In rural Idaho, a group of elementary-aged children on the Nez Perce [NEZ purse] reservation organized a summer hiking club. The kids say they like the exercise, seeing animals, and getting to spend time with their friends. N-W-P-B’s Rachel Sun reports from the Fire Trail in Lapwai [LAP-way].
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[sound bed of kids talking]

It’s around 830 in the morning when a group of children — all between the ages of eight and eleven — pause on their hike. They’re going up the steep hill that overlooks the town of Lapwai, Idaho.

They settle into the dry grass and gaze out at the expansive valley across from them. Some of them chat about school, life, and video games. 

SPEAS “...I have Modern Warfare 3, not Black Ops 3. Modern Warfare 3 is way better.”
OTHER CHILD “Really, bro”
SPEAS “Yes, bro.”

Nine-year-old Vic Holt is busy exploring, and finds a feather on the ground. 

VIC HOLT “Looks like a hawk feather. …  I'm gonna see if there’s any more.”

He affixes that feather in his hair, then finds a stone with the perfect little indent to.... 

VIC HOLT “ Put my thumb in there. Boom. Thumb hole. That's cool.”

When Vic’s dad, James Holt, joins them at their lookout spot, the kids listen as he points out landmarks and tells stories. 

JAMES “ So the community sweat lodge would be right there in those trees, right in the middle of those trees down there …”
KID How do they make the sweat lodge”
JAMES “We use willows that grow along the creek bottom there. We use willows 'cause they c- they're really bendy 'cause they're full of water. And willows is something that the Beaver gave us, like, thousands of years ago.  So we use those willow branches.”
This kind of exploration and play isn’t just fun. It also serves an important developmental role. 

Research has linked outdoor play with benefits for children including increased confidence, enhanced mental health, social competence, anxiety prevention, and creativity. 

While his dad talks with other kids, Vic wanders down to look at the hill below.

VIC HOLT “ I see something and I can’t unsee it.” 
OTHER CHILD “What is it”
VIC “In the grass…”

He’s looking at clumps of green brush that’s poking out of the yellow grass. It looks kind of like a face.

VIC HOLT “ I see the head right there. Then the glasses …  I can't see any hair, so I think he's bald.”

Getting up early to hike a steep hill on a hot summer day might not be what most grown-ups expect their children to do during summer break. But this group has made a regular habit of it. 

It’s gotten the attention of other community members, too. When some other hikers pass the boys, one makes a point to give the group’s founder, 11-year-old Quentin “Q” Long Fox, a first bump.

TAUSHINA RAINBOW WILSON “Some people in the community have been calling these kids the Fire Trail Warriors. Which I think they like.”

That’s Q’s mom, Taushina Rainbow Wilson. Taushina says Q has been going on hikes with her since he was so little that she needed to carry him on her shoulders. Q says he likes seeing animals like rabbits and deer, and that being outdoors makes him feel calm.

QUENTIN LONG FOX “ They’re just really fun to go out and hike with other people …  not being on a screen.”

Q’s friend, eleven-year-old Hudson Speas, says he likes the exercise, and that…

SPEAS “I  think it's fun, and it, like, brings all of us together so we can talk about things that most of us wouldn't talk about around other people.”

The kids say they don’t really know why everyone is so interested in their hike club. But James Holt says people in town have never see n something like this before.

JAMES HOLT “Just to have them empower each other to do it is an amazing thing. And I think that's really what galvanized it for the community. Seeing them empower themselves, volunteer and want to do it. The want — that’s good.”

[nat sound trail crunch]

Reporting from the Fire Trail in Lapwai, Idaho, I’m Rachel Sun.

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