Pre-Orientation Experiences

Trip Leaders: Justin Jusiak, John Ruszkiewicz, Kevin Lovett, Wesley Rollins, Steven Tostanoski, Gabriel St. Martin, Trevor Moser, Finn Payne

5-10 attendees

Registration Fee: $200

Club/Org Description:

Hey y'all,
Welcome to the Clarkson Rod and Gun club! Within our club, our members participate in a number of activities involving hunting, fishing, and trap shooting. Our members hunt mostly deer, ducks, and turkeys and fish for smallmouth, largemouth, pike, trout, salmon, and sometimes musky. We have a trap shooting team that goes to competition every year and has open spots to try out for if interested. We look forward to seeing you all up here and hope you enjoy what we have planned. For the first day we will be taking you to some local fishing spots that we've found while we've been up here and hopefully putting you on a few fish. We would like to know what species you would like to target. For the other day we will be going to Massena Rod and Gun Club where we will be spending most of the day shooting trap and sporting clays. Don't worry if you haven't done any of these before because we have all done it and would be happy to teach you how. We look forward to meeting all of you soon!

Schedule of Activities

Day 1:

• 7am: Breakfast on campus
• 8am: Fish the Grasse River in Louisville, and the St. Lawrence River in Waddington
• 12pm: Eat lunch at whatever fishing location we are at
• 3pm: Return to campus
• 6pm: Dinner and yard games

Day 2:

• 8:30am: Breakfast on campus
• 9:30am: Depart from campus and head to Massena Rod and Gun Club
• 10am: Safety briefing
• 10:30am: Trap shooting
• 12pm: Lunch at Massena Rod & Gun Club
• 12:30pm: Sporting clay shooting
• 3pm: Return to Campus
• 5pm: Dinner at Cantina in Potsdam

Day 3:

• 9am: Breakfast on campus
• 10am: Fishing at the Raquette River

Trip leaders: Abbey Bates, John Vining

4-20 attendees

Registration fee: $175

Club/Org description:
The Clarkson University Pep Band is open to anyone; music lover, hockey lover, or people who don't know anything about either! Whether you've been playing for years or you want to try something new, we'll get you all sorted-- no auditions or tryouts! We play for our D1 hockey teams in Cheel Arena and even travel with our men's team to play at other schools such as Yale, Harvard, Cornell, Quinnipiac and of course, our rival, SLU. Aside from hockey, there's stuff to do almost every day of the week with the band, and you're welcome to attend as much or as little as you'd like. Throughout the year, we host various events including Apple Picking, Formal, Kickball, and holidays such as Thanksgiving and Easter! 

You can contact us at cupband@clarkson.edu, find us online at clarksonpepband.org, or check out our Instagram
@clarksonpepband for more info!

Schedule of Activities:
Day 1:

• 9am: Breakfast on campus
• 10am: Campus Scavenger Hunt (tour)
• 12pm: Practice on campus
• 2pm: Lunch on campus
• 3:30pm: Free Time/Naps
• 5:30pm: Lawn Games and Pizza

Day 2:

• 9am: Breakfast on campus
• 10am: Practice on campus
• 12pm: Lunch
• 1:30pm: Beach - 2092 River Road Potsdam
• NY 13676 Postwood (if rain: indoor games,
  Wallyball, or board games)
• 4:30pm: Free time (shower after the beach)
• 5:30pm: Dinner Downtown (paid for by attendee)
• 7:30pm: Game kNight on campus

Day 3:

• 9am: Breakfast on campus
• 10am: Kickball (Baghdad Field)

Trip leaders: Rosalee Dillon, Michael Feltman, Natalie Wesseldine, Charlie Grove

6-12 attendees

Registration fee: $250

Club/Org description:
The Clarkson University Student Association is an elected government body consisting of four executive board members (president, VP, treasure, and public relations coordinator) and 6 members from each class, as well as one representative from The Clarkson School. This body of students makes financial decisions for the multitude of clubs on campus, hosts free events for all students to attend and overall helps regulate different organizations. Our pre-o is focused on getting students used to campus as well as areas around it, such as Canada and the Adirondacks. There’s a little bit of everything on this trip, so if you can not decide what interests you, this is a perfect opportunity for getting yourself into the groove of college.

