Having been to Cascadilla Gorge several times before, I had been looking forward to once again enjoying the trail on last Saturday’s hike with House Fellow Todd Bittner. It was especially enjoyable given the nice weather we had.

Throughout the hike, Mr. Bittner gave us information about the gorge’s history and the facts behind its formation and constant evolution. As we trailed through the gorge, I thought of the gorge’s past in terms of the people who had also been through it. I realized that just as we as hikers were actual agents of erosion on the trail, we as students are also figuratively agents of erosion. Like wind or water carrying particles, we are dropping off and picking up different experiences as we pass through Cornell. And just as we might’ve been treading the same ground as alumni from a century ago, we were also having similar experiences as those people during our lives at Cornell.

With this perspective, it’s been much more interesting walking to and from class as I watch my peers, thinking of what kind of dirt they might be carrying on the soles of their feet.