From Board Member Kevin Purdy:
My memories of the Great Plains Trail are neither misty nor watercolor, since both of those words imply blurry and easily washed away. There are certain events from the past thirteen years that I like to think of as indelibly etched upon my brain. Rather than belabor any one occurrence, I would like to list a few of my favorite chapters from the very first year onward:
I look back with fond memories of my first phone call from Steve Myers. He told me that he’s got some ideas for a long-distance trail, and he’d like to bounce some of them off of me. This was in 2010, I believe, and the words Great Plains Trail existed only in Steve’s imagination. He contacted me because I had a website called Trailsnet.com, and he’d evidently found me on the internet. We met in a small bar on Main Street Louisville, just a few blocks from my house. As Steve began to discuss his vision for this epic trail, I was heartened to see his enthusiasm for the trail. It was the same enthusiasm that led me to travel the world in search of the perfect trails. It was a love for the beauty, solitude, and grandeur of trails and all they represented.
Within a year, Steve had already started the infrastructure for a Great Plains Trail Board of Directors. I was proud to be among the first members on that board, along with Steve and Teresa Martinez who had worked for the Appalachian Trail and was soon to become the Executive Director for the Continental Divide Trail. Teresa was integral in helping us set up our 501c3 status and really getting the GPTA Board up and running.
In that same year, and the next, Steve and I began embarking upon exploratory trips into the Great Plains of Colorado, Nebraska, and New Mexico, visiting such beautiful destinations as Fort Robinson, Purgatory Canyon, and Mount Capulin. Some of our journeys were on foot and others were on bicycle where we saw everything from dinosaur tracks along the banks of the Purgatory River to Volcanic cones in northern New Mexico. The scenery and history were amazing and the conversations were enlightening.
Flash forward to 2016 when Luke “Strider” Jordan completed the first thru-hike of the Great Plains Trail. It was a great experience to be part of that historic journey. I especially enjoyed our nights at Mills Rim Campground. While Luke made headway on the highways and byways of the GPT route, I had a blast exploring the scenery on the Canadian River as it flowed through Mills Canyon.
Whether performing voluntary trail work on the Pawnee Buttes Grassland or gathering with fellow board members for meetings in Colorado, Nebraska, and via many conference calls over the years, it has been a true pleasure taking part in this worthwhile venture known as the Great Plains Trail. I have met amazing folks and viewed unforgettable scenery.
One Response
Great photos!!!