- Jenna Sutton ‘22
Society is made to be a distraction. It’s full of social media, tv, books, games and so much more that are made to take us out of our lives and into a different place. We push emotions aside by occupying our minds with something else. We live vicariously through other people. Sometimes I forget everything the world has in store for me. Wilderness- Watershed’s annual 8-day backpacking trip for high school during orientation- is an opportunity to be taken away from the day-to-day distractions and to be in the moment with yourself, peers, and nature.
Our minds and bodies get challenged and pushed to their limits. We grow to be stronger. On my first backpacking trip 4 years ago, I could feel my feet ache with each step, my legs sore, my hips and shoulders struggling to bear the weight of my whole life. My head was pounding with thoughts of giving up, the fear of getting rained on, the countdown of days passed, and days to go. I give most of my group gear to the seniors. I hide in my sleeping bag as hail hits our tarp, feeling homesick. On solo, I couldn’t handle the aloneness I felt, even though my solo site was right next to the teachers. I entertain myself with anything my imagination can create; I pick a flower, bury it, and put up a headstone. The other flowers mourn for their lost friend at the solo flower funeral.
As I go on my last Wilderness trip, my senior year, I travel with ease-- my occasional neck and feet aches subsided by the excitement I feel teaching others how to do things I used to struggle at. I went from the new freshman on her first backpacking trip struggling each step, to the expert senior on their 5th trip encouraging others to stay strong. I take extra weight and continue walking-- with more challenges, but embracing them. I get out of my warm sleeping bag to fix the tarp that’s falling down from the hail’s impact. I fix the tarp, my hands numb with cold. I sit in the hail, piling rocks on the corner of the soaked tarp to keep it down. I am ecstatic for solo, asking for the further spot away. I journal, sit in silence, enjoy the solidarity. I grind up a soft rock and realize how it would make a great eyeshadow. I am challenged with the pressure to lead the group-- to be the encouraging voice, to teach others in ways they understand.
As a group we learn about each other. We are the distraction and the entertainment. We talk about deep topics like inequalities and minorities and light topics like buying trash cans and youtube videos. We laugh with each other and cry with each other. Together we realize how nice it is to live in the front country: to have a shelter and bed waiting for us, to not have to walk a ways away and dig a hole whenever you need to use the bathroom, to wash our hands with warm water, to have easy access to clean water. We see our bodies’ capabilities-- how strong we are, how much we can do. We lay in a circle at night, our heads in the middle. We stare at the Milky Way and the stars overhead. We appreciate each other for little things, we ask questions, and one-by-one respond. We become a family and see each other’s good and bad sides. We are challenged and we grow. We fail and learn. We get cold and wet. We want to stop, but we keep going.
After my 5th backpacking trip, I am so incredibly proud of my improvement from my freshman year. I am far from an expert and have so much to learn, but I can see my strength. I love the beauty of the wilderness that comes with the experience. I struggle but I get back up. I take what I learn into the front country. I appreciate the things I usually take for granted. I remember the stars and the people and the fun moments and the hard moments. We go through it together, we end it together, and we grow together.
