Wade Wisler ’27 has a passion for the outdoors and was looking for an adventure this summer. Based on the recommendation of a fraternity brother, he landed a spot with the Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) where he restores and maintains trails on public lands.

Based in Bozeman, Montana, Wisler is a part of a crew that maintains and widens trails, where needed, to meet accessibility standards for adaptive bicycles. Each two-week “hitch” consists of nine consecutive days of work, followed by five days off. The work is isolated–often in backcountry locations without cell service or running water—and most days are filled with long hikes and hard work.  

“Despite the gritty nature of the job, it’s very rewarding work,” he said. “Each day, I walk back to camp on a trail that I helped improve.”

Wisler says it’s been an awesome experience. The MCC crew has worked in places like the Big Horn and Bridger-Teton National Forests and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. While he’s become handy with a pickaxe, Wisler’s also learned the value of leadership and teamwork.

Early in the summer, his crew lead left the position, forcing Wisler and his co-workers to regroup and reorganize. He took the opportunity to manage up and fill the leadership void. Recent hitches have been smooth, efficient, and productive.

“This summer provided a good lesson in what effective leadership and communication looks like on a team,” he said. “It’s been interesting, and often challenging, to navigate crew dynamics, while learning to work and live with perfect strangers. Although by now I’d call each of them friends.”

The MCC experience has helped him accomplish two things. First, he’s always had a passion for the outdoors and the Bloomington, Indiana, native hiked and camped often growing up. He was looking for an adventure with the chance to explore lands outside of Indiana.

“I wanted to give back to the land that I had recreated on so much myself,” said Wisler, a member of the Little Giant lacrosse team. “I jumped at the opportunity to explore and do some seasonal work. I wanted to meet new and interesting people and see new places.”

This summer work has also helped his education as well, reaffirming his plans to minor in environmental studies. He’s used some of the downtime to think about the connections between people and the land.

“It has been interesting to investigate the connections,” he explained, “and how we think about the land, use it, and relate to it. These questions also bleed into larger issues that I will study as a PPE major.”

In order to use his downtime effectively, Wisler started the summer with a goal of visiting at least three national parks during the internship. He visited Badlands National Park in South Dakota at the start and accomplished the goal with visits to Yellowstone—the team repaired a trail that had been washed out in 2022 flooding--and Grand Teton National Park in mid-July, where he and a crewmate used the break from work to backpack 30 miles and summit a few peaks.

“Overall, it’s been a super-rewarding experience,” he said.