Spartan Jay Wilson talks about what it truly means to be a backpacker.
Jay Wilson On Far left, Photo courtesy of Reese Cochran
Each year Thomas Jefferson High School gets a new batch of students to add to the Spartan family, and this year one newcomer caught the eyes of many people with his nature loving interest in backpacking. Jay Wilson is a freshman at TJ, who balances his time backpacking with being an over-achieving student, participating in the Photo Club, and competing as an athlete in Cross Country.
Jay tells us that backpacking is a combination of hiking and camping. “It’s different; it may not seem very difficult but it’s harder than it looks. You’re walking for long periods of time and carrying a lot of weight,” said Jay. Backpackers carry anywhere from 15 to 45 pounds of gear. Most people have no clue what that might include. Backpackers carry everything they need for a trip that could range from one night to one week. This includes food, clothes, tools, and any sleeping supplies backpackers will need on the span of their trip.
“I consider myself a bit of a tree hugger,” Jay expressed. His parents familiarized Jay with nature at a young age. “My parents are very active in the nature scene; coincidently they met in a nature club at Colorado University of Boulder,” Jay said. In fourth grade Jay was taken on his first backpacking trip near Winter Park. He only went for one night, but he explained, “I had so much fun. Granted, my parents carried 85% of the weight.” Jay goes about five times per year, traveling to places like Vail, Fairplay, and The Canyon Lands National Park in Utah. Jay says, “The Canyon Lands are by far my favorite place to backpack.”
Photo Courtesy of Jay Wilson
In The Canyon Lands Jay has gone to the Maze and Needles. “Needles District is pretty amazing. The Canyon Lands in general are beautiful. It’s like another planet.” Jay and his family drive to Moab, Utah, where they start their backpacking trip from Moab to the Needle District of Canyon Lands. “We don’t go off-road or use a camper like most campers,” Jay explained. He usually backpacks with his parents, his younger brother Drew Wilson, and sometimes Chaco, their dog who resembles an Australian Sheppard.
Jay and his family are very self-sufficient when it comes to backpacking, which is why he said he enjoys it so much. “I’m completely self-sufficient; I rely completely on myself.” All food, clothing, equipment, and tools he needs for the span of his backpacking trip is in his backpack. Jay clarified, “Backpackers cannot go to the local market and grab some food they forgot. If they forget something, then it’s forgotten and they have to keep moving.” Jay’s family also makes their own dried food, which usually consists of mostly vegetables. “Though it all might taste like rice, you would eat anything after hiking a far distance,” Jay explained.
Jay also wishes to go all the way into Needles. Though his family has always been very careful, Jay says, “It’s nerve-racking, knowing I have been close to where Aaron Ralston got trapped.” Aaron Ralston is an avid mountain climber who got trapped by a boulder while day canyoneering. But that still doesn’t stop Jay from accomplishing his goals for backpacking. Jay has already climbed 9,000 feet in one day at Bison Peak. That was one of his biggest accomplishments.
Jay’s backpacking ambitions connect directly to Jay as a person, throughout his character, and how he handles obstacles that are thrown at him. Jeff Coleman, the Photojournalism teacher who also is the sponsor of Photo Club said, “Jay is a very dedicated kid who comes willing to learn.” This also sets Jay up to experience beautiful scenery and learn to capture that beauty on a camera with Coleman. “Jay has some amazing photographs; his dedication shows,” Coleman said.
Every time Jay loads up his backpack and gets into the car with his family he is preparing himself for a different life lesson. Backpacking makes Jay more mature than the average teenage boy. He has experienced being responsible in a more dangerous way. Not only does he need to be aware of his surroundings on each backpacking trip, but also he needs to show the same amount of awareness in other aspects of his life. Jay says that this is what is required of him to be successful, happy, and organized in his life.
Jay says that backpacking is connected to him being organized in his school work and being aware of his grades, as well as being connected to his teammates on Cross Country. Hiking up 9,000 feet in one-day keeps Jay fit for Cross Country. The backpacking trails are what expose Jay to such beautiful scenery where he is able to get such priceless snapshots. Backpacking is what makes Jay such a light-hearted person who is able to balance school, family, and other activities all at the same time. “Backpacking is a way to clear my mind of toxins and stress,” says Jay.
