GBCA had the opportunity to collaborate with TRIO-Upward Bound this summer to coordinate a day hike for their students in the Great Burn.
TRIO-Upward Bound hosts an annual six-week residential program at the University of Montana for participating high school students. Enrollment in the program is based on financial need, with preference given to students who would be the first generation to attend college. During this program students live on campus, take courses to prepare them for the upcoming school year, and participate in a variety of fun activities.
Through this collaboration, we were able to take forty-five high school students into the Great Burn on a hike to Heart Lake. This was a great opportunity to expose these students to the outdoors and connect them to public lands. Our main goal for the hike was to show students that places like this exist and that it is a public resource.
Co-Executive Director Hayley and Volunteer Coordinator Kalyn were able to accompany the group and represent GBCA. Kalyn gave a trail head safety talk and covered some important Leave No Trace principles so that we could have a safe day at Heart Lake. Once the students got the go ahead to begin hiking, it was hard to keep up!
Each group had some ambitious trail blazers that had trip leaders wondering how they were going to keep up! With the help of some walkie talkies and the amazing RAs at Upward bound, everyone was able to hike at a pace that was comfortable for them and make it to the lake in their own time.
Most students agreed that the view at the lake made the three mile hike worth it! There were also quite a few who opted to take a brisk swim (can you tell they are from Montana?). It was great to see that the students were having a good time out in nature, even if that meant being disconnected from technology. Entertainment came in the form of filtering their own water and trying to discern if the white patches on the ridge were mountain goats or snow.
We hope that we are able to make this an annual collaboration and possibly expand the educational component.Donations from the David Meurer Memorial Fund allowed GBCA to rent the vehicles that were used to transport the students from the University to the trail head. Students also received a hat and some other GBCA swag. WIthout the generosity of those who donated to the fund, GBCA would not have been able to make this trip possible.
To learn more about the David Meurer Memorial Fund, or to make a donation, visit https://www.greatburn.org/meurer-fund.