This is a weekend-long trip running Friday evening to Sunday evening, with a mandatory virtual Zoom pre-trip meeting on Wednesday Nov 1 at 8pm. Please only sign-up if you can commit to the mandatory pre-trip meeting and the full weekend.

The lottery will run on Monday, October 30 at 5PM and we will notify those on trip and waitlisted. We are generally limited by drivers. If you are willing to rent a car please let us know!

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What is a Circus?

Circus is a Friday evening to Sunday evening event with hiking and other outdoor trips based out of MITOC's Camelot cabin near Groton, NH. We carpool up Friday night and plan trips for Saturday, go on those trips Saturday, followed by a communal dinner and planning Sunday trips, then go on trips Sunday and drive straight home. It's a great way to meet fellow outdoorsy folks, explore the White Mountains, hang out at the cabin, and get outdoors. We’ll provide a light breakfast Saturday and Sunday, dinner Saturday, some snacks, s'mores materials, gear rentals, and trips leaders. Come prepared with ideas for hikes, climbs, and other outdoor activities you're psyched to do as trip planning is a collaborative process!

Disclaimers

• This trip may get canceled or shortened in the event of rain.
• If conditions are poor, above treeline terrain could be off limits to anyone who has not done Winter School / is not a winter leader
• We are not currently expecting to have any trips besides hiking. But if you're a leader and want to organize mnt biking, climbing etc, please do so!

Prerequisites

For the November Circus, while we don't expect any snow on the ground, we do expect temperatures to be very cold. Likely in the 40-50Fs (5-10C) during the day and potentially as low as 25F overnight (-4C). In an attempt to avoid anyone being absolutely miserable, we're asking folks to have some prior experience with being active and camping in these conditions.

If you check all these boxes go ahead and sign up!

• You've been on and enjoyed day hikes longer than 3 miles before
• You own hiking shoes or trail runners or can borrow them from a friend
• You own non-cotton clothing and layers to stay warm or can borrow from a friend. (No cotton hoodies or jeans for hiking please. Pick quick wicking athletic fibers, wool, down, or similar.)
• You've slept outside in temps at or under 40F/5C (campground/car camping count!)
• You've gone winter hiking with winter school
  • AND/OR You've hiked in similar weather 40-50F (5-10C) in the last 2 years and are comfortable with layering
  • AND/OR You've regularly worked outside for multiple hours in 40-50F (5-10C) weather and are comfortable with layering

If you don't meet these pre-requisites that doesn't necessarily mean you can't come. Please shoot us an email describing your experience/gear and we'll help you decide if this trip is a good fit!

MITOC Membership

You must be a MITOC member with an active signed waiver & current membership to attend the circus. You can complete both on this page here.

Signup & Lottery

Sign up for the trip on this page before MONDAY, OCTOBER 30 at 5PM. On Monday, trip attendees will be determined using a random lottery. The number of people that can join will depend on the number of trip leaders who sign up and the number of people who own or are willing to rent cars. Drivers may be prioritized in both the waitlist and lottery, so please be sure to update your carpooling preferences on your profile.

Shared Responsibility and Saturday Dinner

MITOC operates on a shared adventure model and expects all participants to be engaged and help make the trip smooth and fun. Our volunteer trip leaders are trained to ensure trips operate safely, but we are not a guide service.

Everyone on the trip will also be expected to help with Saturday dinner - either cooking or cleaning up - and assist with cleaning as we head out Sunday morning.

Pre-trip Meeting and Gear

If you are selected by the lottery, there will be a mandatory pre-trip meeting held on Wednesday, 11/1 8pm -9pm, link will be emailed day of.

We'll discuss logistics, timing, rideshare, tips and tricks, and any questions.

If you need to rent gear, there will be office hours on Tuesday and Thursday from 6-7pm and Friday from 12 - 1pm at the boathouse (N52) where you can rent MITOC gear. MITOC has tents, sleeping bags, foam pads, packs, and other potentially useful gear. You can find the location of the boathouse here.

