Jack Whitney
Wilderness Ranger Fellow
July 30-August 6, 2025
Black Butte Trail | Gospel Hump Wilderness
The fact it is August already is something else. This season passed so quickly and it feels like it's already over.
South facing view from the summit of Cha Pa Qn Peak. The final hike I did off hitch for the season.
The last hitch I was lucky to be a part of was in the Gospel Hump Wilderness on the Black Butte trail. The trail we sought to clear was about ten miles, traveling through the alpine ridges and meadows and ending with a lookout tower. Our first day was mostly the drive from Missoula to the Gospel Hump, taking about seven hours to arrive at the trailhead and work began upon arrival. We worked the first mile and settled in for the night. Day number two began and we started bumping camp up to Porcupine Meadows. Working up the ridge was challenging with a backpack with over half my body weight packed, but I felt rather sad thinking about how it would be the last time I was hiking with that much weight for the foreseeable future. We settled into camp and rode out an evening rainstorm, shivering in my worn-through rain gear until I settled into my tent for the night. For the next couple of days we worked further and further down the trail, eventually bumping camp onto the ridge and finishing the trailwork on the end of day six. On the hike out I was very fatigued but felt very proud and happy to have completed such a challenging season– perhaps being the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.
View from Porcupine Meadows in the Gospel Hump Wilderness on Black Butte Trail.
Looking back at the first hitch of the season it becomes apparent how much I have grown. The first hitch ended with me longing for the relief of civilization and it's luxuries. And by this last hitch I was honestly sad to be leaving the wilderness for the time being. I left Rhode Island in early May, scared to spend such a large amount of time in the wilderness. I leave this season confident in my ability to exist in the wild for a prolonged period of time. I left home months ago, worried about meeting new people and having new experiences, and I return with newfound friends and appreciations for what I've gone through and what lies ahead.
This summer was perhaps the most influential summer I have ever had. I have grown so much and feel as if this opportunity with SBFC has provided me with the skills I need to continue work and recreation in the wilderness. With that I am returning home soon to enjoy the simple luxuries of refrigeration and air conditioning, but I will undoubtedly look back at these moments of discomfort with admiration. And I will never forget what these wilds have provided me going forward.
Subalpine meadow on North Butte in the Gospel Hump Wilderness area.
East Greenwich, RI
University of Rhode Island- Environmental Science
Jack grew up in the suburbs of Providence, Rhode Island and had worked on organic farms in southern New England and abroad for a number of years. Having worked with poultry and livestock season after season, Jack grew to appreciate the fields of biology and environmental science. He had spent the larger part of his childhood and early adulthood exploring the White and Green Mountains to the North while also enjoying the rich Narragansett Bay coast. Jack thinks that the wilderness is an irreplaceable piece of all who seek its beauty.