The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
Josiah Lauer glides past Stuart Ian Frost's 'A Place is a Place is a Place.'
Club leaders Stacey Mannix and Nancy Schwalm chat by the Delaney Mill Teepee Burner while the group of kids check things out on the opposite side.
The group of kids on the ski excursion stop for a photo in the archway of the Teepee Burner.
Grant Keaster leads Kynleigh Dietz and Stacey Mannix down the trail.
Emma Dey, Dylan Schwalm and Nancy Schwalm ski past 'Picture Frame.'
Garrett Schwalm makes his way through the 'Gateway of Change.'
Half a dozen kids took advantage of the recent belated snowfall to strap on cross-country skis and cruised through Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild with the Lincoln Outdoor Club Friday Feb. 9. The excursion marked the third activity for the Outdoor Club since December, after being dormant for a year.
Club coordinator and Lincoln High School science teacher Nancy Schwalm said they had planned a ski day in January, but it was cancelled as record cold settled across Montana that weekend. "We did an all ages (trip) down to Grant-Kohrs Ranch in December," she said. "We had 10 kids for that. Then we did a high-school-only trip to the Lewis and Clark Caverns at Christmas time on Dec. 22. We had seven for that."
The group of kids on the ski excursion stop for a photo in the archway of the Teepee Burner.
Looking ahead, the outdoor club has plans to do a winter campout March 1 and 2 for 5th through 12th graders, then an all-ages trip to Freezout LakeWildlife Management Area March 23 for the snow geese migration.
Although only six kids took part in last week's outing, Schwalm said they'd like to see about 15 kids take advantage of the club's activities. She said that's the target number for the funding they receive through the Wilderness Society. Regardless she said they'll still do events for even just six kids.
Though ice skating has been a popular family-friendly activity for the club since early 2018, Schwalm said they haven't had the right conditions for it yet this winter. "Last year it was the same. We do have that ice skating rink and we do want to put it up, but we have to have enough snow to build the berms and it has to stay cold to freeze the ice. Thats been the challenge."
Club leaders Stacey Mannix and Nancy Schwalm chat by the Delaney Mill Teepee Burner while the group of kids check things out on the opposite side.
"The biggest help would be to support us by sending kids," Shwalm said. The Outdoor Club is administered through Lincoln School's POUNCE program, but is open to any school-aged kid in the community, including those who are home-schooled.
Schwalm said participation in the Outdoor Club dropped off during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. At the time she was only involved with the club peripherally, with Karyn Good and Sue Lattin handling the club's management. Last year club activities fell through the cracks for a variety of reasons. In 2021 Lattin had relocated to Philipsburg when her husband Josh took a new position at the Pintler Ranger District. Good moved to Tennessee in 2022 to spend time with her aging mother. At school kids were facing the challenge of getting back into the swing of a normal school year following the turbulence of COVID.
Despite the challenges, Schwalm credits Good for getting the club up and running again through the long-distance work she's done to coordinate its financial support. "She kind or put me in charge of the coordinating on the ground, but she raised the money to pay for the bus, to buy equipment, for outfitter fees if we have to buy anything."
She added they are also discussing potential fundraisers for the club so they're not entirely reliant on outside funding.
Grant Keaster leads Kynleigh Dietz and Stacey Mannix down the trail.
There are a number of ways community members can help support the club. Schwalm said they can sign up volunteers who may be interested in helping out, and welcome outdoor gear. "If they want to donate equipment they've had sitting around the garage - snow shoes or skis they've out grown ... nice wool socks we can keep for kids who show up without things. Hats gloves, ski masks, whatever we can keep in the kitty, that would be amazing," she said.
The Outdoor Club originated in the mid 1990's when now-retired Lincoln High School teachers George Pierce and Gary Roberson formed it to help junior high and high school students spend time outdoors. It was inactive for more than a decade, until Good and Lattin began the effort to resurrect it in 2015. It took a couple years to iron out the details of working with the school, but by the fall of 2017 it was moving forward through a connection with the POUNCE program. Although the restored club was generally tailored more toward elementary school kids than its original iteration, it also included junior high and high school students and there were hopes to expand the club into summer activities such as backpacking and fly fishing.
Emma Dey, Dylan Schwalm and Nancy Schwalm ski past 'Picture Frame.'
For more information on the Outdoor Club, to volunteer or to make a donation con tact Nancy Schwalm at 406-750-6310, through Lincoln Schools or through the new Lincoln Outdoor Club Facebook page.
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