5-Day Adventures

Traversing the Knife’s Edge. Spotting a moose and her calf. Exploring ice caves and cliff jumps. Those are just a few of the memorable moments campers and counselors savored on a five-day adventure in Baxter State Park last July, one of two extended trips Kabeyun offered in 2024.

This was the first time Kabeyun has sent a group to Baxter, in Maine’s northern woods region, in at least a decade. With permitting and planning support from Head of Trips Sam Dyer, counselors Rory Duncan and Cole Speare led a group of experienced hikers to the top of Mt. Katahdin, Maine’s highest mountain and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, via the exhilarating Knife’s Edge trail.

“The views were beyond spectacular, and it was so quiet up there that all you could hear was the wind in your ears and your footsteps,” said Henry Amadei, of the mile-long, wildly exposed ridge that’s only three-feet wide in spots. “I had some of the best experiences of my life on that trip,” which also included a foggy hike on Double Top Mountain, canoeing and cliff jumping at South Branch Pond (where they spotted the two moose), and exploring ice caves just south of the park.

The same week, Kabeyun also ran a five-day whitewater kayaking trip dubbed “The Odyssey.” Variable weather and water flow levels forced counselors Jesse Metzger and Matt Thacker to adjust their itinerary several times before and during the trip. They still were able to achieve their goals of introducing campers to two rare experiences: “surfing the tidal rip of the Sheepscot River and catching the big water release of the Magalloway River,” said Matt.

Known as reversing falls, the Sheepscot Wave is an unusual phenomenon near Wicassett, ME, about 20 miles above where the river enters the open ocean.

“The wave is formed by the ocean tide receding,” explained Jake Rickles. “When the tide goes out, a current is created by the height difference between the bodies of water above and below the surf spot. A wave is formed for a few hours as the water becomes restricted by the channel and flows over a ledge.”

With the best surfing coming 2-3 hours after high tide, Kabeyun’s paddlers shifted their sleep schedules so they could enjoy the wave three times in 36 hours.

“We woke up at 3:45 a.m. to hit it for the second time,” recalled Noah Levin. “Around three hours later, we took off the water to enjoy a nice long and deserved nap, before returning once more for the next outgoing tide that afternoon.”

The group also spent a night near the Deerfield River in Massachusetts and took a couple laps at Zoar Gap, a challenging section of rapids.

In all, approximately 200 campers took at least one out-of-camp trip last summer. Kabeyun offered an average of 75 trips per session, appealing to campers of all ages and skill levels in hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, canoeing, sailing, and fishing, as well as a few photography outings.