91�ȱ���

 91�ȱ��� Stories      November 3, 2025

By Shane Ryden

On any given day, you’re as likely to find Western Carolina University students on campus as you are up a granite cliff face or on the rapids of a raging river. In the engineering lab as often as on the trail.  

For most of us, getting out in nature means escaping life’s daily responsibilities. For others, it means getting involved.

This fall break, eight 91�ȱ��� students spent four days traveling between western North Carolina and north Georgia doing just that – getting their hands dirty with local organizations and authorities on trail construction and maintenance while exploring different avenues of recreation.

The expedition was born of a collaboration between Campus Recreation and Wellness and the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning and received additional support and funding from the Sustainable Campus Initiative.

In the expansive wilderness of Panthertown Valley, students met with members of the Carolina Climbers Coalition and Friends of Panthertown to carve out a new trail from the thick brush surrounding Laurel Knob, the tallest rock face in the eastern United States.

At Gorges State Park, the same group equipped themselves with hammers and eye protection to install new traction control for hikers traversing the wet walkways of Bearwallow Valley trail.

On their final day of service, partnering with individuals from the Len Foote Hike Inn, a historic lodge in Amicalola Falls State Park, the volunteers hauled lumber through thick woods to begin construction of a new footbridge.

All the while, students had the opportunity to see waterfalls, learn to rock climb and talk with industry professionals about their careers.

“Our mission,” said Jeremiah Haas, associate director of outdoor programs and expedition supervisor, “is to introduce students to the outdoors in a somewhat low-risk environment, providing them the necessary tools and training and education to go about our natural world in a fun, explorative way.”

Haas is the leader of Base Camp Cullowhee, a program within Campus Recreation and Wellness that organizes trainings and expeditions for students year-round. As Haas describes it, 90% of BCC trips are led by 91�ȱ��� students thanks to education pathways the organization offers. 

Emma Price is a second-year student studying natural resource conservation management and environmental science. She is also a passionate climber with experience in wildland firefighting she acquired while at 91�ȱ���. Price led the trip alongside Haas and took the helm in the group’s daily hikes and climbing activities. Leading such a big trip was a new experience she cherished. 

“I went through our ODGP, our Outdoor Guide Development Training, and I really fell in love with guiding,” Price said. “It’s a really fun job, and it’s really meaningful.”

As Price describes it, that meaning shines most when she sees her peers realize the weight of their impact in the outdoors.

“Trail maintenance work and service work like this is really important to maintain recreation. You can't have hiking, you can't have climbing without making it accessible to people. And the only way that's done is through keeping up trails and managing for erosion and growth from the trees.

“There's always a moment when new participants do trail maintenance that they realize, ‘Oh, people have to do this or this wouldn't exist,’” Price said.

“I think it's just important for everybody to do once just to see how much work goes into it.”

Kaitlin Gerard, a student of recreational therapy and a paid support in 91�ȱ���’s UP Program, had long hoped for the opportunity to join one of the BCC’s multi-day expeditions. She’d attended several other adventure sessions in her tenure at 91�ȱ���, but had to choose carefully in order to manage her finances.

Thanks to a monetary grant provided by the SCI, which promotes environmentally-conscious student work, the CRW was able to reduce the cost of the trip dramatically from $200 to $50.

Fortunately for Gerard, who jumped at the opportunity, the wait was plenty worth the experience. 

“All the staff I've met have been really great, and they're always willing to help and have really contributed to my success,” Gerard said.

“Not only are we able to go to these cool locations, but we get to give back to them. And I thought that was awesome.”

While traveling with her peers, Gerard got to visit locations she’d been too cautious to visit by herself and interacted with students from different programs and classes every evening beneath the stars at camp.

“I think it's been really cool that we're all in different parts of life, but we're able to come together on something we all really enjoy and do something good together even though we probably wouldn't have met otherwise,” Gerard said.

“For anyone who's considering a fall break trip with Base Camp Cullowhee, I highly recommend it. If you're somewhat worried about it, I will reassure you: I've felt safe the whole time. They for sure know what they're doing.”

Fern Chagas Kirk first began studying at 91�ȱ��� remotely, pursuing a second undergraduate degree in disaster management, but moved to Asheville this past summer for her first in-person semester.

Since arriving in the mountains, she’s made it a priority to explore all she can, and with BCC, she found her means. No additional purchases required. 

“This is my second chance at college, so I’m really taking my time and enjoying opportunities like this,” Chagas Kirk said. “Western just has so much to offer … I like how it’s small, and you can actually talk to the professors and interact, and the classes are not so big that you’re just a number. I really appreciate that.”

“I would say if you're hesitant about being outdoors or backpacking or camping, if you've never done it before or, (you’re) just being overwhelmed (by) all the things you have to carry or you need to have to do it – I think there's no better opportunity, because you're with people that are qualified.

“They have experience. They'll be able to help you. And it's a safe thing. You won't be by yourself. You're with a group of people. You get to know new people, make friends. And it's a great opportunity … You might fall in love with backpacking or hiking or rock climbing. You never know until you try it. And if you can try it this way, I would say ‘do it’ for sure.”

On 91�ȱ���’s campus, there is bravery and charity in equal measure, a culture carried by its students from the pavement to the trail, instilled into its curriculum by a community of professionals that care as much about education as good, earnest fun.