Hiking Club At Fitch Middle School 'Like A Family'

Assistant Principal Seth Danner said he started the hiking club at Fitch Middle School to pursue a hobby and keep the students involved after school.

Students said they've gained more than that; they've learned about responsibility, resourcefulness and teamwork.

"It kind of helps you learn how to be a leader and it helps you learn how to respect the outdoors," said Sylvan Scott, 13, also a boy scout. "It's kind of like you develop a love and a passion for being outside in the woods. Wherever you go in the wilderness, it's going to be beautiful."

Last March, students from the club rode nine hours, then spent five days in Baxter State Park in Maine, where there's no cell phone reception, running water or electricity. The students filtered water from streams for drinking water, cooked for themselves and hiked Mount Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine.

Joseph Jimenez, 13, recalls that it was cold, snowy and wet. Christian Urena, 12, ate a lot of Ramen Noodles and peanut butter and jelly.

But students also remembered the beauty of the mountains.

"There are like, rock stairs," said Cathryn Wilson, 13.

"I've never really been hiking except for this club," said Isaac Perez, 13. "I like it because it's a new thing for me."

Amanda Luther, 12, said she finds solace in hiking.

"School can be very stressful," she said. "And when you go hiking, you get to escape from all the stress, and from the real world and just relax and have fun."

The group meets once a week, but will soon meet twice weekly, and plans eight trips, including one to Bear Mountain, the highest summit in Connecticut.

"It gives them travel experience and we build like a family together," Danner said of the club. "They learn how to problem solve."

The students are raising money, mostly for their travel expenses, by selling "fun pasta". The fundraising effort runs until Nov. 30.  Students get 40 percent of online sales. To buy pasta and benefit the club, click here. For more information about the club, contact Danner at (860) 449-5620 or by e-mail at sdanner@groton.k12.ct.us.