Schedule of Activities:
(Days 2 and 3 can switch depending on weather)*

Day 1: 

• 9am: Breakfast on campus
• 9:30am: Travel to Ottawa
• 11:30am: Tour Parliament
• 12:30pm: Walk around Rideau Canal and Locks
• 1pm: Lunch at a Byward Market Restaurant
• 2pm: Explore Byward Market
• 3pm: Drive Home
• 5pm: Movie if time allows OR pizza dinner with all pre-o groups

Day 2*:

• 9am: Breakfast on campus
• 9:30am: Drive to Ausable Chasm
• 11am: Hike
• 12pm: Lunch at Gigi's Restaurant
• 1pm: Float Tour
• 2pm: Drive Home
• 4pm: Smore's at student center fire pit
• 6pm: Stewart’s pizza for dinner

Day 3*:

• 9am: Breakfast on campus
• 9:30am: Mock CUSA
• 11am: Robro Lunch together
• 12:30pm: Normal Orientation Activities
  
   

Trip leaders: Jacob Mysliwiec, Victor Burgess
5-20 attendees
Registration fee: $220
Club/Org description:

Welcome to Clarkson University! High Dive is Clarkson's Ultimate Frisbee Club – we're super laid-back and well-connected within the campus community. We're excited to offer you a fun couple of days before regular freshman orientation starts. While we'll definitely be doing some frisbee-related activities, we'll also be mini golfing and bowling, having a beach day, and giving you the ultimate insider's tour of Clarkson. Our goal is to balance fun with getting you acquainted with the campus, allowing you to settle in before the rest of the freshmen arrive, and most importantly, giving you the chance to choose the best side of your dorm first!

Please note that all meals are included in the total price as well! Making friends before the semester starts is a huge advantage, and that's another perk of High Dive's pre-orientation. So skip the freshman orientation mob scene, hang out with us, and meet some new people – all before classes even begin. Feel free to reach out via Instagram, our tag is @clarkson_ultimate. We can't wait to meet you!
 

Schedule of Activities:
Day 1:

• 9am: Breakfast and introductions on campus
• 10:30am: Downtown Potsdam tour
• 12pm: Park Bros lunch (killer bagel sandwiches + coffee/smoothies)
• 1pm: Mini golf and Bowling (Tupper Lake)
• 4pm: Shower/change
• 4:30pm: Chill time (puzzles, board games, general hanging out)
• 6pm: Dinner on campus
• 7:30pm: Kahoot and games
   

Day 2:

• 9am: Breakfast on campus
• 10:30am: Frolf (Frisbee Golf w/ Ultimate discs) and Clarkson campus tour
• 12pm: Beach day at Higley Flow park
• 4pm: Shower/change
• 5pm: Dinner with other PreO trips!
• 7:30pm: Movie night
   

Day 3:

• 9am: Breakfast on campus
• 10am: Frisbee Practice
• 11:30am: Shower/change
• 12pm: Freedom!

Trip leaders: To Be Determined
4-10 attendees
Registration fee: $120
Club/Org description:
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is a national organization that has a local chapter here at Clarkson! We are an organization that focuses on helping females in engineering through various events and our continued participation in SWE conferences such as SWElocal and SWEnational! Join members of the Society of Women Engineers for a bonding experience and learn about SWE while enjoying some fun activities.

