Days after I graduated college, my first summer road trip left a balmy outdoor 98°F and ended in a refreshing (and chilly, I thought) 65°F. I had driven a little over 1,400 miles, leaving the endless flat hayfields of central Missouri and stumbling out of my car in awe at the mountainous, crystal-clear Squam Lake of New Hampshire. I heard my mom’s words in my mind, in her mimicked southern drawl: “now, you’re a fur piece from home!” Sure, I’d been to the East, and the North, but never those two at the same time. Never this far, either. I knew from the start it was going to be a whirlwind sort of time, especially as we all got settled in.
The first photo I took of SLA’s cove! No boats moored to the buoys yet.
And, boy, was I right! Training started right off the bat. Learning the people, the campus, the headquarters. Boat driving practice and boating certification. Wilderness first aid. Open water scuba diving. Loon preservation. Terrestrial invasive species, aquatic invasive species, and how to remove them. What to do when someone asks you for a life jacket at the resource center, but they aren’t renting a kayak or anything, and they’re a member, but they wanted to know about parking, or maybe it was camping—wait, what was I talking about again?
All important for sure, but at times it had me feeling like I was pouring my new knowledge into the colander of my brain and hoping it all stayed in. Fortunately, the chaos of training was relieved by a number of breaks, both scheduled and spontaneous. Of these, the downtime during group campouts has been my favorite so far. I spent the last weekend out on Bowman Island with Nikka and Eric, both full-year members, and Virginia, a fellow half-year member. We got to know each other while working around the island, and bonded over our most basic food group: Doritos. I got to know the island better, too! The composting toilets are truly a wonder. Excrement goes in (as they say, everybody poops) and becomes compost for the island once it’s been broken down over time. The trails on the island are open to the public, but with our carry-in, carry-out policy, there’s no litter to speak of. And the beaches are pristine—I’d like to think I’ve adjusted to these chilly Northeastern summers already, but each swim I’ve taken is still so refreshing (definitely in a good way).
Ashley, caught at the campsite, once again eating Doritos. I promise we’re not sponsored!
I think my favorite camping moment that weekend was my morning spent on Bowman’s docks. I’d gotten up at six-ish, a little after sunrise, and found myself wandering onto the floating docks moored in the channel for the summer. The water was mirror smooth, the reflection of Moon Island opposite me barely rippling. Fish jumped after unlucky flies, shattering the mirror for only a moment before the stillness won out again. Dragonflies darted along the water’s surface, wings shrilling in the silence. I sat there and soaked it all in for an hour or two, dangling my feet in the water, watching the spiders on the docks spin careful webs to snag their breakfast.
It was the perfect time to reflect upon my journey, and to marvel at how far I had already come. I’d met new friends, seen brilliant sights I’d never seen before, and discovered countless critters amongst the moss and ferns of this green new world. I’d heard the haunting calls of the loons for the first time. I’d basked in the sunbeams across the lakebed, holding my breath for as long as I could to offer my fingers to territorial sunfish, plentiful in the clear freshwater. Squam Lake had me hooked. How could it not? Have you seen this place?
A morning spent on the docks of Bowman Island is a morning well spent.
Everything here, everything new to me, is a product of the countless hours of hard work put in by dedicated folks wanting to keep this nature natural. I am honored to become one of these folks. As us half-year members wrap up our four weeks of training, I feel like I’ve finally gotten my feet under me, and I’m eager to see what new wonders Squam Lake will bring me in the coming months. You’d better keep an eye out, too—you never know when you’ll find something that rocks your world!
Ashley is a Half-Term member serving at the Squam Lakes Association. She’s got a great eye for little critters, like water snakes, catfish, and nesting sunfish. Learn more about Ashley here!