The early morning Tennessee sun slowly rises over the campsite, bringing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and its inhabitants back to life. Birds wake and let out a string of calls, awakening the twelve sleeping Drake Outdoor Leadership Club campers in their tents from a long night’s rest.
At 8 a.m. on March 14, the start of spring break, DOLC will depart by car for their week-long trip to the Great Smoky Mountains.
The park, located on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, is known for its landscape of lush forests and mountains, and waterfalls along hiking routes, including a segment of the Appalachian Trail. The campers will spend four nights and five days at the campsite.
Thomas Rosburg, a professor of ecology and botany at Drake and the adviser of DOLC, said he feels DOLC serves an important purpose for students to immerse themselves in nature. He encourages those interested in expanding their skills, environmental knowledge, or stepping away from their “normal” to attend one of DOLC’s camping trips throughout the year.
“You’ll learn so much about yourself, about others, about the environment,” Rosburg said. “You’ll see new places, and broaden your campus experience so much that if you didn’t do it, but realized you could have, you’ll probably regret it.”
Rosburg participates little in the planning, funding and organization of these trips. He likes to believe that when a student is a part of the club, they should have the opportunity to grow their leadership skills.
“If they have any problems or questions, or they can’t handle it, then that’s why they reach out to me,” Rosburg said. “For the most part, I’m pretty hands off.”
Natalie Pope, the organization’s new junior president this semester, said that DOLC offers students the chance to experience fun and excitement on a budget. Activities that DOLC offers, such as rock climbing, trampoline park excursions or camping, will never be this inexpensive.
“Once you graduate college, you lose some of these opportunities to do things a lot cheaper than the adult world calls for,” Pope said. “Many student organizations charge a couple of hundred dollars for week-long experiences like this [the Smoky Mountains], but DOLC works hard to provide this for under 50 dollars. Plus, we already have all the necessary gear and food.”
Reid Stevens, a senior and DOLC’s official trip planner, chose the mountains to provide new opportunities to students.
“My thought was not so much, ‘Where can I go that is warm?’ but rather, ‘Where can I go that is the best trip?’” Stevens said. “We’re [DOLC] looking for meaningful experiences that contribute to our education as a whole, so we are experiencing biomes that are entirely different from the Upper Midwest.”
Stevens said he is excited for those attending the camping trip to experience the wonders he himself experienced at the Smokies on a family trip in high school.
“I just remember how beautiful it was,” Stevens said. “You really get to see that famous purple smoke that the Smokies are known for that is produced by their unique atmosphere.”
The first time going somewhere new always brings nervous anticipation, but also sets students up to learn.
“I hope people are really intrigued and ready to get immersed in where we go,” Stevens said. “And by the last day, I hope people walk away thinking, ‘I had a lot of fun, and I also learned a lot of cool and interesting things about myself and national parks.’”
