Nicky Wood and Jo Welch for the girls. Also our logistician for this trip was Liza Bocchichio and we couldn’t have done it without her making sure we had all the right food and gear where and when we needed it. We also want to give big props to Main Stream Canoe and Kayak in New Hartford for shuttling us around and getting us our canoes and kayaks where we needed it, the folks at New Hartford Hurley Business Park as well as our board member Jack Casey for the use of their land as campsites, and Kula Cloth for hooking up the girls crew with their very own Kula Cloths for the expedition. If you are a female who enjoys camping in the back country I recommend looking them up! 
Finally a big thanks to the COBA coaches who made multiple trips out to the crews to meet up with them for the boating sections of the trips especially Coach Roma Smith who spent 3 out of the 4 days with the girls crew!
I want to spend some time introducing you to the COBA kids brave enough to accept the challenge of this expedition. 
These folks are boxers, ready to jump in the ring with an opponent and potentially take a few hits. This makes them perfect candidates for a trip like this. They won’t back away from something that’s hard, something that’ll challenge them, or even something that might be physically uncomfortable. 
They already understand that some things are worth sticking out past the point of comfort.
What some of these COBA kids didn’t quite understand before this journey is how you can rely on each other to get through tough times. There is something that challenges everyone out there, whether it be the hiking, the paddling, sleeping on the ground, pooping in the woods, or even moving at the pace of the crew. When you have a crew of friends ready to have your back as you hit your peak of challenge you become closer as a team.
Both the boys and the girls described feeling so much closer to the peers they went through this adventure with. At the end of the day, the gym is going to be a much more friendly and welcoming place. They’re going to feel more capable of asking for help and support as well as pushing themselves farther than ever before.
We started our expedition headed up to the Appalachian Trail for some backpacking. Due to COVID our crews stayed in CT campsites and were not able to travel into other states. This meant that we ended up base camping for two nights at the same site and doing an EPIC day hike on the second day that was the same for both crews. 
The Girls travelled up and over Lion’s Head mountain to make it to Ball Brook Group Campsite and the boys hiked up Undermountain Trail to the Paradise Lane Group Campsite and then over to Sages Ravine to find water. This day was very difficult because our packs were heavy, we were new or rusty, and both crews had a lot of uphill! The girls pulled in after dark making it a challenging set up of camp. Both crews experienced near freezing temps all nights of the trip, and with a strict no fire rule in CT on the Appalachian Trail we were challenged to stay warm.
Luckily these intrepid kids did not let the temps phase them too much and we enjoyed some beautiful sunrises for those brave enough to get out of their warm solo tents and sleeping bags early in the morning.
The second day hike was a grueling 7-8 mile day that went on for about 12 hours after a member of the boys crew suffered a leg injury. However we had beautiful weather and three peaks with views in every direction. We even got to pass by a stone monument that marks where New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts come together…posing for many pictures where you could be in three states at once!
The crews met up on the peak of Brace Mt.and we decided to hike the next three miles down hill together to help make sure our team mate with the leg injury made it back to the campsite.
While this led to some amazing displays of support and camaraderie it meant everybody was hiking in the dark with headlights and not eating dinner until close to 10pm. If you’ve ever been lucky enough to spend days in the backcountry you’ve experienced a day like this…one that doesn’t quite go to plan, still full of adventure but ends in complete exhaustion. 
Ask anyone on this trip, that night was their biggest challenge for sure! The next morning we hiked out and were met by transports to take us to the water. The boys crew headed to Winchester Lake and the girls crew to the Colebrook Reservoir. 
Both crews experienced higher than anticipated winds and many had never paddled before, however everyone persevered like champs and stayed upright!
The final night was super special, each crew camping out on the banks of the Farmington River. We had big fires and tinfoil roasts with a s’more dessert! 
The last night of an expedition like this is very special because there always ends up being deep conversation around the fire and a debrief of the epic adventures that were had. At this point in the trip folks seem to come to a realization that they were really glad they made it through the tough moments and while they thought they were going to be excited to return to the comforts of civilization they are actually going to really miss it out here!
Our final day took us kayaking down the Farmington River and despite the chilly water temperature each crew had at least one capsize…one of which may…or may not…have been an accident! Mastering two types of paddling in one trip is never easy but these folks seemed to take it all in stride. Overall, this trip was an epic success, here are some quotes from the kids themselves talking about their experience…
“This was something I never thought I could do and I’m glad I did.”
“I had an amazing time on this trip and I experienced some things that I never would have done so I thank you all for the experience!”
“I had so much fun, I learned so much and did so much for the first time, I will always remember this experience, Thank you so much!”
“Thank you for the opportunity to come out here and bond with my teammates. I am so grateful I got to do something like this.”
“Thank you for this experience. I never done this before so this is new to me. But I had a very fun time and I got to experience a day without my normal life. I already miss it but I had fun. I will remember this day FOREVER! I’m going to miss both Jo and Nicky. Thank you again.”
Outside Perspectives News 