Glendale High School sophomore Jack Kellum was born in Burbank, California. He loves cooking and learned to cook from his father. He loves to run and currently participates on the GHS cross country team. He was also the winning speaker at the 2025 Oratorical event that was held in March.
Another one of Jack’s hobbies is hiking! He travels all across California for his next big adventure!
Jack first started spending time in the great outdoors when he joined the Cub Scouts in elementary school, more specifically during first grade. Today, he still uses a lot of the information that he gained during that period in his life.
The Cub Scouts had many hikes and camping trips that really got Jack enjoying the wilderness. “When you give a seven-year-old kid a knife, and put him out in the forest with nothing to do for a couple of days, they find something to do,” he said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of that stopped for Jack, and like many people, he didn’t really go outside as much. However, he still had the chance to do some hiking, though wearing a mask made it tougher.
One day, he and a neighbor started cutting trees apart and made a fort. He’s also started fires for cooking in the wilderness, even frying fish in the wilderness that he has caught.
In the summer before his freshman year, Jack went to a summer camp, which really got him into rock climbing. He had great times when scaling the rock wall, so he continued doing the activity more intensively. That’s what truly got Jack back into hiking after COVID.
Jack also started driving up to Joshua Tree National Park more and doing more exotic climbs. From time to time, he searched for “great climbing walls in the Los Angeles Area.” But all of this rock-climbing has taken its toll on Jack’s body. From all the hiking and falling, he has developed joint pain, which has caused him to slow down work on his club.
Jack is very passionate about hiking and wants to share his passion with others through the Hiking Club. They occasionally go on hikes, so if you want to join the club, please contact Jack!
