It all started when a few days before summer break began last year when I overheard my step-dad and uncle talking about a hiking trip in Colorado that we were going to take sometime in the month of early July. So I just let it be and was going to see and find out if I was going to go along with them. long story short, I got a really, really early Christmas present from my mom and step-dad. A hiking trip to the Rocky Mountains!…
Have you ever felt the need to improve your life? I joined the cross country team in sixth grade to do just that. Cross country requires tremendous amounts of hard work, dedication, and never giving up to succeed in.…
In 2008, I was a eight year old and, regrettably, a member of the Saint Joseph Cross Country team. I consistently finished in the last five runners, and despised every moment that I spent training for the race season. Even though I began running cross country in elementary school, I was never a natural. After years, I was allowed to quit. By the time I was a freshman in high school, I had forgotten my hatred of running. After much enticement from my mother - a runner herself - I joined Bowling Green High School’s Cross Country team. Halfway through the first practice, I remembered every reason why I had quit the sport years earlier. Regardless of how much I begged my mom, she insisted that I finish the season. I was stuck with two choices:…
Yesterday me and my Dad went on an 11ish mile hike on the Appalachian Trail. This hike was probably one of the coolest hikes I've been on. It went from one beautiful landscape to another. As I was laying in bed that night with my muscles aching from the extra 1.5 miles we didn't plan on, I realized I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my Dad. He introduced me to my love of the outdoors and my passion to hike the entire AT. I hope one day ,Dad, we can stand on Mount Katahdin together and look back at the 2190 miles behind…
To express his believe about stretching one’s limit, the great Guy Finley had once stated, “The limit of your present understanding is not the limit of your possibilities.” Inspired by his quote, I, Giang Pham, believe that I would be a valuable member of McGarvin’s Academic Pentathlon team. Based on my personal knowledge of Pentathlon, I have first-handedly experience the soul of a Pentathlete through various study sessions at Ethan Allen. Because of this, I have developed a deep insight of the components necessary to be a true Pentathlete. In addition to having first-hand experience, I also have extremely high expectations for both myself and other students, for it is essential in my academic growth. With this, one like myself could ultimately…
“In the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” said Jack Kerouac, author of On the Road. Many people live the way he describes, just doing everyday activities all their life. I want to do something memorable. Because of this, one of my dreams is doing a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.…
My 3 Everest goals are 1. I want to be more balanced with my grades. 2. I want to get better at math because I suck at division try and become great before January.…
When I was 14 my stake High Adventure group went on a 50 mile hike on the Appalachian Trail which was one of the most physically and emotionally challenging experiences I have ever had. For six days, I had to carry my pack containing about 40 pounds in supplies. It rained all six days of the trip.…
The Appalachian Trail and a category four hurricane are two things that do not mix well together. This is the last thing any hiker would want to be caught up in. Thirty miles from civilization, there’s nothing but wet ground and an angry sky.…
I conquered Mount Le Conte at the age of nine, the 3rd highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains. It intersects with North America’s longest hiking trail - The Appalachian Trail - with over 2,200 miles of mountains, rivers, and pure wilderness. Ever since learning about the Appalachian Trail, I have wanted to hike it. So that’s what I did.…
Two days. Two days was how long the break between training for track, and training for cross country started. As a team our goal was to have the top 12 guys run 500 miles each, which at the time seemed to be an unreasonable goal. However Coach Hampton was confident that this was a reachable goal and encouraged not only the top 12 guys, but the the JV guys as well, to join in and train with the top 12.This was the summer of 2016, I had just had track state and made it to finals for the 4x8 only to get my relay disqualified because I cut into the inside lanes of the track before the cut off line. This had been our goal all season, make it to state, get to finals, and see what happens. Causing my relay to get disqualified is one my worst moments…
It was an extremely cool day in the Poconos Mountains, and we had made a reservation to go white water rafting. The next morning we had to wake up extra early to eat breakfast so we weren’t late for our trip. When my parents said, “were going white water rafting” I thought we were going straight down to the river , but of course it wasn’t.…
I can see the sun glistening off the snow covering the treetops as I glide down the mountain. Suddenly I feel a lot of snow sprayed on me as my dad speeds past in his usual perfect formation, as if he’s a slalom skier about to pass the finish line. He goes around a bend, following the curve of the trail, and skis out of sight. When I finally catch up to him I am shocked at what I see. My dad is getting up from a fall – he never falls – and both his skis and poles are scattered around the trail. In all his years of skiing, as far as I know, my dad has never been injured despite some careless falls. As I ski down to my dad I pick up his matching black skis and poles. I get closer to him and see a look in his eyes that worries me. I hide my concern and calmly ask, “Are you okay?”…
Skiing was not my forte or my favorite activity to do. My emotions were enraged at the way I tumbled down the slope. My body ached by falling and tumbling through the freezing cold snow and ice. Home sounded so marvelous right now, anywhere but here, my confidence had hit rock bottom. My face red and frozen from sobbing. I concluded that there was some other way down, nevertheless there wasn’t.…
I changed my mind about running the day my father made me run my first race. It was a hot summer day, and I was inside watching television with my siblings when my dad asked us if we all wanted to run a race with him. At first, I wasn't too sure about it even though he said it was only a one mile race. But, in school, we already had to run a mile in gym, and I wasn't very good.…