Aspiring wildland firefighter finds leadership in rafting challenges

In August of 2020, hundreds of lightning strikes in the Pacific coastal mountains sparked one of the largest wildland fires in California’s history. The CZU Lightning Complex Fire burned over 80,000 acres in total, decimated more than 97% of California’s oldest state park — Big Basin Redwoods State Park — and intensified the burning passion of a 16-year-old aspiring wildland firefighter, Arielle Bennet.

Now a sophomore in the University of Idaho’s College of Natural Resources (CNR), Bennet has fully stuffed her college resume with education and leadership development opportunities within the U of I Outdoor Program. The skills she has learned will prep her for a career in the outdoor industry as she aims to return to Northern California with the knowledge and field experience to lead the next generation of outdoor leaders and wildland firefighters.

“For me, the decision to attend college was the choice to start a new chapter of my life,” said Bennet, who is in CNR’s Fire and Ecology Management program and acts as an overnight trip leader with the U of I Outdoor Program.  

While she had a fair amount of outdoor training and experience before setting foot in Moscow, Bennet had never been rafting until joining the Vandal Ventures First-Year Rafting Trip.

It was on this first rafting trip — which took place in the summer prior to her first semester — that Bennet forced herself out of her comfort zone. She asked to try rowing for the first time on day three of the six-day excursion.

“The eleven-foot oars felt like long, awkward extensions of my arms that I did not know how to control. Slowly, each dip of my oar into the water became firmer and more confident,” Bennet said. “I will never forget the feeling of rowing that boat through my first rapid. The small waves were little ripples against the big gear boat, but navigating through them felt like one of the greatest accomplishments of my life. I felt almost weightless as the boat went up and down in rhythm, hitting each wave head-on.”

By utilizing the full extent of development opportunities at U of I’s Outdoor Program including wilderness first responder certification, CPR/First Aid certification and swift water rescue training, Bennet quickly attained a solid foundation as an outdoor leader by her sophomore year. She went from mentee to a trip leader, guiding other incoming Vandals on the basics as they navigated the same challenges that she had experienced a year prior.

“I was back on the same section of water, only this time, not only was I rowing a gear boat for a six-day trip, but I also had participants learning to row and read water from me,” Bennet said. “While this was my ninth rafting trip at this point, it was my first time leading my peers on the river, and the nerves dropping into Snowhole Rapid were just as real as when I faced those first ripples.”

Snowhole Rapid, located along the Lower Salmon River, is one of the Class IV rapids included on the Vandal Ventures six-day raft trip. Higher class rapids require more skill from the rower to navigate, and Class IV water is considered very difficult and are recommended only for experienced rafters.

For a first-year trip leader, navigating this treacherous section of rapids was not without reservation for Bennet as she made her approach.

“The line wasn’t hard — enter from river right and a straight diagonal line to river left, avoiding the two holes and Arrowhead Rock — but for some reason, I’d never been able to run it clean,” Bennet said. “Every time I entered this rapid, there was a more experienced boater along, guiding me.”

Feeling the pressure of keeping the group’s comfort and amenities for multiple days intact, Bennet understood the complexities and need to carefully maneuver this line. Using her training and newly developed instinct on the water, she confidently followed the tail of the boat in front, pulled on her right oar to turn the boat towards Arrowhead Rock, spinning the raft a full 360 degrees and safely into the smooth water below.

“It was more of a creative line than a clean one, but I had run it without any coaching or help,” Bennet said. “I couldn’t resist a mini celebration.”

Now beyond her biggest perceived threat, the California native rode the momentum of her victory and hasn’t looked back as an emerging outdoor leader.

“Over those six days, with Snowhole behind me, I stepped further into my role as guide,” Bennet said. “I rowed each rapid, expertly choosing my lines and executing them with knowledge gained from the previous year.”

As a trip leader with the Outdoor Program, she has now run that section of the Lower Salmon River many times.  

“I can load a gear boat rigged to flip, set up a camp kitchen and other camp amenities, and now, share the love I’ve found for rafting and the river with others,” Bennet said.

A self-proclaimed introvert by nature, the U of I Outdoor Program has allowed Bennet to find her voice as a leader within the hectic context of a fast-paced rafting trip.

“My voice calling commands to this next batch of Vandals sounded foreign and uncertain at first, but not anymore,” Bennet said. “With each trip, my confidence grows, as does my awe of the breathtaking landscape and my love for the feeling of dipping those oars into the thick water and pushing forward. There in my arms is strength I didn’t know I possessed.”

In the months following the CZU Lightning Complex Fire, Bennet immediately dove into the Watsonville Fire Department’s Youth Academy and has since enlisted in the Moscow Fire Department’s EMT training program. While still working through the early stages of her degree program, Bennet hopes to pursue undergraduate research focused on fuel management for forested coastal regions, eventually looking to serve her home community that was impacted during her teenage years.

“I came to college to embrace new experiences and learn about myself, and the river has truly changed me,” Bennet said. “The expanse of water, sky and canyon walls with history woven through it in pictographs and hunting plains reminds me of how small I am in comparison to all that is around me.”