The Elephant Arch hike event held Jan. 31 brought together two unique communities in one campus family. The Utah Tech University Hiking Club and the Utah Tech Student Organization of Latinos collaborated to get students involved together in an off-campus event.
The idea for this event began in November, when SOL President Ethan Aparicio went to a hiking event, meeting Utah Tech Hiking Club Co-President Abby Adams.
“We kind of just kept texting about collabing together and decided to collaborate,” Aparicio, a junior psychology major from St. George, said.
Students were advised on the club’s Instagram pages to bring good hiking shoes and plenty of water in preparation for the hike.
Dozens of students met at the General Classroom Building parking lot around 10 a.m. before getting in cars and taking a short commute to the trailhead. Upon arrival, the three-mile round-trip hike to the Elephant Arch began. The hike consisted of a slightly elevating, sandy terrain with a short rock climb at the actual arch.
“I had friends who also were like, ‘Let’s go do something,’ and so we decided to come along,” said Ethan Murray, a junior information technology major from Lynnwood, Washington.
After arriving at the top of the arch, participants had the opportunity to socialize, take pictures and catch their breath before the 1.5-mile walk back to the cars. After arriving back at the cars, participants walked around, getting each other’s contacts.
Many of the hikers had never been to the Elephant Arch before. “I haven’t done this hike before, but I’ve been wanting to for a long time,” said Maya Christopherson, a junior elementary education major from Cache Valley and activities coordinator of the Hiking Club. “I’d definitely do it again, it was really fun. Very sandy, but it’s awesome.”
The Hiking Club has seen significant growth since its founding in spring 2025, with the Elephant Arch hike being a significant activity for the club. “The Elephant Arch was one of the first hikes the club did,” Adams said. “It was so cool to go back to that hike and see how much our club has grown over a year.”
SOL’s decision to participate in this collaboration is due to Aparicio’s goal to participate in more diverse events. “I feel like since I took over [SOL] presidency, we’ve done more interactive on-campus events,” Aparicio said. “It feels more impactful if we’re not only doing events that are on the campus.”
When it comes to creating a more diverse sense of community, the Hiking Club shared a similar opinion. “It’s fun just to build new friendships and share interests with people,” Adams, a junior marketing major from St. George, said.
The Hiking Club emphasized the importance of interacting with different communities and collaborating with other clubs on campus.
“Collaborating with other clubs is so important. It just builds the community [at] Utah Tech,” Adams said. “We can learn from each other’s interests. We can try new things together.”
