YOSEMITE -- Twelve Turlock and Pitman high school students are trading their textbooks for hiking boots as they venture into the backcountry this week.
The students, led by geoscience teachers Ryan and Laura Hollister, are taking part in a WildLink program. Run by the Yosemite Institute and Nature Bridge program, WildLink is intended to introduce students, most of them underserved, to the outdoors.
For many of the students, it's an eye-opening experience. For others, Ryan Hollister said, "It's life-changing."
The group drove up early Sunday and started with a short hike to Glacier Point. Monday, they took part in team-building activities before getting outfitted for their three-day backpacking trek, set to start at dawn today.
WildLink provides the students with almost everything they need: sleeping bags, tents, packs, fleece and rainwear, even hiking shoes.
"This can be a very expensive hobby," Laura Hollister said of hiking. She teaches at Pitman; her husband works at Turlock. "This way, they don't have to have anything except their basic hiking clothes. They can borrow everything."
It's Mozie Weaver's first trip to Yosemite, although she has been hiking before.
"I love it," she said. "I can't wait. I wanted a nature experience while I'm still in high school."
No rivalry here
Mozie, a 16-year-old junior, is the sole Pitman student among a bunch of Turlock Bulldogs. But there's no rivalry on this trip. "I've already got a few friends," she said.
The group took time to do team-building exercises Monday, including crafting a piece of string into the shape of the state of California — without talking — and forming whatever they could find into a replica of the Sierra Nevada. Showing some of the resourcefulness that will serve them well in the high country, the students used themselves.
That was a first, said field science educator Andres Esparza, who directed the project.
They also obtained their wilderness permit and got some lessons on life in the backcountry, most importantly the axiom of LNT — leave no trace.
"We want you to feel like you're the first person to be there," Esparza said.
Mike McGillicuddy, who took part in the camping trip last year, had some advice to offer his fellow hikers. Mostly, that involved the importance of staying hydrated and "bathroom stuff." Part of leaving no trace includes hygiene; even toilet paper has to be carried out.
And instructor Elspeth Hamilton invited the students to be part of the "gray water club." Even little bits of food can attract bears, so some hikers drink the rinse water out of their bowls when cleaning them; the water can't go back into the creek.
Previous groups have taken on tasks, such as clearing out illegal campfire rings. Hamilton said students will have the option of tackling something like that as well.
Outdoor awareness
The goal, Ryan Hollister said, is to make students aware of the outdoors, and the opportunities it offers. Participants are invited to apply for a two-week paid internship with the park next summer; one student parlayed that into an additional two weeks living with a ranger in a job-shadowing arrangement.
They also learn about Yosemite, and many are surprised to hear the different languages spoken by visitors.
"They realize that people travel thousands of miles to visit someplace that's right here," Hollister said. The area's accessibility to the beauty of wilderness kept the Hollisters here, and they hope it will inspire some of their students to stay local and build careers.
Even if they don't find their life's work, the students find the value of working together as a team.
"For the most part, they're strangers," Hollister said. "But by the end of the trip, they bond."
Bee staff writer Patty Guerra can be reached at pguerra@modbee.com or (209) 578-2343.
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