Local seniors awarded Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness scholarships

The Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness awarded scholarships to two local high school seniors who won an annual essay contest, the group announced Tuesday.

Libby High School senior Braydon Thom and Troy High School senior Molly Walters each were awarded a certificate and $300 for their essays on “A Most Memorable Wilderness Experience,” a news release states.

According to contest rules, the essays could be “a first-hand account of an experience of the author or an account of a story related to the author by a friend or relative. The experience may have happened in any wild place, designated Wilderness or not, and must portray traditional wilderness activities such as backpacking, camping, hunting, fishing, berry picking or horseback riding.”

Thom wrote about a trying yet rewarding adventure in the south end of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, the news release states, while Molly wrote about an adventure she had at Falls Creek.

Scholarships were awarded for the best essay by a graduating senior at Clark Fork, Sandpoint, Lake Pend Oreille and Priest River in Idaho and Libby, Troy, Noxon and Thompson Falls and High Schools in Montana.

Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness staff judged essays “on quality of writing, passion of the storyteller and the adherence of the essay to the theme,” the news release states.

Winning essays will be posted at www.scotchmanpeaks.org