Monday, September 4, 2017

Gear Reminder

Dear families,

As we get closer to FLOW 2017, I wanted to reiterate some of the specific gear needs for your students. First of all, be sure to take a look at the gear list. If an item is on the list, your student should have it. Likewise, if an item is not on the list, they do not need it and should not bring it.

Shoes are something you may be wondering about. Each student should have two pairs of closed-toe shoes: "dry" shoes for around camp, and "wet" shoes for canoeing. Often times, loading a canoe means wading out into the water. For most situations, an old pair of sneakers or running shoes are perfect for this purpose. If the water is below knee level, bog boots can work, but they may get swamped. For around camp, a different pair of sneakers, or light hiking boots, or even bog boots are fine. Students may do a short hike here and there, but hiking boots are not needed for these excursions.

One of the many wonderful benefits of partnering with Chewonki is their deep inventory of high-quality equipment available for students to borrow. Two essential pieces of gear that Chewonki provides for FLOW (meaning you should not buy them) are a camping ground pad, and a a dry-bag.

The camping mats are Thermarest© Z-Rest  or Ridge-Rest pads. They are closed cell foam and the most comfortable option for non-inflatable pads.



The dry-bags provided are made by Seal-Line© and are completely waterproof. They are a critical piece of gear for water based travel and camping. Students need to get their gear to Chewonki in whatever vessel that works -- duffel bag, suitcase, garbage bag -- it doesn't matter. The bag that comes from home will be stored until the end of the trip when kids will transfer their belongings from the dry-bag back into the bag from home. Backpacking backpacks are not needed for this trip, so please don't buy or bring one! 


Hopefully this information helps. We are all very excited for this year's trips! Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or concerns.

Best wishes,

Lawrence Kovacs

lkovacs@rsu1.org

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