Teen Treks

Today, the New York to Montreal Trekkers enjoyed exploring more of the city. They began their day with breakfast at the hostel, then set out to Schwartz’s Deli, for some extra breakfast. After filling up on delicious smoked pastrami, they ascended Mount Royal on bicycles, to get a beautiful view of Montreal. The climb and the ride back down made everybody very hungry, so after, the group rode to Jean Talon Market, where they got lunch and explored the many vendors selling authentic ethnic cuisine. After lunch, the Trekkers rode back to the waterfront, where they had some free time to explore Old Montreal. To finish the day, they went ziplining! We discovered it was free spaghetti night once we returned to the hostel, so for dessert Soeren and Jared made an awesome chocolate souflet! It was a great ending to the last full day of the trip. 

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This morning we woke up in Napierville and headed out to a Tim Hortons for a great Canadian breakfast of donuts. Right after we finished, we got caught in an enormous rainstorm that lashed at us for a few miles until we hit the Quebecois farmland. After 15 miles, we could see Montreal and Mont Royal on the skyline. A few miles later, we crossed a drawbridge over the Richeliu River and headed out onto an eight mile causeway into Parc Jean Garneau, where the Montreal Exposition 67 occurred 50 years ago. We explored the BioDome, an extremely cool environmental and climate museum before crossing the St. Lawrence into Montreal. We got to our very nice hostel and hit up an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. We explored Montreal a bit and enjoyed the rooftop hot tub to end the day. Excited to explore tomorrow… and go on the hipline. Written by Trekker Charlie

Learn more about the Teen Treks New York – Montreal Trek.

Today we crossed the border from Vermont to Canada—it was pretty easy. There was no hassle and no waiting. After we crossed the border we rode for two hours passing by beautiful but smelly farmlands. We finally arrived at a campground with nice bathrooms and a gigantic slide and pool. We also had poutine, which is some french fries with a whole lotta cheese curds and gravy. Everybody speaks French here and it’s a little unsettling as we aren’t too far  from the border. Good thing our friend Soeren speaks French and translated for us. We ended the night with some table tennis and marshmallows over the fire. 

Learn more about the Teen Treks New York – Montreal Trek.

This morning we woke up on the north shore campsite outside of Burlington. It was a late morning where we could sleep in because we had a very short day. After a cereal breakfast, we biked back to Burlington and went to the ECHO Champlain Museum. When we were finished, we got a sandwich lunch and started onto the road. Almost all of today’s riding was on the gorgeous Burlington Bike Park system. After a few miles on the shore of Champlain, the bike path continues on an old railroad causeway far out into Champlain. It was easily one of the most beautiful rides on the trip. Right before the causeway reaches South Hero Island in the middle of Champlain, the causeway breaks off in a channel so boats can pass through. We hopped on a quick bike ferry to the other side of the causeway. The rest of the biking of the day was spent riding across South Hero and Grand Isle, until we reached Grand Isle State Park. Some of us took a dip in Champlain and then we ate chicken grilled cheeses to wrap off an easy 20 mile day. We finished with bad cookies and a game of mafia. Tomorrow’s Quebec!!!!!
~Written by Trekker Charlie

Learn more about the Teen Treks New York – Montreal Trek.

Today took us from DAR campsite to the city of Burlington, where we spent the majority of our day. After walking around an open market and eating lunch in the park, we looked at shops until coming to a Ben & Jerry’s, where we attempted to finish a Vermonster (20  scoops of ice cream with as many toppings as we want).  It came down to Jared, who bravely drank the remaining liquid ice cream left in the bucket. We finally arrived at our campsite in North Beach, where we stayed for the rest of the day.  Some of us took a ride to the grocery store to pick up supplies for an artisan salad and pesto orzo, and the rest did laundry at the campground. Charlie got some free firewood from the office so we made a campfire and ended the evening with a game of mafia.
~Written by Trekker Brendan

Learn more about the Teen Treks New York – Montreal Trek.

As we entered DAR State Park today, we all felt quite accomplished as we finished our 55 mile day into Vermont. We were happy to leave our mosquito-infested campsite this morning, and took off as soon as possible. Today was by far the hardest yet, especially as we climbed the Graphite Mountain for 5 miles. Despite our tough day, we’re glad we persisted and got to see Lake George and Lake Champlain. We admired the view from the Champlain Bridge and straddled the border between New York and Vermont. Dinner—”pasta from the sky” and oreos—was extremely satisfying. We can’t wait to explore Burlington tomorrow. ~Written by Trekker Blake

Learn more about the Teen Treks New York – Montreal Trek.