WildLink August 2026: Family Weekend
August began with a coming home of WildLink alumni and their loved ones for the annual WildLink Family Weekend - an event that keeps connections alive by resparking connections between people and place. Held once more at the National Environmental Science Center (NESC), this weekend brought together new members of the WildLink family with seasoned members to share their love for the outdoors.
WildLink family weekend 2026 reunited member from communities as far as Los Angeles and invited alumni that had participated as far back as 2013. The weekend was full of connection and opportunities for participants to reconnect with each other, Yosemite, and the broader WildLink community in meaningful ways.
The weekend began on Friday as the families arrived to settle into cabins and share a meal before spending time getting to know each other over some camp fire games. Saturday was the main event. The day began with breakfast together then a quick turn around to get ready for the day. The options for guided hikes were to Sentinel Dome as well as Taft Point on Glacier point road, providing the awe that WildLink alumni remembered and now had the opportunity to share it with their loved ones.
That evening, more stories were shared around a fire and you could really feel how quickly the entire group had gotten comfortable with each other and were enjoying their time together. Over meals, hikes, and camp fires new and old faces met each other again or for the first time and shared a moment of connection.
WildLink Family Weekend reminds us that while time may pass, the connection to this incredible place—and to each other—remains strong.
Stories
Virginia Teacher Night Recap: Emphasizing the Power of Outdoor Education
Our recent Teacher Night event in Chantilly, VA was a wonderful opportunity to connect with passionate educators from Loudoun, Fairfax, and the D.C. area and share the transformative power of outdoor education.
San Jose Teacher Nights Recap: Inspiring Bay Area Educators to Bring Learning Outdoors
Our recent Teacher Night events in San Jose, CA were a wonderful opportunity to connect with passionate Bay Area educators and share the transformative power of outdoor education.
Armstrong Scholars 2026 Trip Report
For the 2026 Armstrong Scholars, each day started with a song. Maybe it was "Unwritten" by Natasha Beddingfield, or "Believe" by Cher, or "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. Music and laughter carried us through our first waking moments—whether it was at 3 a.m. in wet sleeping bags preparing to hike up a pass, or at 8 a.m. next to a lake and ready for a rest day. We celebrated hard things the way we knew best—by dancing—at the end of a long day to warm up before slipping into our sleeping bags, or on top of a mountain pass, or at the trailhead at the end of a beautiful 65.7 mile-long journey.