During August of 2023, Bonita Vista High (BVH) hiking club co-Presidents and seniors Kendall Johnson and Aparri Tarpley came together with Accelerated Biology and Environmental Science teacher Michelle Mardhal to revive the hiking club, which was once dead during the COVID-19 pandemic.. A group of BVH track and field team runners initially founded the hiking club in the 2021-2022 school year. However, the club disbanded due to lack of interest as the COVID-19 pandemic started.
“We had a small group when the club started. It was a couple of runners in track that wanted an after school activity. So, we decided to [create] the hiking club and add a way to get easy hours for community service,” Mardahl said.
Mardhal expressed how it was difficult to keep the club alive during the pandemic. Club members constantly missed hikes and meetings, which forced the club to disband. This essentially meant that the club was no longer active and lost members that graduated.
“A lot of my students were seniors and I liked it that way. Seniors could drive themselves up to the hikes without the hassle of contacting parents and making sure they’re behaving. When all these seniors in the club graduated, the club had died again,” Mardahl said.
Johnson and Tarpley knew that hiking is not solely about sweating on the trails;it is about forming connections and finding solace through nature. The duo had a strong belief in the power of hiking to heal and unite and were committed to reviving the positive atmosphere.To restore the club, Johnson and Tarpley utilized social media to promote and voiced encouragements in conversations so students would sign up.
“We made an Instagram [account] and then we made the Google Classroom. When we advertised it, it gained a lot more popularity than we expected,” Johnson said.
The hiking club is a tight knit group of people that share a common interest. Every other week on Fridays, the club meets in Mardahl’s room to plan for the next hike. For the majority of the club members, hiking is an impactful aspect of their lives. Johnson reflects on the profound impact hiking has had in her life, along with her love for the outdoors and her family’s unique tradition of exploring the wilderness.
“My family and I have always been really big hikers. I feel like a lot of families take their kids to amusement parks during their childhoods but my family was always like ‘let’s go to all the national parks instead.’ We’ve been to Zion, Yellowstone and Yosemite. We hiked so many amazing and beautiful places,” Johnson said.
Moreover, Johnson states that creating new friendships on these trails are unique—which is nurtured by the challenges faced and conquered together. The shared triumph of reaching the finish line, the laughter over a stumble, and the encouragement during an uphill climb are all adventures and memories that bind members like glue into long lasting friendships.
“My favorite memory in the hiking club is when my dog decided to chase a duck in a lake. He’s a big husky, so me and some other students had to get in and fish him out of the lake while he’s paddling towards this duck. There’s so many good and fun memories with this club,” Mardahl said.
The club is also eyeing collaborative initiatives with other teachers, aiming to create joint events to amplify the sense of community and forge deeper connections. The hiking club partakes in a lot of adventures and invites these memories to be shared with more community members.
“We have people joining our hikes that aren’t part of the club just so they can partake and see if it’s something they’d like to do. For example, [for our] other hike we were joined by Forensics and Biology teacher Joseph Szakovits,” Mardahl said.
Mardahl, Johnson and Tarpley all encourage students and staff members to join their club as it opens up opportunities to make unforgettable memories, learn valuable information about nature in the San Diego community and earn community service hours. Looking forward, the revived hiking club is setting its sights on grander adventures and broader horizons.
“We are hoping to do some hikes in the Torrey Pines or Mission Trails trails when we get back from [fall] break. Mission Trails is an amazing area with diverse trails,but we are always open to suggestions,” Tarpley said.
