Outdoor Guide 2016

The Auburn Plainsman Thursday, March 31, 2016

Outdoor Guide

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The Auburn Plainsman: Outdoor Guide

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Thursday, March 31, 2016

The Auburn Plainsman 255 Heisman Drive, Suite 1111, AU Student Center Auburn, AL 36849 Newsroom - (334) 844-9108 Advertising - (334) 844-9101

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The Auburn Plainsman: Outdoor Guide

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Find out how to reach heights with the climbing club Drive through and experience an African safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia

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Cast a line with the Auburn University Bass Fishing Team

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Learn about Auburn Outdoors student leaders

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The Auburn Plainsman: Outdoor Guide

Thursday, March 31, 2016 Grayson Temple

g n i b m i l to new heights C

INTRIGUE WRITER

Two weeks ago, the Auburn Climbing Club officially became a club team.

It started this semester and has gone to competitions throughout the Southeast, including regionals.

The idea originated last semester when people from Auburn Outdoors, an adventure-based education program at Auburn, realized there was a growing community of climbers at the Recreation and Wellness Center.

That idea came to fruition this semester as the club was officially established.

The climbing club members have a designated practice time when only members of the club can practice twice per week for one hour at a time at the wall at the rec center.

Competition season is approximately six weeks, between February and March.

During that time, the club has access to the wall for 90 minutes after it closes.

Members compete at three levels in competitions: beginner, intermediate and advanced. Competitions this season have been hosted by UAB, the University of Alabama and Auburn.

The club consists of 24 boys and five girls. Randy Fawcett, freshman in mechanical engineering and coach, organizes workouts for the team.

“I’ve taught clinics, but it’s mostly writing up workouts and facilitating how people do them,” Fawcett said.

Fawcett started climbing when he was 8 years old at a gym in northern Virginia.

He said people were not used to someone at his level when he first started at Auburn.

Andrew Denard, junior in industrial engineering, started climbing when he came to Auburn. He said a friend got him into the sport, and he began his climbing career at the Recreation and Wellness Center. Denard now competes with the club.

Three team members competed in regionals Saturday, March 26.

Allen Clements, graduate student in geology, took fifth place in speed climbing. Nick Harbin, senior in biochemistry, placed third in sport climbing, and Fawcett placed third in bouldering.

According to Fawcett, the team has seen improvement this spring semester and is expecting to grow in the coming years.

“I think one of the biggest things that all of the officers would agree on is that we want a stronger climbing community,” Fawcett said. “Prior to starting the club, it was just a bunch of people who climb the wall.”

They said they hope to improve in competition, better themselves as climbers and see the climbing community grow here at Auburn.

They believe having a club will help instigate the growth of the climbing community on campus.

Students organize club team

CONTRIBUTED BY FOSTER DENNEY

Foster Denney, sophomore in environmental design and Auburn Climbing Club member, grabs a hold of a large boulder.The club competes both indoors and outdoors.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

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The Auburn Plainsman: Outdoor Guide

Thursday, March 31, 2016

CONTRIBUTED BY NICK HAMMOND

Eight Auburn students went on a western United States road trip to see the Grand Canyon.

Gaining a grand worldview

Emily Esleck

MANAGING EDITOR

Whether it’s going abroad or exploring a different part of the United States, traveling can help shape an individual and teach them more about different ways of life.

Some students at Auburn such as Nick Hammond, sophomore in polymer and fiber engineering, and Bryan Cook, junior in industrial and systems engineering, used their spring break to travel.

Hammond and his roommate Cook went on an approximately $300 per person western United States road trip with six of their friends.

He said they shoved tents, bags and gear in a Honda Pilot and took off at 4 p.m. after class to Louisiana the Friday spring break started.

The group planned to camp in Louisiana, but after flooding held them back, a motel became their temporary destination.

The next day, they hopped into the Honda Civic, the other car in the caravan, and made their way to Waco, Texas.

They ate lunch at Torchy’s Tacos, which proved to have “life-changing” queso dip, according to Hammond. The next stop was Dallas, Texas, on the way to Big Bend National Park, which borders Mexico.

They camped by a lake outside of Dallas, which Hammond said was pretty but a terrible

oversight, since there are increased amounts of dew near bodies of water.

