Junior Catherine Pasquella has recently created a new Hiking Club to unite all nature lovers at LFHS. To get a better perspective on the hiking club, I talked to Catherine on why she started the club and why others should join. While Illinois may not seem like the ideal place to hike, Catherine has worked hard with the club to keep students active and develop a love for the outdoors.

Catherine started her love for hiking summer going into sophomore year when she took a two week backpacking trip all over Oregon and Washington. After this trip she loved it so much that the next summer she decided to go backpacking in Europe for three weeks before junior year started. Catherine exclaimed, “It honestly changed my life and my outlook on everything so when I got to school I decided I wanted to share that same feeling with my friends and classmates so I began the process of starting a new club.” She knew it would be tough getting the club up and running, but she worked through it with teachers and sponsors and managed to find the perfect team for the job: Mr. Holmer, Mr. Juliano, Dr. Wahlert, and herself.

“We crafted the first trip together and decided on Kettle Moraine. After everything was booked and ready to go, I began advertising for the hike and held two meetings and had GREAT responses.”
Catherine explains that she was actually very surprised at the turnout but was excited that the club was already making strides in the high school after the first trip.

“After our meetings, I started up a remind with everyone interested in hiking club and soon enough we had a team of 14 people joining us at Kettle Moraine for the first hike this past Saturday (May 18th). It was awesome, even our bus driver joined us on the hike.”
Catherine cannot wait for the club to continue next year as she plans future trips for the LFHS Hiking Club. The trips can help students connect with the outdoors and create a bond between those with similar interests.

The club has only had two meetings so far and has generated great excitement. They meet the week before the hiking trips to cover general notes on the trail as well as what to expect. If interested, please contact Catherine and get ready for the future of the Hiking Club! Her email is [email protected].