Bears exploring nature

Outdoor Club embraces health and wellness while exploring western N.C. landscapes

With two campus locations in western North Carolina, Lenoir-Rhyne is within driving distance of some beautiful natural landscapes. The university’s Outdoor Club is creating opportunities for students to explore the local trails, mountains and rivers right in their own backyard.

The physical and psychological benefits of outdoor activity and time in nature are well known to researchers, including Keith Leiting, Ph.D., associate professor of health, exercise and sport science and program coordinator for the master’s in exercise science. When COVID-19 restrictions limited most campus activities in 2020-21, Leiting began organizing weekly hikes to get cooped-up undergraduates outdoors.

“I’d choose something that I’ve done before, something I feel is within student limits,” he shared, describing his process for picking those early outings.

As more students got involved, trips have become a matter of members’ preferences. Last spring’s trips included a kayaking expedition through the Biltmore Estate on the French Broad River near Asheville and a day hike exploring caves on Hibriten Mountain in Caldwell County.

In late May, Leiting led a two-day trek around the 36.2-mile Linville Gorge Loop trail, the first major hike of his life for Hagan Suchocki ’25.

“It was very intense. It’s probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” Suchocki, a nursing major, said. “I feel like I learned so much from that hiking trip, just that you can live — maybe not thrive — but live off just a tent and some food, and that’s all you really need.”

Calvin DeJarnett ’25, joined a late-June journey up the Grandfather Mountain Profile trail for the annual Firefly Festival. A business major with a long history of outdoorsmanship, DeJarnett believes anyone who walks around campus throughout the day can go backpacking, but the challenge is deciding to show up. “Just starting and deciding ‘I’m going to do this.’ That’s pretty tricky for some people,” he says.

For DeJarnett, the group dynamic makes all the difference. “People don’t think outdoor activities are as approachable as they are, but going in a group really helps. With a group, you’ve got other people encouraging you and you don’t want to bring them down, so that’s kind of pulling you along.”

In the new school year, Leiting wants to see membership and activity offerings grow to accommodate an even wider range of interests and accessibility. “We’re an outdoor club, so we’re not just hiking,” he said.

This year’s activity docket includes plans for all seasons and outdoor experience levels. A truck camping trip to Linville Gorge is in the works for November, tapping into the increasingly popular trend of campers using their personal vehicles — mainly trucks, SUVs, hatchbacks and vans — as their campsite. The club is planning a ski outing in January, and spring will bring more hiking and kayaking.

Suchocki emphasized the club is meant to open new experiences for its members, saying, “Don't be afraid to try new things that might be uncomfortable for you; they get comfortable.”

He added, “You experience so much more life when you put yourself out there, and if you're given an opportunity, take that opportunity. Whatever happens, you can look back and know you tried that.”