LEWISTON, Maine — Hiking Katahdin is no easy task. It's an hours-long, strenuous climb that takes perseverance. Tree Street Youth learned what it takes when the group hiked it last weekend.
"The hike was challenging, to say the least," 15-year-old Ali Hussein said. "It felt like it was never-ending."
Tree Street staff and high school members completed the hike in 12 hours. The teens realized the journey was about far more than just the rewarding view at the top.
"It taught that you just have to trust the process. Eventually, you’re going to get where you need to be," Hussein said.
"It really makes you appreciate the experiences you have and the things that you are grateful enough to be given," 15-year-old Sophia Hinkley said.
Tree Street Youth is an organization in Lewiston that gives children a place to find their sense of belonging and understanding.
"It adds a bit of love, and everybody has some hardships in their life. Everybody’s going through something," Maiya Edwards, 14, said.
The Katahdin hike was a way to help kids learn to trust themselves and to rely on the community around them, Tree Street Youth's executive director and founder, Julie Sleeper, said.
"There’s nothing like climbing a mountain to put you like right out of that comfort zone and kind of force your learning," Sleeper said.
The hike was many of the teens' first time hiking Katahdin. While the long trek was challenging, the experience gave them an opportunity for growth.
"I think when you begin to realize you can trust yourself, but that that trust also requires you to rely on other people to keep you going, there’s a certain humility that emerges out of that type of an experience," Sleeper said. "I think when young people learn that humility, it can shift what they know their power, like the power that they have in the world."