MHS students use local trail as part of history lesson

MULLAN — Last week students from Mullan High School took a field trip to the Route of the Hiawatha as part of local history lesson from history teacher Mr. Paul Elston.

Mr. Elston used the items along the trail as an interactive study guide before having the students answer questions related to their ride.

“The students were asked multiple questions about the Hiawatha Trail and the history and geography behind it,” Elston said. “Most of the answers were on the signs that are posted along the route.”

The route is one of our area’s hidden treasures and Elston was kind of surprised at how many of the students hadn’t been on it before.

“I thought this was a very positive experience for our students,” Elston said. “Some had never ridden the trail and many were confused or did not understand many elements of the Hiawatha Trail. We did have some kids that went down the hill fairly fast, but overall I think everyone took at least one or two positive things minimum away from this trip.”

Mullan High School does very well by their students in the field trip department, all of which have educational or real life applications that help students gain valuable experience before determining what they plan on doing after high school.

“We have other Adventures in Education programs (the actual name of the program) lined for the future,” Elston mentioned, “including a hike to Stevens Lake and a pottery class, both to be tentatively held in October.”

The Route of the Hiawatha mountain bike trail near Lookout Pass that is 15 miles long with 10 train tunnels and seven sky-high trestles and passes through the 1.66 mile long St. Paul Pass Tunnel, also known as the Taft Tunnel.