“So all of our stuff got soaked that first night, which was just super fun when we figured that out the next morning,” Hammond said.

After camping outside the national park, he said they crossed the Rio Grande and traveled along the Mexican border to El Paso, Texas.

They voyaged on to the Grand Canyon, the main attraction of the trip, according to Cook, where Hammond said they saw the sun set over the vast twists and turns of the landmark.

The 28-degree weather didn’t stop the road trippers as they got up at 5:40 a.m. to see the sun rise, according to Hammond.

Leaving Arizona, they went back to Waco to visit friends at Baylor University and stayed in a house in Dallas using Airbnb, a website for people to find, rent and list lodging. “(It) was ideal, because we needed to sleep in not a campsite before we drove 13 hours back,” Hammond said.

According to Hammond, Cook planned most of the trip.

Cook said he used Furkot, a travel planning website, to see what routes to take, where to plan to camp and where to stop on the way to the Grand Canyon. The idea to road trip came up over fall break last semester, and Cook said he gradually planned it from there.

CONTRIBUTED BY SAM PRICE

An Indian woman cuts fruit in a marketplace. Sam Price went to India for five months last spring.

The spring breakers ended up spending a total of 73 hours in a car.

However, some students such as Sam Price, senior in interdisiplinary studies, take their travels outside the country.

Price went to India for five months last spring to study how music affects nomadic cultures.

“At least from more of an indigenous culture’s perspective, they see this as a way of tuning into the natural world and tuning into ourselves,” Price said. “Like a drum beat represents a heartbeat.”

The first three months he lived with an In-

dian family teaching music and yoga classes.

The following two months were spent traveling, exploring and learning more about Baul, an indigenous culture that sees music as a key element of its spirituality. Price said by being in India, for the first time he knew how it felt to be the minority.

Traveling is important, according to Price, and he recommends travelers immerse themselves while traveling to get a better global understanding of the world.

“I would really suggest getting connected with people that live a daily life in that culture, and live with them,” Price said.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

The Auburn Plainsman: Outdoor Guide

Off the hook: Bass fishing team ranks third nationally

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Ben Ruffin

INTRIGUE WRITER

Every spring, the softball and baseball teams take to their diamonds. However, those are not the only teams vying for a national title berth in the spring.

Floating on a boat with a fishing pole in hand each spring, the Auburn University Bass Fishing Team looks for the same thing every Auburn team looks for at the start of the season: a national title berth and victory.

Although the team is not officially a team, but a club, it goes through similar processes as other sports when it comes to trying out and earning playing time, or fishing time, in this case.

“We don’t have scholarships that I know of, or at least not yet, so essentially it’s just a club, and you go and sign up for it,” said Chad Matthews, freshman in fisheries and angler.

“However, at the beginning of the season, we have five qualifiers, and you fish those qualifiers. And each qualifier, depending on what place you come in, you earn a certain number of points.”

An angler is a fisher who uses a hook and line.

Following the five qualifiers, the club coach takes the top 12 fishermen to the large national tournaments usually sponsored by BoatUS, the Bass Angler Sportsman Society or the FLW College Series, exposing the fishermen to a wide variety of tournament types and conditions.

In a big fish tournament, anglers are allowed to catch as many fish as they want and keep the biggest one, releasing the others before returning to the dock to weigh in. In this type of tournament, having the biggest fish usually means going home with quite the payday.

“If you have the biggest fish, you can end up winning a cash prize or a boat or something of that sort depending on the sponsors for that tournament,” Matthews said.

However, in a typical tournament, there is a five-fish limit. In other words, anglers are al-

lowed to catch as many fish as they like but are only allowed by rule to bring in the five biggest fish to weigh in.

At the end of the tournament, anglers add up all of their weights, and whoever has the most weight wins.

In these tournaments, fishing usually begins at “safelight,” or when the sun comes up, and ends around 3 p.m. as the anglers return for the final weigh-in of the day.

While the team has sponsors in most areas such as reel sponsors, rod sponsors and clothing sponsors, it does not mean they receive merchandise like the football or basketball team. Instead, most of the supplies traveled to Auburn with the angler.

“As far as boats go, most people bring them from home,” Matthews said. “It’s really just whatever you can bring from back home.”

