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“Some of the canyon walls are very tight,” explained Blomberg, “so a couple of students had to overcome some fears.” The group camped every night, waded through canyons, and got into several snug spaces.
Even students who were outdoorsy before they started at Webb, have found new ways to discover the natural world at Webb.
“It’s almost like caving,” said Blomberg of the experience. Blomberg leads the schools’ after-school outdoor activities for two seasons each year, taking students to Hangar 18 Indoor Climbing Gym in Upland, and on weekends also out into the fi ld—to Big Bear and Malibu. Last year she went to the Grand Canyon with the boys (she holds a Wilderness First Responder Certific te which was required for the trip); she might be the fi st woman to have hiked the whole way with the guys.
who grew up in Mt. Baldy and whose family camped and
“ I was always interested in nature,” said Brenden Shue ’17 hiked. “But my outdoor experiences at Webb have opened my eyes to nature—the beauty of nature itself, how humans are affecting it, and how we can adapt to nature.” Of his Unbounded adventure in Zion, Shue said: “I couldn’t describe how beautiful it was—it’s nothing like the pictures; it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Teachers Greg Gerkin and Andy Dahlstrom also led an Unbounded excursion, entitled “Walk Out the Back Door,” which took advantage of Webb’s location right up against a 10,000 ft. mountain, Mt. San Antonio, (often referred to as Mt. Baldy), the highest peak of the San Gabriel Mountains. “The technology stayed at home,” said Gerkin of the no-phone, no-laptop rule on the 4-day, 3-night camping trip. “When you get out there, it comes down to simple human connection. We don’t need all those things.”
Shue hopes to pursue environmental studies in college. Alexis Hegelson ’16 has been enjoying rock climbing for two years. “You don’t expect that to be an after-school activity,” she said. Hegelson also grew up hiking and camping. But at Webb, she’s pushed herself further.
Gerkin went on to explain that students learn a lot of lessons in the outdoors, such as, “how do I lead a group up the mountain or how do I plan a meal for 10 people?”
“In Zion, you’re struggling outside your comfort zone,” she said. “When you’re climbing and working hard like that, it binds you together with your classmates in ways that just don’t happen in the classroom. You have to trust the person attached to your rope.”
“It can be a life-changing experience,” said Gerkin. “One student wasn’t very happy about it, but in the end he told me, ‘I can’t believe I did this, it was so worth it!’”
Helgelson ’16 also traveled to Belize with a Webb group during her sophomore year. “We were hiking in the jungle and snorkeling. [Belize has the second longest barrier reef in the world].
Webb Magazine • Fall 2016