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Union students hike to a cave at Pine Mountain State Park. Union’s Appalachian Wilderness Club introduces the campus community to outdoor recreation opportunities in southeast Kentucky and beyond. |
Union’s Wilderness Club to “Come Home Dirty” in Another Year of Adventures
In just the last few weeks, members of Union College’s Appalachian Wilderness Club have already rowed more miles, built more bonfires and eaten more s’mores than most people do in a year.
And they’re just getting started. The 29-year-old club’s schedule for this year will have members living up to their slogan: “Appalachian Wilderness Club: Coming home dirty since 1980.”
The campus organization has put together a season of adventure and service that will take members from canoeing the Cumberland to hiking the Grand Canyon.
Union’s Appalachian Wilderness Club introduces the campus community to the great outdoors through a variety of adventures. They canoe, hike, kayak, camp, cave, backpack, ride mountain bikes, rappel and more. The majority of these adventures take place in the Appalachian region.
Under the leadership of Andy Messer, Union’s director of outdoor programs and an assistant professor of recreation management, the club works to make people aware of the wealth of recreational opportunities in southeast Kentucky and Appalachia. It was founded in 1980 by John Taylor, Ph.D., professor of history at Union, who remains active in the club.
In September alone, the Appalachian Wilderness Club hosted canoeing on the college pond on Thursday evenings, with a bonfire and s’mores afterwards; organized the first-annual UCanoe River Race, a 15-mile marathon down the Cumberland River; and introduced members to the Pine Mountain Grotto, a local caving club.
Though the adventures are fun and beneficial to members and the region alike, they also give some Union students invaluable hands-on experience in their areas of study. The UCanoe River Race, for instance, was hosted by the Advanced Recreation Programming class and organized by Jared Ford, a senior recreation management major.
Next up for the group is a rappelling trip in late September and a service project—the UC Outdoors River Cleanup—on the Cumberland River on October 13. Also on the agenda are mountain biking the Greenbrier River Trail in West Virginia, rock climbing, hiking and a fun run. In February, they plan to swim with the manatees in Crystal River, Fla. Over spring break, members will hike to the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park.
In between the larger trips, they’ll continue local and regional outings, showing students from around the country—and world—what southeast Kentucky has to offer.
