Sharing a Love for Adventure
Every year, WTA invites photographers to share their favorite photos for our annual contest. Photographer and avid adventurer Christy Pelland shared this trail family shot during last year's contest.
Christy Pelland is an adventurer. She hikes, she skis, she even climbed Mount Rainier recently. She loves being outside, and she particularly loves to share that joy with kids.
“Kids experience the wild world with the wonder and joy it deserves. I feel like a kid in the outdoors and love seeing that spark in others,” she said.
Christy Pelland snapped this photo of her niece, Nana, on a family hike near Sunrise at Mount Rainier.
Christy, who lives in Graham, is sharing that joy through her work with SheJumps, which works to increase the participation of girls and women in outdoor activities. Christy had been a volunteer for SheJumps for four years and was hired as an employee earlier this year. She created the SheJumps Wild Skills program, which teaches girls the skills they need to have fun and be safe on outdoor adventures. The program is offered in seven regions around the country.
"Trails promise adventure. Starting out on as trail means you're going somewhere. There's no telling how it's going to turn out, but you know it's going to be fun!" —Christy Pelland
And of course, Christy is also having fun outdoors with her own family. On the trip when this photo was taken, Christy was on a hike with her two daughters and their four cousins near Sunrise in Mount Rainier National Park. After lunch, she practiced shelter building with the kids.
“They loved building forts,” Christy said. “Making sure kids are familiar with outdoor skills is important. They need to know the basics in case something ever does go wrong and you have to adjust plans. I like to slide in learning whenever possible. If the kids are having fun, they don’t even notice it’s a lesson!
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