Cornstalks climb to peak height and pumpkins flush to orange to signal the approach of October and Halloween activities. In accordance with the start of autumn, a group of freshmen braved the six-acre Cobb Ranch Cornfield Maze to experience the harvest festivities, Oct. 24.

The maze features two and a half miles of twists and turns fashioned into the logo of Fresno Fuego, a Cobb Ranch presenting partner along with Telemundo.

After the freshmen organized the excursion to the cornfield maze, they dissolved cliques to participate in the moonlit experience as a class.

The students divided into groups in order to race their peers through the labyrinth. Although some discovered the exit in as few as 30 minutes, it took as long as an hour for others to escape.

“It was fun, but for us we kept getting lost,” Domenic Tedeschi said. “We went around the bridge five times!”

Although his group navigated through the maze for about an hour until reaching the exit, the freshmen encountered multiple dead ends and misleading shortcuts to delay their escape.

“I would like to come back,” Tedeschi said. “It was really fun because it was complicated. I want to get better at it because it irked me.”

The jaunt provided alternatives to stereotypical means of entertainment such as text messaging friends or commenting on social networking site profiles.

“I had fun and it was a lot better than sitting at home,” George Jones said. “I had never gone there before and I would go back next year because it was really fun throwing corn.”

Although the freshman class hosted the event, Daniel Andrew declined to attend.

“I didn’t want to go because I do not like the freshman class events,” Andrew said. “I feel like there are too many rules and that I can’t have the freedom to do what I want.”

After unraveling the cornfield maze, Dolly Mizner explored other venues at Cobb Ranch and continued to socialize with her peers.

“I got lost a lot, but I had a lot of fun,” Mizner said. “Afterwards I got a glow saber because it was really pretty. We also got hungry so we went and bought a churro, but mainly we walked around and talked.”

For more information on the cornfield maze, contact Cobb Ranch at (559) 439-0606 or read the Oct. 29, 2007, article, Cobb Ranch hosts annual maze.