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Twenty Hamilton students and Director of Outdoor Leadership Andrew Jillings competed in the 31st annual Adirondack Canoe Classic known as “the 90-miler,” a three-day canoe race from Old Forge to Saranac Lake, held Sept. 5-7.

Through Hamilton’s off-campus study programs students can witness the inner workings of government in Washington, D.C., or experience the heart of the U.S. financial and publishing industries in New York. Now they’ll have yet another option for off campus study, a bit closer to campus and in a far less urban setting. Hamilton’s faculty recently approved the creation of a pilot off-campus semester-long Program in the Adirondacks. The proposed start date is fall 2015.

It started with six Hamilton students, one psychologist, and a wilderness expert. Together, they initiated a one-of-its-kind “Wilderness Adventure Quest” promoting self-reflection, self-acceptance and an exploration of Hamilton’s motto “Know Thyself.”

Professor of English Onno Oerlemans and his Adirondack seminar (ES 220: Forever Wild: The Cultural and Natural Histories of the Adirondack Park) visited sites in the Adirondacks on Oct. 5-6. The class of 17 sophomores and juniors traveled to Asgaard Farm near Jay, N.Y., Whiteface Mountain and Great Camp Wenonah, and to the two museums in the park.

For the 30th consecutive year the ecology class Biology 237 traveled to Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondack high peaks to examine the response of trees to elevational and climatic gradients. The day was a spectacularly clear and beautiful, with intense fall colors in the foliage.

On Friday, Sept. 20, the Hamilton Outing Club launched the annual 46 Peaks Weekend for the campus community, as different groups of students, staff and faculty members attempted to summit all of the Adirondack High Peaks by Sunday, Sept. 22.

Philip Terrie, Professor Emeritus at Bowling Green State University, returned to the Hill for the third time on April 9 to deliver a lecture on the current state of the Adirondack Park. Terrie’s visit to Hamilton came at the invitation of William R. Kenan Professor of Biology Ernest Williams who is currently teaching the college’s interdisciplinary Adirondacks course, Culture and History of the Adirondack Park.

Ernest Williams, the William R. Kenan Professor of Biology, led his Adirondack class -  Environmental Studies 220, Forever Wild: The Cultural and Natural Histories of the Adirondack Park - on a snowshoe hike into the wilderness near Old Forge on Feb. 10. The group hiked to a frozen-over beaver pond and identified tree species growing in the Adirondacks. It was a beautiful day for exploring the northern forest, with fresh snow and blue skies.

For the 29th year in a row, the ecology class (Bio. 237) went up Whiteface Mountain to look at how and why the composition and structure of the forest changes with elevation. The 23 students on the Oct. 7 trip were led by Associate Professor of Biology Bill Pfitsch and Ernest Williams, the William R. Kenan Professor of Biology.

The 2012 46 Peaks weekend of Sept. 29-30 was a roaring success, despite the constant rain. The Hamilton Outing Club (HOC) tied its previous record of 43 peaks summited, and almost doubled participation from last year, with 125 students hiking in the Adirondacks over the weekend. “As far as our goals... it totally met that,” said Assistant Director of Outdoor Leadership Sarah Jillings. Two of the trails-less peaks were impassable, due to a washed-out bridge and high waters from the rain, which made crossing unsafe.