After two years of fundraising and two months of training, Girl Scout Troop 119 from St. James Lutheran Church in Quincy recently returned from hiking the Grand Canyon with a sense of accomplishment.
Assistant troop leader Barbara O’Dear, who has been training athletes for years, knew it would not be easy to train 12- and 13-year-old girls to hike the Grand Canyon.
“As a trainer, I knew it would be impossible for us to accomplish this goal without a lot of hard work,” said O’Dear. “Practice was going to be the key to success.”
The girls began flat road training in June, starting at four miles a week. Eventually they hiked seven miles on Tuesdays and Thursdays along the hilly terrain near Clat Adams Park during the hottest times of day to prepare for the conditions at the Grand Canyon.
“It was tough,” said troop member Mia McNay. “But once your legs got built up, the miles got easier.”
At the end of training, the girls had to pass a 10-mile hike in high grade-hot climate conditions in order to ensure they would be ready to make the actual hike at the canyon. Katarina Bowles, Nicole Duesdieker, Valya and Roza Panos, Mia McNay and Audrey O’Dear were cleared to go, though Bowles had to ride a mule on the hike due to an ankle injury.
While planning the adventure, O’Dear and troop leader Patti McNay also wanted the girls to learn something about themselves and each other.
“The training they went through together really brought them a lot closer to one another,” said McNay.
The hike began Aug. 14 with a 16-mile trek from the north rim of the canyon to Phantom Ranch, a campground at the bottom of the canyon where they ate and slept in a dormitory. They awoke early the following morning to complete their adventure by hiking 10 miles from the South rim of the canyon back to the top.
“It felt like the training was for a reason and that reason became true to us,” said Mia McNay. “I learned about teamwork, trusting in people and to just have fun.”
Troop 119 recently made a 16-minute motivational DVD of their trip to the canyon that includes a song that the girls wrote themselves. Patti McNay said the video will be sent to 109 Girl Scout councils in the United States. Troop leaders can pick up the video up from their local council.
“We’re hoping to motivate other girls and show them that with a little hard work, they too can achieve their own goals,” said Patti McNay.
“It’s wonderful to have a dream, to work your dream and then to live your dream,” said O’Dear. “We are very proud of each and every one of them.”
The Girl Scouts of Two Rivers Council gave all six girls a Bronze Award Sunday night at the St. Francis Hills Boy Scout Camp for their work on the DVD.
Source: Hannah Flesner, Herald-Whig Staff Writer October 16, 2006
