The Wilderness Outdoor Leadership Floor (WOLF), located in the basement of Dunham, is the newest addition to specialized housing at Hamilton. The floor was created for the 2018–19 school year in an effort to encourage the further creation of an outdoor community at Hamilton. There are 20 residents who all live in the basement of Dunham.
First-year students were placed into the program based on their housing form. In filling out the form, they selected the box indicating that they would like to live in specialized housing, and then wrote a few essays based on their past, present, and future experiences with nature. As a resident on the floor, they are automatic members of the Outing Club and have access to trips every month.
The RA for WOLF, Gianni Hill ’21, organizes these trips. So far, there have been two trips offered: a hiking and a kayaking trip. Residents are notified by email, and the trips are filled on a first come, first serve basis due to transportation limitations.
The first trip offered was a hiking trip organized in conjunction with the Outing Club’s 46 Peaks Weekend and initiative. The 15 “WOLFies,” along with their RA, hiked the Cascade and Pitchoff mountains in the Adirondack park. The hike was 12 miles, and Mukund Jayaram, who participated in this trip, noted that he “got more than 27,000 steps that day.” Another attendee, Joey West, said “this trip was one of the highlights of my fall and the views were remarkable.”
The second trip offered was a kayaking adventure on Oct. 7. Nine students from the floor, Will Nocito, Maddie Lawson, Charlie Guterman, Sarya Khandare, George Lemmon, Corey Rundquist, Jade Xu, Karen Liu, and Natalie Rodriguez, all members of the class of 2022, along with Sarah Jillings, Assistant Director of Outdoor Leadership, traveled to Blue Mountain Lake in the Adirondacks. The group kayaked about three miles, then stopped at an island for lunch where they participated in a discussion about nature. After this, the group kayaked to shore where they hiked up to a cliff. Will Nocito ’22 explained that the cliff offered “the most beautiful view you have ever seen in your life.” The group then hiked and kayaked back to the starting point and ventured home. Nocito said that “despite the weather, I had an amazing time hanging out with my friends and exploring the natural world.” In the winter, WOLF is planning on continuing these adventures, but possibly trying some winter activities such as snowshoeing or cross-country skiing.
In addition to the trips, the floor receives some funding to hold group bonding events and discussions. They discuss the floor, how the program has been going, and even the Hamilton community as a whole, with the added bonus of Chinese food.
The reviews of the floor seem to be overwhelmingly positive. Nocito said: “I think it’s great being surrounded by people with a common interest, other people who aredowntogoonahikeorkayakin30 degree weather.” Jayaram explained, “as an international student, it was very helpful to be immediately immersed in a community of outdoors oriented peers as I transitioned into a completely new environment.” West not only spoke highly of the WOLF program but encouraged the College to “do more of this.”