Schedule of Activities:
Day 1:

• 9am: Breakfast on campus
• 10am: Engineering Challenge
• 12pm: Lunch on campus
• 1pm: Tie Dye
• 2:30pm: Break/short Walk around campus/chill outside
• 3:30pm: Assorted Engineering Challenges
• 5pm: Dinner w/ other pre-o groups
• 7:30pm: Break
• 9pm: Ice cream at Stewart’s
   

Day 2:

• 9am: Breakfast on campus
• 10am: Nature Walk in the back 40 (watch tower)
• 12pm: Lunch - Soup and Sandwiches on campus
• 1pm: SWE Alum Panel
• 2pm: Career Center Talk/Resume Building Workshop
• 3:30pm: Vision Board
• 5pm: Relax
• 6:30pm: Dinner at @ Mama Lucia’s
• 8:30pm: Bonding
   

Day 3:

• 9am: Breakfast at the village diner
• 10:00am: Bookstore
• 12pm: Lunch at Robro
• 1pm: Freshman Orientation

Trip leaders: Trevor Schnoor, Zachary Feinberg, Alexander Kemnah
2-4 attendees
Registration fee: $150
Trip description:
What's up loam hounds! When you join this trip, you're in for an epic week of mountain biking adventure. Throughout the week we will be ripping the $&*@ out some classic MTB spots in Stowe Vermont. We'll have premium camping and way better food than the hiking trips because we can basically cook whatever we want and don't have to worry about carrying it all over the place. The leaders here are amped up to show some new guys what the Green Mountains have to offer. Stowe changes terrain vastly from highland sized dirt jumps and wood lips to steep singletrack loamers and rock roles. Our trip will be hitting the classic Stowe Vermont triangle, Perry Hill, Cady Hill, and maybe the Driving Range. These trails are some of the best riding in Vermont, if not in the east. If you are down for some sick riding, lots of yelling, and plenty of gnar, this trip is for you!

Schedule of Activities:
Day 1:
We leave for the campground and set up camp. We go ride cadie hill until it gets dark, from here we can access skill levels, then when the attendees get tired or it gets dark, we will head back to camp and make dinner.

Day 2:
Day 2 we wake up and go to Perry Hill. Perry hill is unique with how many of its trails include rock roles. This will make it fun and challenging and will also be a great way to introduce people to rock roles who have never ridden them before. When the attendees get hungry we will come back to the parking lot for lunch, and then continue riding. When everyone is tired, we will head back to camp and make dinner for the attendees.

Day 3:
Day 3, wake up early to ride a couple laps at the driving range trail system. The driving range is a good place for a short day because the trail system is relatively small yet it still has some very fun trails and a state of the art hand built jump trail that is very easy to lap. This day will be rather short to ensure that we can make it back to campus by noon.

Packing list

Trip leaders: Melaina Randall, Stephanie Elrick
2-4 attendees
Registration fee: $150
Trip description:
This backpacking trip will be full of hiking mountains, beautiful views, cozy nights in a lean-to. Your leaders are Steph (CUOC’s XC Ski chair) and Melaina (CUOC’s service chair) and they will be cheffing up some delicious backcountry meals for feasting after your hikes! We will be camping at Marcy Dam and taking in some lovely views of the surrounding mountains (spoiler alert, you get to hike a few!!) One the first day, we will have a nice short hike into camp, then drop our heavy packs and head up to the summit of Phelps Mountain. The second day will be a main attraction you just don’t want to miss… Mt. Colden!!! This is such a fun hike with breathtaking views of the Adirondacks!! Day three we will wake up early, catch a nice sunrise at Marcy Dam and hike out.

Schedule of Activities:
Day 1:
On the first day we will be leaving Clarkson and driving to the Adirondack Loj (arrive about 10am) to start our trip. Our hike into camp will be about 2.3 miles with 340 ft of elevation gain. We will be camping in the marcy dam area at a lean to. Once we drop off our heavy packs we will be hiking Phelps Mountain which is 2 miles and 1800 ft of gain from our camp. After summiting Phelps we will hike back down to camp where we will have a yummy meal, hang out and play games. Out total milage for day 1 will be about 6.3 miles
 

Day 2:
On the second day we will be hiking Mount Colden. We will wake up and hit the trail after a good breakfast. The hike to the summit will be 3.7 miles and 2400 ft of gain. This means our total mileage for that day will be about 7.4 miles. After our hike back to camp we will have dinner and hang out some more before going to bed.

