By Ethan Lee
Staff Writer
Chilling winds howled across the grand cliffs of Mount Whitney as senior Gene Naono looked down from his perch on the sunlit valley below. Naono’s first major outing with his Boy Scout troop since the beginning of the pandemic took him to the summit of the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States. The troop’s brutal yet breathtaking eight-day backpacking trip to the top marked Naono’s third time visiting the Sierra Nevadas as an experienced outdoors veteran.
Naono’s friend who participated in a local Boy Scouts troop first introduced him to scouting in July of 2017. Not long after, Naono joined Boy Scout Troop 174 of Temple City.
“We would talk about his experiences, and I thought to myself, Boy Scouts sounds really cool,” Naono said. “I’m going to make my parents search it up on Google.”
Following this Google beginning, Naono stuck with his troop and quickly became a Life Scout, and recently attained the position of Senior Patrol Leader. While his scouting troop focused on practicing discipline and improving their practical skills, the biggest activity was a monthly outdoor trip, which featured 60-mile bike rides and treks through the Sierra Nevadas.
“What made me stay was the monthly outings that my troop did,” Naono said. “We would either go hiking, car camping, or backpacking, or have a fun activity day. These monthly activity days were good bonding experiences, and I felt like I was part of a new community.”
The outings sparked new interests for Naono, bringing him up close to unfamiliar environments. These outings introduced him to a variety of new activities along the way, from practical skills like setting up tents and first aid to more passive enjoyments like stargazing.
“If I’m in the city, I have a lot of responsibilities,” Naono said. “But once I’m out there, I’m just faced with nature, and when I’m hiking the only thing I need to worry about is getting to my next campsite and having a good time without much distraction or responsibility. I’m pretty addicted to video games, so giving myself a reason to get off the computer is major.”
However, the pandemic ended the troop’s regular camping trips as they transitioned to meeting online in Zoom calls instead. After more than a year, COVID-19 restrictions finally eased up and his troop finally found time to explore the outdoors once more, starting with a backpacking trip up Mount Whitney. This trip rekindled Naono’s spirit for the outdoors.
“One of the most cherished memories in Scouting for me was just playing card games with a group of friends,” Naono said. “We’d spend hours talking and having a good time. There’s something about the intimacy of doing these small things up in the wilderness that’s amazing.”