Soggy socks and strong spirits: Lessons from the backcountry

** This is the first installment of a three-part feature following Onward and Upward’s 8-day summer backpacking expedition in Alaska’s Hatcher Pass. The series explores the challenges, humor, and growth of a group of teens who set out as strangers and return as something more...

Fledglings at the trailhead

The students formed a hesitant ring in the school yard of the challenge course at Burchell High School. Through the morning air came the piercing cry of an osprey, the sound drifting down upon us, so loud we couldn’t ignore. Far above, two great birds moved in slow, deliberate spirals, their wings catching the light of the partly cloudy morning. This is the season that ospreys watch over their young as they test out their wings for the first time, yet even though they are learning to fly they still rely on their parents to watch, to guide, to bring them food, and protect them from predators.

I felt a pull on the thread between their world and ours. It struck me how their work mirrored ours, how our students were in the same season of life as the young Osprey. Like the ospreys, we, too, were about to lead fledglings into the wild unknown, letting them test their wings in the backcountry. Our job was to teach our group of teens skills that would not only allow them to survive, but flourish in our world after the expedition in the backcountry. Students when facing the challenges ahead would learn perseverance, resilience, and the quiet confidence of self-reliance. Our hope at Onward and Upward is these lessons seed into their paths ahead, not just the path we were about to lead them.

Around me, a loose circle formed, new hiking boots scuffed the dirt, nervous looks darted to and fro. “Alright, you’ve already accepted the challenge of an eight day backpacking trip. Now let’s imagine some things you might face out there.” The lesson was the challenge by choice circle, a foundational tool at Onward & Upward.

I explained the three zones: comfort, stretch, and panic; handing the students a useful map to their own minds, a language to communicate their needs as they faced challenges throughout the week. The stretch zone is where we grow; the panic zone, where we freeze; the comfort zone, where we feel safe.

Then came one of the many challenging scenarios they would encounter throughout the week. “How do you feel about having to wear soggy socks?” I stated this scenario with a grin.

Without hesitation, Lamar Roberts, who we’d know as “Mar Mar, strode far beyond the panic circle, his boots scrambling to get as far away from the circle as he could..

We all laughed. “Why so far?”

He replied, grinning. “There’s no way I will ever like wearing soggy socks. Nope. Never. Soggy socks are way outside my comfort zone!”

The circle erupted. It was the first crack in our group’s cautious silence, the first glimpse of Mar Mar’s humor that would carry us through storms, steep climbs, and the kind of trail days when dry socks feel like a luxury reserved for someone lucky.

Later in the day, when the group came together, laughing and getting to know one another as a team they chose to name themselves the Super Soggy Socks, something about that name seemed perfect as it would be our truth for the next 8 days.

That night at the Kellogg farm our base camp; after a day spent learning the skills we needed for the backcountry: our tent set ups, foot care and sock management done , sleeping systems figured out, staying warm, staying dry, using the bathroom, and a lesson in backcountry hygiene; a lightning storm rolled in. Bolts split the sky, branching like electric roots across the darkened gray clouds. Twenty-eight heartbeats later, the low growl of thunder followed, a rare sound in Alaska. It felt like a warning, or perhaps a promise, of the storms and excitement still ahead, it was an opportunity to teach the students our lightning protocol which delayed their ability to go to bed that night. The electricity in the air from the lighting parallels our electric anticipation and excitement for our backpacking expedition.

Also as rare as thunder, was the opportunity for us to disengage from our day to day routine realities, to go off grid of our phones and social media accounts, to embark on an expedition, not only into the backcountry of Hatchers Pass, but into the backcountry of our minds.

That night, as the wind and rain rattled our tents, we clung to the small comfort of dry socks. None of us yet knew how much harder the backcountry was about to test us.

Look for next week's article: After their first soggy steps, the Super Soggy Socks face something they were unable to avoid in the Alaskan backcountry: storms. Relentless rain, wind strong enough to bow tents, and morale pushed to the breaking point. But just when spirits seem ready to collapse... Don’t miss the next installment as Onward and Upward’s backpacking adventure continues in next week's article.

Onward and Upward's 8 day backpacking Expedition ran from July-31st through August 7, 2025 The expedition offered an unforgettable blend of outdoor education, leadership training and wilderness exploration. To learn more about Onward & Upward’s wide range of One Health-based programs that promote resilience, identity, and wellness in Alaska’s youth, visit our website onwardandupward.org/contact or call 1-907-745-ONUP (6687)

Russell Clark, retired Alaska educator and Curriculum Specialist at Onward & Upward who is helping to guide the next generation through Onward & Upward’s adventure programs.