Associate dean communes with nature
on backpacking trails

Kelly Black and Boy Scout Chaikan Inboon backpack near Selden Pass on the John Muir trail.

by Kim Airoso

Kelly Black is never far from the outdoors. With a John Muir quote on the wall and a screen saver depicting nature on his computer, his office reminds him of trails he has taken.

The associate dean of the Sid Craig School of Business is very much a backpacking enthusiast.

A lifelong passion, backpacking reminds Black of his youth. "I started as a Boy Scout when I was 12, in the deserts and mountains of Arizona where I grew up," Black said.

Black spends most summers backpacking. He usually takes five or six trips a year; they can range up to a week or more in length. He loves the Sierra Nevada, the "range of light."

"Over the summer I'm very likely to be on the John Muir Trail. It's a wonderful experience. I feel closer to God, I feel a spirituality; I feel part of nature," Black said.

Black has backpacked to places in and out of the U.S. He has traveled as far as the summit of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. He also has ascended volcanoes in Mexico, climbed to the top of Mt. Shasta and reached the summit of Mt. Whitney. He has even backpacked on the Resurrection Trail in Alaska.

Even though he's not a cliff climber, Black is willing to test his endurance on any trail he can tackle in a pair of boots, occasionally aided by an ice ax and a pair of crampons.

During backpacking trips, Black limits his supplies, since he has to carry everything on his back. With a single shirt, oatmeal and dehydrated foods, a water purifier, and only the necessities, he is ready to go. "I eat very poorly in the mountains. The older I get the less I can carry. Backpackers have to carry things that are lightweight or do without," said Black.

Although the intrepid backpacker has encountered several black bears, he has never had a threatening encounter with any animals on the trail. As long as he follows the rules and regulations of the Forest Service, he has no problems, said Black. "Go to the mountains for safety, if for no other reason," said Black.

Waterfalls, snow-capped mountain peaks, and the alpenglow of high altitude sunsets are all things that Black has experienced while backpacking. "When you get to the top of a pass or the top of a peak, you just drink it in. There's the whole world below you and all around you. You can't photograph it, because exhilaration does not get recorded on film. Only in your memory can you see it clearly," Black said.

Black also likes to devote time to the Boy Scouts. He has been a scout master and an assistant scout master with boys of four different ethnicities in five different countries: Somalia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the U.S.

Black is also a member of the Sierra Club. When he retires, he would like to devote some of his time to the John Muir National Historic site.

"Backpacking is so satisfying to me. Everyone has his or her own hobby. For me, it's the thrill of being at high altitude and four days from the nearest road. There I can get the good tidings of the mountains, and receive a new injection of nature's peace," Black said.

Back to University Journal, 7/20/98 Issue