Learning Authentically Outdoors

Chloe Martin

Georgia College & State University

Flying into Dulles airport, I thought about what I expected during my Partners in the  Parks trip to Shenandoah National Park and the Appalachian Trail. I expected the beautiful  mountainous view, rewarding hikes and trail workdays, and meeting all sorts of new people.  What I did not expect was the community that would be built from this trip and the lifelong  friendships I would end those seven days with. 

Landing in Dulles and arriving at our hotel for the night, I was surprised at how different everyone’s interests and personalities were but how similar our core fundamental values aligned.  After making dinner together in the parking lot, I was quickly able to identify two things: 1) this  group was going to work WELL together and that is because 2) every single one of us had  respect for the natural world and each other, and we were so excited to spend a week in a part of  the country most of us had not explored before. This respect and love for nature and one another  translated into so many different parts of the trip, from van rides filled with laughter and singing  to late-night talks around the campfire to a natural willingness and desire to help each other  through every moment, but especially the hard ones. I found it easy to open up to these people,  and before I even realized what was happening, these strangers became my friends. Before this  trip, I had heard discussions about how people bond with each other through experiences  together, and this proved to be true throughout the trip. Our trip was filled with new experiences  for everyone, and with that came challenging moments. But these new experiences brought about  learning moments as well and experiencing these moments with one another was what I believe  created this community.  

One of these new experiences for me was our trail workdays. Before this trip, I had never  done trail work, and I didn’t even fully understand what it was. When we spent the fourth day of  our trip working in pairs hauling logs up steep switchbacks in Shenandoah, I doubted myself and  my ability to be helpful in this situation. However, one of my trip leaders, Sarah, took the time to show me the proper form on how to carry these logs, and every single student on the trip was so  encouraging. Even though it was an exhausting day, the feeling of knowing we were helping to  maintain such important public lands, and that we were doing so together, made it so worthwhile.  I left that day having learned a whole new set of skills and having built both my confidence and  trust in my community.  

If I were to give a piece of advice to anyone going on a Partners in the Parks trip it would  be to authentically be yourself. Because each person on my trip was so authentically themselves,  we were able to learn and grow, together and from each other. The community that was built on  this trip is a community I hope to be able to experience again and again in life. A community that  loves and uplifts one another, with a foundation of respect for the outdoors at its core. I hope to  continue to find and build this community in every corner of my life, but especially when I find  myself outdoors. Thank you to everyone who was able to make this trip happen, but especially to  the ones who contributed to this lifelong community.