Day 3:
We will wake up early, roughly 6 am, to eat breakfast before our hike out. Our walk to the car is 2.3 miles. Once we get back to the Adirondack Loj we will load up the car and head back to campus.
 

Packing List

Trip leaders: Emily Milleville, Finley Knappe, Xander Rinaldi
2-4 attendees
Registration fee: $150
Trip description:
Hey You! Yes you!!! Are you looking for the coolest experience of your life right before diving into the college experience? Well, you are in luck. We will be leading a trip into the heart of the Adirondacks and sampling some of the highest quality rock climbing around. Never rock climbed before?? Never fear, this is the perfect trip for all skill levels, we will show you the ropes!!...Get it?! Anyways, this trip will feature gourmet camping meals, five star rock climbing, campfires, story-telling, maybe some swimming, and just enjoying the scenery! Give climbing one try, and you'll be hooked!
 

Schedule of Activities: 

Day 1: We will first set eyes on the chapel pond area and all its glory early Wednesday morning and go set up camp right by the water. With the remaining daylight you will be shown the basics to climbing at our first cliff (Jewels and Gems). It will be very relaxed to allow everyone to learn and climb, maybe even try your hand at some slack-lining. 

Day 2: The next day we will wake up and cook a mighty fine breakfast then only a hop, skip, and a jump away will be our second cliff of the trip, Beer Walls. We will climb until our hearts are content and then head back to camp for another hearty backcountry meal. 

Day 3: If you so choose, we may wake up early for a morning swim in chapel pond and then pack up camp and head back to campus to get you guys ready for your semester orientation to start.

Packing List

Trip leaders: Chad Cassidy, Nick Dimichele, Erik Utter
2-4 attendees
Registration fee: $150
Trip description:
Do you like hiking, canoeing, fishing, or even swimming? Or want to try these things? You should come on our Pre-O! We are gonna be island campin', gourmet cookin', bass wranglin', slacklinin' and gettin 'some beautiful viewin'. Come spend some quality time with us on Lower Saranac Lake while we run the sickest Pre-O around.

Schedule of Activities:
Day 1:
Eat breakfast on campus then leave. We will check into the campsite and then launch the canoes into lower saranac lake and make our way over to the campsite. Once at the campsite, we will set up camp, eat lunch, and spend the rest of the day canoeing around the lake, checking out the other islands, fishing, and swimming. We will then come back to the campsite, make dinner, have a fire, then go to bed.
 

Day 2:
Wake up on Eagle island and eat breakfast. Paddle back to the cars at the launch and drive to the Ampersand Trail head. Hike up a mountain, eat a packed lunch while on the hike. Then we will head back to the car, drive back to the launch point and paddle back to the campsite. We will end the day by eating dinner at the campsite, have a fire, and go to bed.
 

Day 3:
Wake up early, unpack the campsite, paddle back to the car. Pack everything up, drive back to campus.
 

Packing List

Trip leaders: Jasper Wiech, Shea Duffy, Raegan Joly
2-4 attendees
Registration fee: $150
Trip description:
Get ready for some awesome riding at the finest trails the Adirondacks have to offer! If this is your first time hitting the trails, or if you are still getting into mountain biking, this is the trip for you! No bike? No problem! The Outing Club has a fleet of full suspension bikes for you to borrow! The East Branch trails are the best machine built trails in the Adirondacks, with plenty of beginner friendly terrain and optional features that create a great area for progression on your bike. When we aren't biking we will be chefing up some gourmet camping meals and cooling off in some nearby swimming holes. We are excited to introduce you to Clarkson and the Outing
Club!