Seeing as Auburn does not give scholarships for fishing, one would think schools that offer full-ride fishing scholarships would easily outfish the rest of the pack.

However, according to Murphy Klumpp, senior in marketing and Auburn angler, the scholarship side of fishing has evened out over the last few years.

“In the years past, yes, scholarships made a big difference,” Klumpp said. “But as of right now, no, it doesn’t make a difference. Since everyone has teams, it really doesn’t make a difference because everyone brings in their top guys. You know if you want to fish in college, you’re going to pursue it 100 percent.”

Ranked third nationally in collegiate fish-

CONTRIBUTED BY CHAD MATTHEWS

TOP: Auston Wingard (left), senior in civil engineering, and Chad Matthews (right) compete at the Carhartt College Southern Regional. BOTTOM: Three Auburn couples teams place in the top 30 of the regional.

ing, the Auburn University Bass Fishing Team doesn’t let scholarships affect it, as it dominated the field a number of times this year, according to Matthews and Klumpp.

“We have remained dominant,” Klumpp

said. “We have been a pretty good team for the past five years or so, and I think it’s going to continue that way with the guys we have currently and who is going to be coming up and coming into school soon.”

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The Auburn Plainsman: Outdoor Guide

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Take a drive on the wild side Lily Jackson

COMMUNITY WRITER

For students wanting a sabbatical away from the hustle of Auburn, Wild Animal Safari awaits with more than 65 types of exotic animals who are ready to eat treats directly from human hands.

Located just 45 minutes away in Pine Mountain, Georgia, the 3.5-mile drive-thru safari was obtained by Wild Animal Safari Park in 2005.

Kylie Deese, head keeper, started at the safari three years ago during her senior year at LaGrange College.

According to Deese, the park is split

into two venues: drive-thru and walkabout.

Free-roaming animals are the stars of the drive-thru venue. Zebras, giraffes, bison, elk, emus and deer roam through 250 acres, anticipating treats from visiting cars.

“It’s more interactive with the animals than normal zoos,” Deese said. “Usually you would walk around and view the animals in their enclosures [at a normal zoo].

You are unable to interact with them, touch them and feed them.”

The walk-about venue features primates and predators. These animals are contained for safety reasons, Deese said.

ELLEN JACKSON / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Zebras, rhinoceros, water buffalos and giraffes are some of the animals found in the safari.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

The Auburn Plainsman: Outdoor Guide

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The Auburn Plainsman: Outdoor Guide

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Different organizations help students hit the rapids Rachel Sprouse CAMPUS WRITER

CONTRIBUTED BY THE OUTDOOR ADVENTURE CLUB

TOP: Students can go on kayaking trips through Auburn organizations.

MIDDLE: A group of students whitewater kayak in the Nantahala River in North Carolina.

BOTTOM: Two kayaks float in a river during a kayaking trip in spring 2013.

If you’ve ever wanted to try whitewater paddling, kayaking or head out to open waters, there are multiple clubs on Auburn’s campus that will let you paddle along with them.

One club, the Outdoor Adventure Club, allows students to go on different outdoor adventures each week, such as kayaking, mountain biking and whitewater rafting.

Cory Garfunkel, senior in physics and president of the OAC, said the club tries to go kayaking at least once a semester. The club has a whitewater kayaking and mountain biking trip planned for the weekend of April 8, where students will kayak the Nantahala River in North Carolina.

“We usually don’t [have] a huge number [of people] kayaking, but we tend to grab 10–15 at least each time,” Garfunkel said.

Garfunkel has kayaked in the Coosa River with the club and said it was relaxing.

“It’s a good beginner river,” Garfunkel said. “It’s not very intense [or has] Class 3 or 4 rapids.”

The OAC also puts on a whitewater rafting trip each fall. Brianna Sanguily, senior in biomedical sciences and vice president of OAC, said they go up to the Ocoee River in Tennessee for the trip.

“We usually have about anywhere from 40–50 students go on that trip,” Sanguily said. “I’ve been going every year.”

Sanguily said she thinks whitewater rafting is an exciting sport but not one involving too much danger.

“It’s an adrenaline rush,” Sanguily said. “But it’s not something that, especially with the guides that we go with and how experienced they are, it’s not something that you feel like you’re really going to be put in danger.”

