Glossbrenner United Methodist Church held its second Glossbrenner Experiential, Adventure, Responsible - Unique Pursuits/Department of Experiential Education Programming (GEAR-UP/DEEP) backpacking trip from May 1 to 4.

The participants were Eric Boyer, David Eichler, Andrew Miller, and Jordan York, who was the first Glossbrenner Church youth member to go on the trip. Eric, Eichler, and Miller all attended the inaugural GEAR-UP/DEEP trip in July 2023, along with Alex Boyer and Glossbrenner members Pat and Steve Spence.

The group honed its land navigation skills on multiple trails, including the Black Forest Trail, which runs through parts of Lycoming, Clinton, Potter, and Tioga counties and is 42 miles in length. During their two and a half days of backpacking, the group covered approximately 10 miles in the area known as the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, which features steep ascents and descents. Participants camped along the trail for two nights, with the third night spent at the Black Forest Inn near Slate Run.

Skills learned during the trip included packing and fitting a backpack, using a topographic map, understanding one's individual physical condition, filtering and chemically treating water, cooking using camp stoves, tying knots and hitches for tarp construction, keeping a sleeping area dry and warm, and rigging a food hang to protect provisions from animals. Leave No Trace practices were used when brushing teeth and cleaning cooking implements.

As they did last year, participants read portions of "The Upper Room" and Scripture passages. Additionally, on the first night, York offered a nature-related quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, which he found in the North Carolina Outward Bound School's "Book of Readings." Of particular significance were the readings for the second day of the trip; the theme was "Source of Strength," and participants read Joshua 1:1-9, in which Joshua is charged with leading the Israelites. It was on the second day of the trip that the crew experienced significant uphill travel.

York noted that his greatest accomplishment on the excursion was learning to read a map and use a compass. He also discovered that he could walk long distances carrying an approximately 45-pound backpack, beginning when the group traversed roughly 5 mountainous miles on the first day of the trek. One particularly difficult section was the lengthy, uphill Gas Line Trail. Additional frustration occurred for York on the second day, when he was tasked with navigating and become temporarily disoriented. With some instructor intervention, he corrected his course and soon led the crew onto the correct trail.