Special to the Aroostook Republican
The County Patriot Young Marines had a one of a kind experience on their summer activity this year before heading back to school. Through various personal donations, bottle drives and a spaghetti dinner, they raised enough funds to go to Adventure Bound in Caratunk.
This unique experience allowed several Young Marines (YM) to do something they had never done before. On the first day their guides took them through the high ropes course, where they completed all of the stations several times. This allowed the YMs to work as a team and conquer some of their fears about climbing so high. They had to learn to trust their team and the harness they were wearing. They followed up with free time at the pool, then after-dinner rock wall climbing.
The next day was the highlight of their trip: white water rafting. After attending a safety lecture they were off to the Kennebec River with their guides, Kim, Jessie and two YM adult leaders. This was a complete team effort with our YMs. They really stepped up and worked hard as a team to get through the rapids. Around half way through the trip they really enjoyed their barbecue along the river cooked by their guides.
PFC Kyle Kilcollins loved the white water rafting and his awesome guide. Getting to jump off the waterfall was great.
RCT Brandon Whitmore wants to go back. He stated that it takes guts and you must follow the rules.
RCT Tiernan Barbosa loved the big rapids and he liked the ropes course. It was fun and he learned to trust the guides.
PFC Alex Kaiser said if it wasn’t for the Young Marines he would have never had a chance to ever go white water rafting. “The Holy Cow Swing was very cool … ducky was awesome! I would love to go back to this place,” he said.