Garfunkel said all of the trips

planned by the club are beginnerfriendly.

“That’s one of the things that we try to stress on all of our trips is anyone can do it,” Garfunkel said. “We don’t have you just jump right in and do intense stuff right away because that automatically excludes a lot of people.”

The Whitewater Paddling Club allows Auburn students to navigate whitewater and learn how to paddle a kayak. Leaders in the group teach others how to use the kayak and how to navigate in the water, but other options such as rafts, open canoes and stand-up paddle boards are also available.

Devarshi Shah, graduate student in chemical engineering, first started kayaking at an event put on by Auburn InterConnect.

He said he first kayaked in Coosa, Alabama, and has kept up with it for the past year.

“I’m still learning a lot,” Shah said.

Shah found the club on AUinvolve and said he tries to attend some of its events when he can.

Shah said to go with some friends or a pre-established group such as Auburn InterConnect or Auburn Outdoors because trying kayaking for the first time might be scary for some.

“They have some really good, experienced people who can guide them and take care of them,” Shah said. “(Auburn InterConnect) also [has] really good people who are knowledgeable people with them, and they can help you a lot if you want to try.”

The OAC meets on the first Monday of every month in Parker Hall 307 at 6:30 p.m.

For more information, find Auburn Outdoors, the Whitewater Paddling Club or Auburn InterConnect on AUinvolve for a complete list of events and contact information.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

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The Auburn Plainsman: Outdoor Guide

Get to know Auburn Outdoors leadership

CONTRIBUTED BY AUBURN OUTDOORS

Girls on the fall break trip led by Kelly Hyder (third from left) sit in front of mountains along the Appalachian Trail.

Rachel Williams INTRIGUE WRITER

Auburn Outdoors, created in fall 2013 with the opening of the Recreation and Wellness Center, has passionate and inspiring student workers, and the best of the bunch take the extra step to become trip leaders.

AO is an on-campus organization that organizes and provides outdoors trips for students. Trips can be weeklong or just day trips.

The Plainsman met with four of the student leaders, getting to know more about the program, their skills and interests and Q: What made you want to become a trip leader?

KH: You want to get people excited about this stuff. That’s what we do day to day, but trip leaders get to take it one step further.

TG: There’s nothing cooler than seeing people figure something out for the first time.

There’s a lot of people at Auburn who never leave Auburn, and there’s stuff so close that you can go do.

Q: How did you become a trip leader? Can you describe the process or the training?

RH: It’s becoming more structured. There’s Trip Leader Training trips.

TG: They teach you the basics, how to identify people, study emotions and personalities.

Q: What time of year are trips offered to students?

the outdoors.

Malia Duggan, senior in general science education, has been a trip leader for two years.

Tres Gregg, senior in fisheries, has been leading trips for one year and working at AO for a year and a half.

Rachel Hinlo, senior in biomedical sciences, has been working at AO since it first opened.

She has been a trip leader for two years.

Kelly Hyder, senior in industrial engineering, worked at AO for a year and a half before beginning to lead trips last semester.

Duggan led whitewater rafting trips on both the Chatahooch-

MD: Extended trips happen on all of the school breaks.

RH: The climbing trips are usually just day trips. We leave on a Sunday morning and come back that night.

TG: Some trips are just an afternoon to Lake Martin or nearby.

Q: What is your favorite trip memory?

TG: At the end of the kayaking trip, we were just sitting around, and the sun was setting — a huge red ball — and there was a huge rainbow coming out of the clouds. Nobody said anything. We just sat there, and that was the coolest thing I’ve experienced. No photos. We just watched it all in the moment.

Q: Is outdoor leadership part of your career plan?

MD: I’m applying to graduate school. I’m hoping to work in outdoor education.

ee and Ocoee Rivers, as well as a sea kayaking trip in Florida.

She will lead sunset kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding on Lake Martin this semester.

Hinlo led various caving, climbing and bouldering trips in Georgia and Alabama. She also led an extended backpacking trip over fall break.

Hyder led a backpacking trip in Virginia on part of the Appalachian Trail.

Gregg has led a bouldering trip, as well as several bike trips.

Both Hinlo and Duggan have pursued extra Wilderness First Aid or EMT certifications on their own — adding to their outdoor knowledge and versatility.

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