Last Saturday I went hiking with a group of young women from Girls Inc., a non-profit located in southeast Portland that works in local schools to empower girls to be ‘Strong, Smart, and Bold.’  As we drove out to the Columbia Gorge the girls excitedly counted the cars on freight trains, and responded to my challenge to keep track of how many waterfalls they saw on the trip—the grand total was seven!

Walking up the trail towards Pony Tail Falls, followed by shouts from the back of the line ‘How far till we get there? And ‘Have we gone a mile yet?’  I remembered all the hikes I had taken with my father as a child.  He would point to a tree’s bark in the wintertime and ask ‘What’s that tree called?’ Looking at the silvery gray bark with small ridges, I would decide it was a Tulip Poplar.  At the time I thought he was teaching me about trees, but now I know he really tricked me into a constant awareness of my surroundings.  To this day I have a great sense of direction, remember street names, keep a map in my head of every place I ever visited, and love trees.  Hiking with the girls I had some more basic goals, like encouraging a sense of curiosity about the natural world, getting them to feel comfortable in the forest, and recognizing Poison Oak!

Ja’kal, Melissa, Taylor, and Whitney probably won’t remember that the Columbia Gorge was the site of the Missoula Floods, or what stinging nettle looks like, but they will remember their sense of accomplishment as they clambered around in the overhang behind Pony Tail Falls, or the cold mist rolling off of Horse Tail hitting their faces after the trek back down.  And maybe next time Melissa goes hiking she won’t be so afraid of heights, and maybe Ja’kal will convince her mother to bring her back to the Gorge and see more waterfalls, and maybe Whitney will channel her new love for science into learning the names of plants.  Whatever they do, they’ll be Strong, Smart, and Bold!

Thanks to Bonni Goldberg, and Kristin Robinson for organizing the hike and inviting me! For more information about Girls Inc. visit their website, www.girlsincnworegon.org