News and Events
Shenandoah National Park
October 5, 2009
The day following Green Ridge camping, Chesapeake Semester students broke camp and traveled to Shenandoah National Park where they prepared meals over fire in preparation for the next day's canoe trip down the South Fork of the Shenandoah River. The students were able to explore the geology of the area, observe diverse wildlife, wet a line, and contextualize non-point source pollution of the Bay's watershed.
Click to enlarge photos by Mike Hardesty '05.
Students rented gear from Down River Canoe Company, an operator for 36 years on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River.
A short walk to the water's edge revealed a beautiful, semi-pristine river teeming with fish, birds, and amphibians.
Painted turtle.
Dan Danko '12 and Laura Carman '12 navigate "the ledge."
Kelsey Hallowell '12 and Danielle Bellezza '11 catch some sun.
Benjy Duke '10 takes advantage of his float time to fly fish.
Kelsey Hallowell and Danielle Bellezza begin to perfect the act of floating.
Students look on at cattle freely accessing the river. Although bucolic, students note the cumulative consequences of such unregulated behavior as they think of the water flowing east into the Potomac watershed and ultimately into the Bay some 100 miles away.
Blue heron.
Benjy Duke ties a fly. Semi-permanent homes dot the landscape. What are the environmental implications here?
Laura Lazenby '11 and Brittany Hulbert '12 get stuck.
Dr. John Seidel, Director of the Chesapeake Semester.
Kelsey Hallowell '12, Dan Danko '12, and Benjy Duke '10 finish up the day with some ghost stories and s'mores around the campfire.