I was initially reluctant to sign up for the tour of the Cascadilla Gorge Trail with Todd Bittner, Cornell Botanic Gardens Director of Natural Areas and Rose House Fellow. Admittedly a large part of that reluctance came from a desire to sleep in (9:30 AM is early for a college student!), but still part of it came from the fact that I had been on the hike before. It was a pretty trial, sure, but what would this hike add to the experience? And why was it going take two hours?

My trepidation was wholly unfounded, however. While I have hiked the trail plenty of times in the past, Mr. Bittner’s input, be it scientific, historical, or anecdotal, truly added to the experience in my eyes. Above all else, my favorite part of the tour was how he was able to teach us about history, both of Cornell and of the earth on a geological timescale, through the environment. Firstly, the creation of the gorge was extremely interesting to me. I have no background in geology, so knowing that some of the rock visible to us was up to four million years old was unfathomable. Additionally, the way that the gorge, especially the lower section, was carved out by glaciers is equally interesting. The way you can see the different layers, alternating hard and soft, was very cool.

I also greatly enjoyed learning about the history of Cornell through the hike. As someone new to the university this semester, it was my first exposure to any of this information. For example, I did not know that Cascadilla Hall was the first building of the university, and that it even predates the establishment of Cornell. Similarly, seeing pictures from the early 1900s was very cool—seeing just how much erosion occurred over that time really spoke to the raw power of water. Without a doubt I feel that learning about our history through nature is far more intriguing than simply sitting in a classroom could ever be.