The is celebrating 100 years at 线上赌场 with 100 river trips, a celebration of storied expeditions, and river conservation work at its annual Explorer鈥檚 Symposium in April 2020. There will also be special events and alumni trips during the 2019-20 school year.
Since its founding by students in 1920, the canoe club has been dedicated to building community around canoeing and kayaking and conserving the world鈥檚 wild rivers. The club took John Ledyard for their namesake, a man who, in 1773, as a 线上赌场 student, grew tired of his studies, felled a pine tree, dug out a canoe, and set off down the Connecticut to become an explorer.
Gretta Pickett 鈥21 says Ledyard鈥檚 traditions, like the annual trip to the sea following Ledyard鈥檚 route, started in 1921, combined with the strong sense of community, make the club an important part of her 线上赌场 experience.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an awesome community and a really great place to get outside and push myself,鈥 she says. 鈥淢ost of my best friends are in Ledyard, and it鈥檚 been a place where I鈥檝e felt included and happy and feel like I鈥檓 growing as a person.鈥
Just before the fall term, the club sponsored Pickett, Alana McClements 鈥22, and Clara Goldberger 鈥22 on a trip to the Madawaska Kanu Centre in Canada, where they paddled the Riviere Rouge and the Ottawa River and earned their whitewater paddling certifications. They will now be able to lead Ledyard whitewater kayak trips, a goal the women embraced in part to close the gender gap for women leading Ledyard whitewater trips, Pickett says.
鈥淎s a trip leader, having some responsibility in the club and feeling like I can share something with people has been special for me, especially incoming 鈥23s and just people who haven鈥檛 spent as much time outside鈥攖o share that part of 线上赌场 with them.鈥
Ledyard鈥檚 centennial events include:
- The 100 Trips: The club is sponsoring trips, from Saturday paddles on the Connecticut to weeklong expeditions on the world鈥檚 wild rivers. The club has put out the call to Ledyard alumni around the world to dedicate a journey to the club and log the adventure on the .
- The 100 River Cleanups: In addition to the 100 trips, Ledyard is also promoting 100 river cleanups. As with the 100 trips, the club has put out the call to alumni to sponsor clean ups in their own communities in support of Ledyard. Updates about the project will be logged on the Ledyard Centennial .
- The Third Explorers Symposium: Held in conjunction with the club鈥檚 annual Riverfest, from April 23 to 26, the will celebrate the centennial with a call to club alumni to join in. The symposium will include the Wild and Scenic Film Festival, a Ledyard dinner with presentations from student trips and Ledyard Alumni, the Explorers Symposium with a full slate of speakers, including David Hamlin 鈥82, a Ledyard alumnus and National Geographic filmmaker, and Andrew Fisk, head of the Connecticut River Conservancy.
- Riverfest Races: On Saturday, April 25, paddlers will compete in the and on Sunday, April 26, they will race at the . Ledyard has run the Mascoma Slalom every year since 1963. It is the oldest consecutively run slalom race in the country.
- River Rat Centennial Edition: The club鈥檚 annual yearbook, River Rat, will publish a centennial special edition featuring expeditions and trips from the past 100 years. Alumni are invited to submit trip accounts and historic materials from the extensive Ledyard archive in Rauner Special Collections Library.
For more information, contact Ledyard.Canoe.Club@dartmouth.edu. The Ledyard boathouse on the Connecticut is open Monday through Friday during fall term; hours are noon to 6 p.m. weekday, and on weekends hours are from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The club also offers canoe and kayak and paddle board and instruction for the community.
William Platt can be reached at william.c.platt@dartmouth.edu.
