Back to school circus is planed for Friday Sept 26th - Sunday Sept 28th. More info to follow. Please save the date. Leader signups are open now! Participant signups will open Sept 12

Friday Sept 26th - Sunday Sept 28th

Sign ups will close and the lottery will run Friday 9/19. Mandatory pre trip meeting will happen Monday 9/22 at 8pm over zoom.

What is a circus?

It's a super fun weekend of adventuring in the White Mountains and beyond! We do all sorts of things like hiking, scrambling, rock climbing, bushwacks, trail running, swimming in rivers, open water swimming, canoeing, SUPing, sunrises, stargazing, making smores over a campfire, and sleeping in tents. We meet at the cabin Friday night, go on trips Saturday, have group dinner Saturday, then go on more trips Sunday before heading home.

Who should join?

You! And your friends! We especially encourage current MIT students to join and typically prioritize them in the lottery. The basic prerequisites are that you have the fitness to do a 5mile day hike on varied terrain, two days in a row. You are excited for camping (no running water). You're happy to help out with cabin chores, dinner prep, clean up, etc. And you have lots of stoke!

Will there be moderate hikes?

Yes! We try to always have at least one moderate hike in the 4-7 mile range. Most Sunday trips also tend to be much shorter than Saturday trips.

Will there be hard hikes?

Yes! We often do long (15+mi) hikes, trail runs, bushwacks, and super scrambly adventures. Our main limitation is that we try and get everyone back in time for dinner.

Will there be non-hiking things?

Hopefully! It depends on what the leaders are psyched to lead, but we frequently have trips like rock climbing, open water swimming, trail running, lake days, and sometimes seasonal trips like going to the corn maze or apple picking. We also sometimes do fun off trail hiking adventures with lots of scrambling up slides.

Sounds great! What do I need to do?

• Make sure you have an active mitoc membership and waiver https://mitoc.mit.edu/join
• Sign up for the lottery. The lottery will run about a week before circus and we'll email those who made it onto the trip.
• Come to the pre trip meeting. The pre trip meeting is mandatory unless you've been to a circus previously. If you can't make it to the pre trip, you'll unfortunately have to wait until next circus.
• If you have a car and are willing to help with driving, update your profile and select "driving". We typically give lottery preference to folks who can help drive others to/from NH.

What gear do I need?

If you need to rent gear, there will be office hours on Tuesday and Thursday from 6-7 pm and Friday from 12-1pm at the MITOC office in the student center. Gear rental cost is included in your trip fee.

A detailed packing list will be emailed. To give you an idea of what you might need, here is a rough list:

• Tent, Sleeping bag, Sleeping pad
• Backpack >15L (rentable)
• Water bottles >2L + a gallon or two for refilling
• Personal snacks/lunches for two days
• Warm insulating layers & wind/waterproof layer
• Sun protection, hat, glasses, sunscreen, sun hoodie, bug spray
• Shoes with good traction (hiking boots, hiking shoes, trail runners, etc) (NOT available to rent unfortunately)
• Headlamp, Compass & Whistle

How do I get there?

We help coordinate a rideshare so folks with cars can help drive folks without. If you are a passenger, expect to chip in for gas and mileage. We are often car limited and sometimes need folks to rent cars as well. We rely heavily on everyone's flexibility with limited resources. If you are willing to drive others, please list yourself as a driver in your lottery preference https://mitoc-trips.mit.edu/preferences/lottery/.

What does this cost?

• All students (undergrad, grad, affiliated, non affiliated) -> $20
• Non-Students -> $40
  • If you are a driver driving others both to and from Boston and/or if you are actively organizing and leading a trip -> Subtract $10 from your fee (up to $20 if you're doing both)

$60-80 to split between your drivers, to help reimburse for gas, toll fees, maintenance, etc.

Gear rental cost in included in your trip fee.

There is financial aid available for MIT students. There are no refunds so please don't pay until you have a spot on the trip.

I have more questions

Check out the circus FAQ page https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DwsJUJaRp23ASxEkSJOk7bPHwvxMVldMK8LlfPlmTXU/ If you don't see an answer there, email us circus-chair@mit.edu!