A friend I much admire recently tagged me on Facebook with photos of Kern County teens who had just completed a trek up Old Smokey, a challenging hill on the U.S. Marine Corps base, Camp Pendleton, in Southern California.
Nearly 30 Kern County teens were part of that uphill hike, and they were among approximately 300 youth representing different areas of the southwestern states. They were all there as part of the annual Devil Pups Youth for America 10-day program that takes place at Camp Pendleton in the summer.