A Spirit of Adventure
Fritz Vogel at Glacier National Park
Fritz Vogel, The Citadel
My trip to Montana this summer, as part of the NCHC Partners in the Park program, was exactly what I hoped it would be: an adventure. In the preparatory emails, we–nine students from across the country–were tasked with learning bear safety, huckleberry phenology, and invasive weed identification. As soon as the group arrived, we started the implicit and tantamount task of becoming friends and a team. The tight seating arrangements during the car ride to the campsite, encouraged by the overloaded trunks, made this process effortless.
As our two cars navigated the mountainous switchbacks, the beauty of the landscape seized our conversations and thoughts. With the windows down, we were engulfed in the cool glacier air and butterscotch sweetness of the ponderosa pines’ scent. We knew Montana would be beautiful, but I wasn’t expecting a contagious, tangible, and vivid wonder to be known to our whole group.
We entered the park to be greeted by Emma and Jenny, two park rangers. With their easy and enthusiastic instruction, we became experts in the important ecological details that would make our trip successful. We sprayed inert bear spray at the unsuspecting asphalt, assembled a puzzle of the park in less than two minutes, and learned that if you could identify a bear by its claws you were way too close.We left the ranger station educated and excited to set up our campsite. Despite the fire ban, our campsite could not have felt more homey. The tarps and clothing lines, the meals we cooked together, the thimbleberries we picked and ate gave our campsites a bohemian charm.
In the mornings, we would make our lunches together, preparing to gorge on baby carrots, fruit snacks, and loaded sandwiches when we reached the summit of our hikes. Over the course of our hikes, we saw a grizzly bear with her cubs, a moose, and a bald eagle–it was very patriotic. In addition to the wildlife, we saw the different groups of people who commonly frequent national parks. These groups together showed us how the National Park Service balances enjoyment and the preservation of nature.
For our service project, we conducted a huckleberry phenology study and picked invasive weeds as we trekked across the park. The study’s purpose was to track when huckleberries were ripening and available for the grizzly and black bears to forage. Researchers are concerned that climate change may be causing the huckleberries to ripen earlier, eliminating an important food source for bears before they enter winter torpor. It was awesome to feel a part of a park project so important to one of North America's last megafauna.
With all that I learned from my Partners in the Park trip, what I think will last with me longest is not the names of various weeds or even the immaculate views of the park’s unadulterated wilderness but rather the need to pause in nature with a genuine group of people. During the trip, the pollution and noise of modern life dissolved among the friends I had made. Even with my disheveled appearances at the week’s end, I felt clean in spirit. I am ready to carry this spirit of adventure, curiosity, and peace with me when I share in nature’s wonder with those I meet in the future.
