Coming back from quarantine was hard. I was 12, wasn’t getting out much, hadn’t been in a school setting in over a year, and didn’t interact with people my age nearly enough. Then I joined Team Wilderness.

When I started, my fear of heights made hiking up mountains hard, now I was doing it in the middle of the night in the pouring rain. With help from my team and the staff I didn’t just make it, I was empowered.

Summer Treks gave me more confidence and prepared me for living in the outside world, and taking care of myself. Now thanks to everyone I am hiker.

Team Wilderness has done a lot to make me the person that I am today. I’m much more comfortable with myself and better equipped to handle physical and mental challenges.

Team Wilderness is the safe haven and escape place I have. I will always sign up for everything they have to offer because it is an environment I need to be part of. All my friends and people my age need this too.