Austin Kaseman "Noland Trail Reflection"

Walking the Noland trail the other week was a great way to change things up a bit with classes. Just like the previous class where we sat on PoSo's lawn, walking the trail helped me relax and relieve the stress of being stuck inside classrooms while there is beautiful weather outside. Our class specifically was extremely fortunate to have the fantastic weather we had. If I recall correctly, days leading up to the walk were cold, and the day after when the other class took their walk was rainy, cold, and miserable.

The walk itself was awesome. I hadn't been doing much outdoor activities leading up to the walk, so getting to spend an hour and a half on the trail, WHILE in class was a breath of fresh air. Professor Redick had me look at the forest in a new way by paying attention to minor things that I normally wouldn't notice. Learning about local vegetation and wild life was also very interesting. I took an environmental class in high school where we had learned about vegetation in Virginia and the east coast, but unfortunately I forgot most of it. Being reminded of all the material was nice.

My favorite part of the class was when we were told to walk the trail by ourselves and experience it alone. It gave time for my mind to rest and have it wonder into a peaceful, serene place for 30 minutes or so. Living in a dorm doesn't provide much alone time, so being able to walk the trail alone and be in the right mind set was very relaxing.