The Big City Vs. The Bob

by Hazel Beltz, 2022 Girls in the Bob volunteer

I have known that I was a big city girl for as long as I can remember. I knew I would live in an apartment in the heart of the city, take public transportation, and work in an office building on the tippy top floor. After graduating high school, I wanted to run away to New York or Boston. I wanted to escape my small town. I wanted freedom, and to me, freedom meant the big city.

And then I went on Girls in the Bob. Everything I wanted, my whole future, turned upside down. I was where I was supposed to be. I realized I didn’t have to run so far for freedom. All I want is to be a crew leader for the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation. 

It is so therapeutic living in a tent, being off the grid, and being surrounded by a small group of like-minded individuals. I love hiking, using the different kinds of saws and the cross-cut, and I also love the challenge of figuring out where and what kind of cut will be the easiest to cut the logs. I love the best and worst parts. The joy of taking off the hot and sweaty boots at the end of the day and the freezing cold creek crossings at 7:30 in the morning. 

Thank you, Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, for helping me realize my future and providing this opportunity for me and so many others. Thank you so much, Meg and Lauren, for making this trip enjoyable and safe. Thank you, packers, for making our trip possible. Thank you to all of the girls who participated in Girls in the Bob for being so kind and silly. And finally, thank you to everyone who helped make this program available. I hope the BMWF keeps on thriving for years to come.