The Girls of GMC

To celebrate International Women’s Day this year, we wanted to highlight some of the young women and girls of the Green Mountain Club who are active hikers with big accomplishments and even bigger goals.  We can’t wait to see what they get up to next!

 

Emma Windish, 14 years old

I have always loved hiking and I grew up in the mountains. I mostly love hiking because I get to be with my dad and spend time with him. My favorite hike is Camel’s Hump because it has such a beautiful view and I get some pretty decent pictures up there. I also love that the mountain goes above treeline.

This summer my dad and I are planning a trip to hike part of the Long Trail together and I am so excited because I have been wanting to do a big hike with my dad for some time and the Long Trail is a good place to start. In between High School and College I want to hike the Appalachian Trail with my dad.

 

Brooke Marquis, 11 years old

Hiking is one of my favorite things to do along with horseback riding, hunting, and basketball. I like hiking because you get lots of exercise and it’s fun to see all the cool outlooks. One of my favorite hikes was Pisgah with my First-Grade class. We earned a reward for school and I said we should go for a hike and my teacher agreed. It was super fun. My favorite part of that hike was the summit and leading my friends and classmates to the top. Also, we hiked up Elmore Mountain and watched the fireworks from the ledge rock and hiked out in the dark.  Since then I have hiked Haystack, Moose, Wheeler, Hor, Bald, Bluff, Elmore, North Percy, Brosseau, and Perry Holbrook.  One of my goals for the future is to hike at least two mountains in the same day and hike the whole Long Trail.

 

Maxine “Pink Eagle” Walsh, 8 years old

What I like about hiking is I like that you get to see animals and I like getting to the shelters. You can rest your feet.

I like going to Mount Mansfield. I went on that trip with my cousin and my dog. We got to eat snowberries. They tasted like minty lemons. It rained, warm rain, and that was the day I finished the Long Trail. It took me 17 trips over 3 summers. It was fun. (Maxine started purposefully end-to-end hiking the Long Trail at 5 years old and finished at 7 years old.)

When I am older I will thru-hike the Long Trail.

I also like ponding at Skylight Pond.

 

Lane DiCocco, 3 years old

My name is Lane DiCocco and I’m three years old. I like to hike with Mommy, Daddy, and (baby brother) Hughie. I like to hike on the Long Trail and I like to eat all the cookies. This summer I want to hike Camel’s Hump. I like to look for bears, deer, and bunnies.

There’s not a muddy puddle in Lane’s hiking view that she hasn’t touched, and she is always asking to go outside not just to play and sled, but to hike. She went on her first hike when she was six weeks old and as a baby, she would tilt her head back to look at the trees and birds and babble the entire time, a trend that has transformed into singing about what she sees. When hiking with Lane, you will often hear lyrics such as “we’re going up the mountain and Daddy’s shirt is blue.” She tells her parents when she gets older she’s going to work at the Purple Mountain Club, be a baker, a doctor, and a mommy. Whatever she becomes, she sure is a great hiking companion now.