During the snowstorm in the early morning on Sunday, Jan. 11, most AHS students were warm in their beds. Thirteen juniors and seniors, however, were camped out in the woods of Townsend State Forest for the unique final of their semesterlong Survival and Wilderness Camping course. 

The class, now taught by physical education teacher Bob Tremblay, has an illustrious history. It was started more than 35 years ago by former AHS biology teachers, the late Don Bockler and his wife, Marzina.

A double period at Menotomy Rocks Park, once every seven-day rotation, gives students the chance to practice the skills they learn. Building shelters in groups and then by themselves helps the students to feel comfortable out in the woods. Tremblay also teaches the students how to build and maintain a fire, a key to staying warm and dry in the middle of winter.

When the program began, students were given a raw chicken and a potato to eat. Now students receive two Ziploc bags with Ramen noodles, mac 'n' cheese, oatmeal, cocoa, cheese, a pepperoni stick, bagels, and fruit. With a pot and a jug of water, they are left to create their own menu and dining schedule.

Another change is that students were once given only three matches to light their fire. Now students get six matches, but most students do not use all of them. The purpose of the trip is not to deprive students but show them how well they can live with limited resources.

Some students rise to the challenge of living through the weekend using only magnesium and a striker, making the matches superfluous. The experience of having to be creative in a solo situation builds self-esteem and gives the survivors pride in their accomplishments, according to Tremblay.

Tremblay hires parents, friends and former survival students to form a base camp of people to support the students on solo. Being lonely and needing to talk to someone do not count as failures of the solo; neither does the inability to start a fire on the first try. It is all a learning experience.

The base camp staff is present in case of any emergencies. "We walk the trail 16 times during the night," Tremblay says. Only one student this year needed to use the SOS whistle signal set up by the base camp, and the frostbite on his toes was taken care of easily. This year's students all finished out the four days by themselves in the woods, a first for the all classes taught by Tremblay.

Despite single-digit temperatures and some trouble getting fires started, almost all students had positive memories of their time in the woods.

Molly Knobloch, a senior, said, "My favorite thing about the whole experience was that I didn’t have to talk to anyone.” Another senior, Henrietta Matheson, agreed, “I was really proud about not freaking out about being by myself in the woods."

Tremblay, who has taught the class at AHS for five years, says: "It's a very old tradition to have young people go off on a vision quest. I get so excited seeing these students pull it off. It's so rewarding. By the end of the four days, they belong there [in the woods] as much as anything else.

"Looking back, the survivors concurred with Matheson's opinion: "The days were awesome. The nights were cold." They also agreed with senior Alex Geller, who said, "We had such a successful trip."

Bethany Stobbe is a senior honors journalism student at Arlington High School and co-editor-in-chief of the high school newspaper, The Ponder Report. She took the photographs used in this story.