We can just imagine the sense of community that developed among the hikers on their trek across 14 states. They’ve kept in touch all these years, and in late September they met in Estes Park for a 35th reunion. I flew out for the event, landing in Denver and heading first to pick up Gudy Gaskill in Golden. Gudy, founder of the Colorado Trail, joined the hikers when they entered her state at the Utah border and hiked with them through Silverton to Colorado’s eastern border. At age 90, she was our honored senior citizen at the reunion.
When the hike was over, many members of the hiking community wanted to memorialize the trail. There were permutations of the route, but HikaNation now lives on in the route of the American Discovery Trail. Go to www.discoverytrail.org to learn more. To read about this recent HikaNation event, go to www.hikanation.com.
I have volunteered to host the 40th reunion in St. Augustine. In 2020, it will probably be held in March. Stay tuned.