Members of the student Adventure Society went hiking at the 600-acre Waterworks Park in Annapolis on Friday. 

The club’s hour-long hike was the group’s second of the semester.

“The Adventure Club is trying to get people out of their comfort zone,” third-year biology student Susanne Whiteny, a club officer and one of 10 hikers who participated, said. “It’s a little scary to start [hiking] and you don’t always know what trails there are and you don’t want to get lost. So Having, like, an intro to hiking at the college is really important.”

Adventure Society President Phillip Michaels, a second-year transfer studies student, said hiking is one of the club’s “core activities” and he wants to plan more hikes this semester.

“With the winter months coming up and the temperatures changing, I thought it would be a good idea to kind of, just, fit in as many hikes as I can,” Michaels said. “People really need to sometimes get away from grades and get away from school life and just turn off their devices and get outside.”

Michaels said hiking can be a “very cathartic” experience because it can help people get to know each other.

“People are kind of forced to talk to each other because they’re walking together,” Michaels said. “Hikes are very easy [chances to socialize].”

Alejandro Aviles, a first-year mechanical trade student, agreed, saying it was “awesome” to get to know people and make new friends on the hike.

Second-year accounting student Jadyn Stough said hiking is a great way to connect with people and enjoy nature with others.

“I give [the hike] a good nine out of 10,” Stough said. “I normally like longer hikes but it was [still] fun.”

The highlight of the hike was getting to the highest point of the trail, according to Aviles. 

“Overlooking everything [and] taking everything in … it [was] a great experience,” Aviles said.

Ellery Martin, a second-year teacher education student, said the highlight of the event for her was taking a group photo.