2026年6月5日 20:12:09 美东夏令时 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
作者：史蒂夫·哈特曼
史蒂夫·哈特曼是哥伦比亚广播公司新闻通讯员，他通过每周获奖专题栏目《在路上》，为观众带来他所遇见的独特人物的动人故事。
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新泽西州纽瓦克市 —— 新泽西州的纽瓦克并非国家公园。对许多人而言，眼前所见不过是堵车时前方的汽车保险杠，能算得上徒步的活动也全凭行人过街信号灯的安排。
但就在这样一座城市里，坐落着圣本笃预备学校——这所私立高中要求学生彻底走出自己的都市舒适区。
据圣本笃预备学校管理人员格伦·卡西迪介绍，该校许多学生从未有过徒步或露营经历，却要被送往阿巴拉契亚小径进行为期五天的徒步，全程“仅有少量成人监护”。卡西迪还开玩笑称，他“愿意打赌”圣本笃预备学校是全美唯一开设此类项目的学校。
“[现场]有少量成人监护，现在可能还有保险公司在盯着呢，”卡西迪对哥伦比亚广播公司新闻打趣道，“不过没错，学生队伍通常会独立行进。”
该项目是所有新生的必修成人礼。学生们会在早春开始通过体能训练和团队建设活动进行准备。随后他们会被分成若干小队，分别设有队长、营地专员、导航员、厨师和医护员。
每名学生都会接受一项专项技能培训，但没人能掌握生存所需的全部技能。
“我们将学会以不同方式协作，完成手头的任务，”上个月即将完成徒步的一名学生说道。
新泽西州纽瓦克市圣本笃预备学校的学生正在完成55英里的阿巴拉契亚小径徒步。2026年5月 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
“项目的核心是让他们必须彼此依赖，”卡西迪解释道，“我们只有齐心协力，才能顺利完成全程。”
这项55英里的徒步活动如今已是圣本笃预备学校延续了53年的传统。无论晴雨，他们都会如期举行。事实上，校方反而更偏爱雨天。
“当生活陷入困境时，学生们可以回想起这次经历，”卡西迪说，“要知道，人生中总有不少风雨时刻。”
在这个“直升机式育儿”盛行的时代，这所学校仍坚持让学生独立自主。当他们做到这一点时，场面格外令人动容。经过五天的翻山越岭，学生们于五月完成了徒步，正式成为高二学生。
有些人身上带了伤，所有人都筋疲力尽。他们的鞋子再也回不到从前的样子，学生们自身也同样如此——而这正是这场徒步真正的意义所在。
Why a 55-mile Appalachian Trail trek is a mandatory rite of passage for these New Jersey freshmen
2026-06-05 20:12:09 EDT / CBS News
By Steve Hartman
Steve Hartman is a CBS News correspondent. He brings viewers moving stories from the unique people he meets in his weekly award-winning feature segment “On the Road.”
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Newark, New Jersey — The New Jersey city of Newark is no national park. For many, the only sights are the bumpers ahead while sitting in traffic, and the only hikes are at the whim of a walk sign.
Yet here, of all places, is St. Benedict’s Preparatory School, a private high school that requires students to step way outside their urban comfort zone.
The students, many of whom have never been hiking or camping, are sent to the Appalachian Trail for five days with only “some adult supervision,” according to St. Benedict’s Prep school administrator Glenn Cassidy, who said he’s “willing to put money” that St. Benedict’s is the only school in the U.S. with such a program.
“[There is] some adult supervision, there might be some insurance companies watching right now,” Cassidy joked to CBS News. “But, yeah, the teams generally hike independently.”
The program is a mandatory rite of passage for all freshmen. They start training in early spring with exercise and teambuilding. Then they are broken into smaller units with a captain, a camp specialist, navigators, cooks and medics.
Each student is trained in a specialty, but none of them know everything they need to survive.
“We’ll learn how to work together in different ways and finish the task at hand,” one student preparing to complete the hike last month said.
Students from St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey, complete a 55-mile Appalachian Trail hike. May 2026. CBS News
“The idea is that they have to rely on one another,” Cassidy explained. “The only way we can get through this is if we work together and make it there.”
The 55-mile trek is now a 53-year tradition at St. Benedict’s. They do it shine or rain. In fact, the administration actually prefers rain.
“When life gets difficult, it’s something you can refer back to,” Cassidy said. “You know, there’s a lot of rainy days in life.”
In a world of helicopter parenting, this school still makes students rise on their own. And when they do, it is quite a sight. After five days of ups and downs, the students finished their hike in May and officially became sophomores.
Some were bruised. All were weary. Their shoes will never be the same. But neither will they, which was the real destination all along.
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