Great Falls City Wide Youth Summer Hike

On Saturday, August 5, 2017, 22 people from Great Falls traveled to Bench Mark, west of Augusta, for a day in the mountains. It was one of the few cool/rainy days of summer. Participating were 14 youth and 8 adults from four Great Falls parishes: St. Ann’s, Our Lady of Lourdes, Holy Spirit and Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel on Malmstrom Air Force Base.

We started the day hiking 5 miles on the Crown Mountain Trail where we slowly assented into the clouds. We stopped along the trail to share bible verses about wilderness and nature. The group ate lunch at the top of the mountain in the mist of the clouds. On our way down the mountain, it was evident we were sharing the mountain with a bear, as the odor was very strong. Luckily, we did not encounter the bear.

Then we headed to Wood Lake where a few of the youth swam in the frigid waters. We cooked hotdogs and marshmallows on camp stoves because the fire restrictions did not allow us to build a fire. After dinner, we drove to Double Falls on Ford Creek where we spent an hour climbing around and enjoying the waterfall.

A special thank you to Central Catholic High School for the use of their bus, our bus driver, Mike Nichol, Father Garrett Nelson and Kelli & Christian Rohloff for leading the hike, Youth Ministers Georgia Miller and Mary Jo Stebbins for planning the special day. Additional chaperones Avery & Alyssa, and the extremely well behaved youth. Even though the youth went to different schools and ranged in age from 6th – 12th grade, they interacted so well together.