From the snowy ski slopes of Boyne Highlands to the picturesque hiking trails of Aspen Mountain, sophomore student Lyndsay Werkema has filled her life with expeditions full of spontaneous adventure.

Throughout the course of her life, Lyndsay has looked on the brighter side of things, turning everyday activities into an excuse to be active and adventurous. From a young age, she has been an avid skier and snowboarder. Because of a great family interest in snow sports, she and her family have traveled to various mountains including: Snowbird, Park City, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper, Snowmass, Deer Valley, and soon Whistler. Ev
en when there’s no snow, Lyndsay still enjoys heading to her favorite mountains and hiking up the scenic trails.

“One time me and my family were at Aspen Mountain in Colorado,” Lyndsay said. “We took the gondola up the mountain, and the plan was to hike back down. Once we got to the top and began hiking, we ended up getting lost, and it took us a lot longer to get back down. We found this zig-zaggy route and it turned into a fun little adventure.”

Lyndsay’s love and passion for hiking, being active, and learning new things has brought her to her next adventure: traveling out west for 2 weeks this summer with David Buth’s Summer Journey program.

According to Lyndsay, one of the things she is most looking forward to is being able to plan the trip herself and use her own input. On vacations she has taken with her family, it’s usually her parents that do the planning; on this trip, however, she gets a say in where she wants to go and what she wants to do.

“On this trip, we are hitting almost every place I have ever wanted to go,” Lyndsay said. “There are places that are perfect for hiking and conquering, and although it will be challenging, I am just beyond excited to experience it.”

One of the challenges she hopes to conquer this summer is the Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. Currently, her leader is still working on getting the permits to hike it, but it is a rocky hike up that she wants to achieve.

Another plan for the summer trip is a 3 day backpacking expedition. Lyndsay has said that she has never been backpacking for that long before, and she is beyond thrilled to do it.

“I’m ready to experience myself in nature without any technology or distractions,” Lyndsay said. “Just the fact that we are going to be out there for 3 days, only surviving on the few things that we brought seems so exciting.”

And not only is she looking forward to the adventurous portion of the trip, she is also looking forward to the artistic and simplistic beauty of everything around her.

“I love to take pictures,” Lyndsay said. “I don’t have my own camera, but I like to bring my mom’s with me a lot because I love taking pictures of pure nature and memorable moments with friends.”

Over spring break one year, Lyndsay went to Hawaii, and she captured beautiful images of the striking blue waters and the sharp and daring cliffs. She said she loves to capture the important moments of life and edit the lighting and effects of the pictures.

“One morning, me and my family woke up at 2am and drove to the top of a volcano to watch sunset,” Lyndsay said. “I got so many amazing pictures from that trip. We also took a van to the jungle and got to explore and swim.”

Lyndsay’s hobby of photography began when she took pictures of riders at her barn. For one of her competitions, she brought her camera and began taking pictures of the barn and horses inside.

“I took a lot of pictures of my friends at horse shows and then I had people tell me how good they actually were,” Lyndsay said. “When I went out west I took my camera with and took so many pictures. Pictures capture so many memories and help you look back on all of the fun you had.”

Last year, Lyndsay and her horse, Buddy, competed and won many different circuits. Some of her titles include, Overall Children Hunter Champion and Overall Equitation Champion .

According to one of Lyndsay’s friends whom she met horseback riding, sophomore Megan James, Lyndsay has another talent that not many people know about.

“Lyndsay is talented in so many different aspects,” Megan said. “One thing in specific is that she is a very good painter. Not very many people know it at first, but she is very good at it and I think she enjoys it as well.”

Megan also said that the one word she would use to describe Lyndsay is adventurous. For one of her birthday parties, they went up to Boyne and ended up hiking and riding horses around the mountain.

Lyndsay said that she can contribute her love for adventure to her grandpa. And although she likes going out and spending time doing things that she enjoys, she also has a knack for helping others.

“My grandpa is definitly my biggest mentor. He lived in Colorado and was one of the most active people I have ever known,” Lyndsay said. “The summer before he died was still packed full of crazy bike races and he just lived his life to the fullest. He still really inspires me today. ”

Lyndsay also said that her grandpa helped The Warm Hearts Foundation by building water wells in Africa. As often as she can, Lyndsay tries to follow in her grandpa’s footsteps by being nice, kind, and helpful to as many people as she can.

“[One thing about Lyndsay is that she is] very kind, adventurous and funny,” Megan said. “[She is always willing] to go on random little excursions and try new things.”

Lyndsay’s adventurous and happy personality has impacted the lives of so many people. Her future is sure to hold an active, adventurous, and interesting job.

“I try to live each and every day to the fullest,” Lyndsay said. “My grandpa always said to live to your fullest potential and to never miss out on opportunities. That’s what I have been trying to live by and so far, it has definitely paid off.”

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