Photos Courtesy of Lily Muhlbaum
When Lily Mulhbaum found out her last summer as a camper at Aloha Camp in Vermont was canceled because of COVID-19, she knew she had to find another way to connect with nature.
Growing up, Lily spent many summers enjoying nature in Vermont, which is where she first heard about the Long Trail, the oldest long-distance trail in the US. The Long Trail runs 272 miles, the length of the state. With canceled plans and a drive to challenge herself, she decided this summer seemed like the perfect time to hike it.
“I wanted to do something independently. I’ve been home so much and with my parents all the time. I was excited to do something on my own.” Lily’s school has been remote since the spring and will start remotely this fall, so this felt like a great way to get out and use this uncertain time to do something different.
The current movements and conversations around racial justice inspired Lily to think about the inequities in access to nature. Lily, president of her school’s environmental organization and founder of the young activists club, knew that she wanted to tie her trip to a cause and find a way to give back.
“What greatly troubles me is that the communities that suffer the most from environmental inequities are almost never the ones who created the problem in the first place. This injustice makes me eager to help support and raise awareness for those communities. They are already hard at work to improve their situation, but the more voices that speak up about these inequities, the better.”
Lily identified the commonalities between her passion for environmental justice and the work the Sierra Club is doing, and together with her mother, Liz, set up a fundraising page with Team Sierra. Liz shared updates via social media while Lily was out along the trail. Lily noted that people were really receptive to supporting her once they saw that she was really out there, muddy feet and all, hiking along. Lily has raised over $10,000!
An experienced backpacker through her summer camp and past National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) trip, Lily was able to get her parents on board with the plan pretty easily. The logistical planning, however, wasn’t so easy. “In a way, it was harder than the actual trek.” Lily employed friends and family, supplies in tow, to meet her along the trail for the overnights and some days of hiking. Monitoring the ever-changing COVID travel restrictions both in and out of Vermont added another layer of coordination.
Lily knew that she wanted to take on the trek independently but also recognized the need for connection, especially during this time. “Normally, you can meet a lot of people on the trail, but because of COVID, I didn’t want to engage with a lot of people.”
The days she hiked alone brought her peace and that sense of independence she was looking for. Lily’s trip highlight “was being the only person on top of Mount Mansfield, Vermont’s highest mountain. I’d spent the day hiking solo up steep, challenging, and exposed terrain. At the summit, I encountered a crowd of tourists who had driven most of the way up. A burst of rain sent them back to their cars and allowed me to have this special moment and beautiful views all to myself.”
So, what’s next for Lily now that her feet are rested and her trail clothes are laundered? As she enters her junior year of high school remotely, Lily’s priority this fall is to find a way to stay connected to both other people and to nature. Come the spring, she’ll be doing a semester of high school at The Mountain School in Vermont, where she’ll have the opportunity to learn and work in a collaborative community on a farm. If all goes to plan, she’ll make her return to summer camp next year as a counselor in training, inspiring a new generation of kids to fall in love with the environment.
As Lily continues to inspire us all with her activism and passion for the environment, she encourages everyone to find their own way to connect and advocate for environmental justice. “I felt so fortunate to enjoy the beautiful and unpolluted Green Mountains. My experience reinforced my passion for environmental justice so that all people can live in a healthy environment, whether in their daily life or seeking an outdoor adventure. I know plenty of people share this goal, and I encourage them to find their own way to help. They don’t have to hike 272 miles!”