Schedule of Activities:
Day 1:
Drive to the bike trails, ride the east branch trails. Start on green flow trail to get a feel for everyone’s ability. Stop for lunch at the base of the trails around 12. Do a few more laps in the afternoon, we can move to some more challenging trails or stick to the easy flow depending on how people are feeling.
 

Day 2:
Head back to East Branch for another day of ripping. Explore some more of the trails that have optional features to allow for some progression if you are interested. If we cover more ground than expected on day 1 there are other trail networks near by that we can go to for day 2 for a change of scenery (Craig Wood, Dewey Mountain, Pisgah)
 

Day 3:
We will wake up and pack up camp, the main goal will be getting back to campus by noon. If we want to get a little bit more biking in we can get up early and stop at Pisgah for a few laps on the way back. If we are tired from 2 epic days of biking we can sleep in and just get back to campus.

Packing list

Trip leaders: Erin Dooley, Allison Cogan
2-4 attendees
Registration fee: $150
Trip description:
Do you like to hike?? Awesome, then get ready for an awesome few days in the Johns Brooks Lodge Area!!! Come see some of the most incredible views in the High Peaks from Big Slide and Yard Mountain. No JBL’s will be permitted (Leave No Trace) but our singing will certainly be enough. Oh yeah, and we’re going to make the tastiest back country food you’ve ever had too.

Schedule of Activities:
Day 1:
Leave from Clarkson University at 7am from Riverside, drive ~ 2 hours to Rooster Comb parking lot. Hike Rooster Comb (4 hours if slower place; total of ~5 miles), drive to JBL parking lot, hike into camp site at JBL (~3.5 miles), set up, cook dinner, relax for evening before bed.

Day 2:
Wake up, Cook breakfast, gather all gear for the day, depart from campsite, hike Yard and Big Slide Mountain and loop back to JBL lean - to (~5.5 miles).

Day 3:
Hike out of JBL (~3.5 miles), drive ~ 2 hours back to Clarkson and arrive by noon.

Packing list

Trip leaders: Tim Wilson, Gavin Nichols. Ephraim Aday
3-5 attendees
Registration fee: $150
Trip description:
Come with Gavin, Tim, and Ephraim for the THE MOST FUN pre-o that ever did pre-o. We will be casually exploring Low's Lake, a beautiful hidden gem of Adirondacks. Low's Lake is remote, has dope floating bogs, and is filled with beautiful brook trout and bass. We'll be cooking up some great backcountry grub and finding the best fishing spots on the lake.

Schedule of Activities:
Day 1:
We're paddling about 9 miles into Low's to score an island site.

Day 2:
We will take our time, exploring around the lake, and make our back towards Hitchins pond for
the night.

Day 3:
We will take out at Low's lower dam and make our way back to campus.

Packing list

Trip leaders: Kevin Callahan, Blake Bundesmann, Gardy Kaminski
3-5 attendees
Registration fee: $150
Trip description:
Ahoy! Are you interested in the most troutastic, bog boggling, monk monkying canoe camping paddle? Join 2 of the best fish sorcerers and the tallest hobbit in the north country. We will be following the classic Adirondack paddle the 9 carries, hopping between the most remote ponds in the St Regis canoe wilderness, and bountiful fish breeding grounds. One of the wildest, most remote parts of the Adirondacks, this will be a genuine adventure. While this is an intermediate trip, those without paddling experience are welcome.

Schedule of Activities:
Day 1:
We hop a chain of ponds, from Long pond to Nellie pond to Little long pond to Little Fish pond and onto Fish pond, navigating beaver dams and getting more and more remote with every pond.

Day 2:
We continue our journey traversing deeper through the ponds going from fish pond to Mud pond, onto Ochre pond and finally to camp on St Regis pond where we will spend our second night enjoying the sunset and listening to the loons.

Day 3:
On our final stretch to little green pond for the take out we will do some pond hoping and quick adventuring to make it back to campus by noon.

Packing list