RANGER DAVE HIKES FOR NATURE EDUCATION: Summer 2014, 80 more miles! : Colorado Trail Section 10

Monday, August 16, 2010

Songs that brought me beyond the 200 mile mark of the CT!

Folks often ask me what I think about while walking so many miles, by myself, in these relatively wild places. I've found that I have mainly been very much in the moment while hiking, thinking about where I am along the trail (frequently checking the map), how much water do I have and where is the next water source, and the trees, flowers, tracks and what else I am seeing. I am pleased to say that I have for the most part not brought work or other issues with me to clutter my mind. I also find myself singing a lot while I walk, both to myself, and often out loud. These are some of the songs that accompanied me along this last stretch, Sections 10, 11 and 12: These Days (Jackson Browne); Kathy's Song (Paul Simon); I Will (Paul
McCartney): Take Me Home Country Roads (John Denver); Homeward Bound (Paul Simon).

Why I am walking the Colorado Trail for Nature Education…

I have always been interested in education …as a music teacher, as an alternative education activist, as a parent, and now as a grandparent. And I’ve always been into Nature, as a naturalist, as a hiker, as a backpacker. So putting these two passions together has been a very natural process for me. As I became aware of the growing disconnect between young people and the natural world, so well named by Richard Louv in the phrase “Nature-deficit disorder,” I realized that children need first-hand experiences in Nature if they are to grow up to be tomorrow’s Nature advocates. And Nature so needs advocates. Children also need connection and interaction with the natural world for their own healthy development as people. This all ultimately led me to create the Mountain Park Environmental Center, our many programs, and, now, this fund-raising hike.