4 Day Backpacking in the Finger Lakes for Transfer Students
The rolling hillsides and beautiful forests of the Finger Lakes Trail will be your backyard here at Cornell, and this trip is a great opportunity to begin exploring them! On this trip specifically for incoming transfer students, we will hike and camp for three nights on the trail while learning skills and enjoying the area. After an Odyssey trip in the Finger Lakes you'll be familiar with some of the special spots in the Ithaca area as well as the incoming students on your trip.
| Trip Dates | August 14, 2025: Arrive in Ithaca between 11am-1pm (Day 0) August 15, 2025: Trip departs (Day 1) August 18, 2025: Trip returns to Ithaca for Camp-o-rama (Day 4) August 19, 2025: Move-in day (Day 5) |
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| Trip Fee | $460 (Financial Assistance available) |
| Location | Finger Lakes Region, NY |
| Activity Level | General terrain is rolling hills with the occasional steep slope, but most with lovely views at the top. Most trips hike an average of 3-6 miles per day carrying about a 30 pound pack. |
| Basecamping | No |
| Access to showers or restrooms | No |
| Day 0 | Trip participants arrive between 11:00AM and 1:00PM at Cornell, trip participants and their guides meet and begin to get to know each other, prepare their belongings for the trip and have a trip dinner (usually at one of the restaurants in Collegetown). Trip participants and their guides sleep on the Arts Quad. |
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| Day 1 | The trip wakes up bright and early and heads off to the starting point of their backpacking trip. |
| Days 2-3 | A normal day consists of 3-6 miles of hiking with a break for lunch. In the afternoon, you will help set up camp, make dinner, and sleep outside! |
| Day 4 | All trips return to Ithaca for Camp-O-Rama, a closing ceremony and celebration of the Outdoor Odyssey trips. Trip participants clean their gear, share a meal with other trips, and get the chance to meet some of the ~200 other participants. |
| Day 5 (Move-In Day) | Trip is shuttled back to Bartels Hall on the morning of move-in, where the participants return their rented gear as a group. Once all gear is returned, trip participants are free to register at Bartels Hall and move into their dorms. Oftentimes, guides will help their trip participants move in. |
Testimonial
"Our son ... was a transfer from UVM. Doing his Odyssey trip with other transfers was absolutely fantastic because it allowed him to connect and make great new friends who were in his same position, got him off to tremendous start as a new sophomore at Cornell, could not have been better!"