A detailed packing list will be sent out after the lottery runs. To give you an idea of what you might need, here is a rough list:

• Tent (rentable)
• Sleeping bag 15F/-9C or better (rentable). - The "unisex" rating on bags is generally for an avg size US male wearing full base layers, on a sleeping pad of 5R. If you are female, are smaller, have lower body mass, sleep cold, don't have a good sleeping pad, or are using worn gear like mitoc bags, you should aim 20-40 degrees F warmer than what the comfort rating says.
• Sleeping pad 4R or better (rentable). - Mitoc pads are only about 1.9R, stack two for ~3.8R, or stack a foam pad + insulated inflatable one.
• Backpack with space for 2L water, your extra layers, your snacks, and some group gear (rentable)
• Water bottles (2L +) + a refill gallon for the car/cabin - there is no water at Camelot
• Warm insulating layers (No cotton! Athletic wear, quick dry fibers, down, wool, are all good. Limited shells/fleeces and puffys available for rent from MITOC)
• Wind/waterproof shell
• Warm hat /gloves/ buff
• Shoes with good traction (hiking boots, hiking shoes, trail runners, etc) (NOT available to rent unfortunately)
• Personal toiletries/medication/sun screen/bug spray
• Personal snacks/lunches for two hikes (should be able to be eaten on the go)
• Headlamp
• Whistle

You will not need winter traction devices: microscopes, crampons, ice axes etc

Trip fee and Pay Your Driver

If you are selected by the trip lottery, pay the trip fee. See the table below to determine your fee. You can pay it here: https://mitoc.mit.edu/pay. If you have desk credit, you may also pay using that.

• All Undergrad -> $0
• MIT Affiliate -> $20
• Non-Affiliate Grad Student -> $30
• Non-Affiliate -> $40
• Driving others/leading trips? -> Subtract $20 from your fee

The fee covers gear rentals, breakfast Saturday and Sunday, dinner on Saturday, cabin upkeep, and White Mountain National Forest permits.

Note: All gear rental is included in your circus fee, as long as you return the gear during office hours the week after circus. You will still need deposit checks, though.

* *There are no refunds, so paying is a commitment to join the trip. Don't pay your trip fee until you are guaranteed a spot! **

Please do not let cost be a reason not to attend. MITOC is committed to making the outdoors equally available to all our members and has waivers for the trip and membership fees. Contact the Circus chairs if you would like to request a fee waiver.

Please also budget $15-25 each way ($35-50) total to split between your drivers, to reimburse for gas, toll fees, maintenance, etc. If you are an MIT undergrad, we now have the ability to help with gas costs, please reach out if you’d like to take advantage of this assistance.

Rideshare

As with trips, our carpooling is a shared adventure model relying on the kindness of those with cars to carpool with those who don’t. A rideshare & logistics spreadsheet will be sent out via email to circus participants after the lottery runs - use this spreadsheet to coordinate. If you listed yourself as willing to rent a car on your trips website profile, you may be asked to rent if we don't have enough drivers.

Drivers

• Please make sure your information is up to date and accurate! List the number of passengers not including yourself. If you will only be doing a one way trip or will be leaving early/arriving late please communicate this to avoid stranding anyone in NH.

Riders

• Please be kind and courteous to your drivers, be on time to the rideshare location, don’t ask for door to door service, be tidy in the car, and please promptly reimburse drivers for gas/wear. Car ownership, gas, tolls, insurance, and maintenance add up fast.

Schedule and Cabin Info

Friday: Carpool up to the cabin. It takes about 2.5 hours to get from Campus to Camelot without traffic, so most people will leave between 6 and 6:30PM (and eat dinner first). Everyone should be at the cabin by 9PM when we meet to plan trips for Saturday.

Saturday: Everyone goes on trips in the lovely outdoors! Yay! Everyone will return to the cabin Saturday night, and we'll cook dinner, roast marshmallows, and plan trips for Sunday at 8:30PM.

Sunday: Clean up the cabin in the morning. More trips. Cars return directly to Boston/Cambridge from Sunday trips; return time varies depending on the length of your trip.

Cabin Details: Camelot is a rustic cabin near Rumney, NH. It has limited electricity, a wood stove for heating, and no running water. Please bring plenty of water (for drinking, cooking, and washing) - recommended 2L+ per day and a gallon for the car. There is very, very limited indoor sleeping space - most folks will need to sleep outdoors in tents, the lean-to, or (weather permitting) cowboy camping out under the stars. The cabin itself has a wood stove for heating. Also, a campfire. There are also plenty of trees around the Camelot woods that allows for some comfy hammocking!

Disclaimer: We're human

MITOC is not a guide service. We are an all-volunteer organization dedicated to helping the MIT community enjoy the great outdoors. Circuses are possible due to efforts from volunteers, trip leaders, drivers offering to carpool, and flexibility from everyone. When you sign up for this trip, you are indicating that you have read and understood all circus information and policies in this post and on the website.

Questions?

Contact Janey Farina at circus-chair@mit.edu!