The winter sun was sharp. Eight members of Battle Mountain Highschool’s (BMHS) Green Team stood tall in the Vail Pass parking lot despite the weight of their large overnight backpacks. Food for the next three meals was strapped onto their backs. Three miles of trail stood between the group and their destination. After a morning of careful planning, it was finally time to start hiking. Snowshoes crunched loudly against the snow that had baked in the sun for the past week.
The BMHS Green Team is a group of environmentally minded students, eager to deepen their connection to the natural world and share awareness of environmental issues within their community. They joined Walking Mountains Foley Graduate Fellows Justin Deutsch and Sarah Noyes for an overnight Hut Trip on Shrine Pass.
BMHS Green Team students hiking up to Jay’s Hut with everything they need on their backs.
📷 Justin Deutsch
The BMHS Green Team is a group of environmentally minded students, eager to deepen their connection to the natural world and share awareness of environmental issues within their community. They joined Walking Mountains Foley Graduate Fellows Justin Deutsch and Sarah Noyes for an overnight Hut Trip on Shrine Pass.
Along the route, this winter’s lack of snow was evident at every scale. Dirt and rocks poked through the surface nearby, while distant peaks appeared wind scoured and bare against the blue sky. Many students shared their love for snow having grown up in Eagle County, where the rhythms of winter shape daily life, family traditions and friendships. The group shifted from observers to scientists. Students examined the snow pack layer by layer, looking closely at snow crystals. They also measured the Snow Water Equivalent (SWE), a metric that tells us how much water is stored in the snowpack. SWE levels are monitored daily across Colorado and the country by the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS). Student measurements closely matched data from a nearby NRCS monitoring site, which confirmed what the group saw firsthand: SWE levels are far below average. Students voiced concerns that extended beyond winter, towards summer wildfire risk, and the people, plants and animals that depend on the water stored in our snowpack.
Students create a light painting, directed by talented photographer, Justin Deutsch.
Once at Jay’s Hut on Shrine Pass, the group relaxed and settled into Hut Life. The evening was filled with warmth and creativity. The group played games, worked on crochet projects, brewed large quantities of cinnamon tea and cooked a beautiful dinner of chicken fajitas. After dinner, the girls got creative with available dessert ingredients and made a giant s’mores brownie for the group to enjoy. After bellies were full, Justin led a nighttime workshop on photography and constellations. He introduced the group to light painting, a long exposure photography technique where headlamps and phone flashlights can create glowing shapes in the dark. The group’s connection deepened as they experimented with creating different combinations of shapes and letters, using light as their paintbrush.
The night ended with a candlelit story and reflection inspired by Bud Finds her Gift by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a renowned Potawatomi botanist and author known for weaving Indigenous wisdom and scientific knowledge. The story invites readers to reflect on their own unique role in the world and the gifts each person carries. These high school students stand at a moment in life filled with new academic and career choices. The conversation centered on identifying and honoring their individual strengths, and exploring how these strengths can act as a personal compass as they navigate change and choice in their lives. Students named inspiring strengths that they wish to carry forward: a deep love for the places they call home, a desire to work outside and care for the land, creativity and art as a tool for connection, positivity in the face of challenges and a commitment to helping others. As the Green Team snowshoed back down the trail the next morning, they carried with them the warm memories of their time spent at Jay’s Hut, and also the confidence that who they are and what they care about matters.
Written by Sarah Noyes. Sarah is a second year Foley Graduate Fellow at Walking Mountains.