by: Allison Abdelnour

I think I counted seven that day while on our usual jog. Seven totally unexpected quick conversations with people we crossed paths with on the Barbara Whipple Trail. Several were acquaintances we’ve known from around town and it was a good opportunity to catch up on the latest happenings in each other’s lives. Others were visitors to the area and must have had a pretty good tip off in knowing just where to go to get the best view while still in easy proximity to Main Street.
What is most amazing about the Whipple Trail to me is that no matter the weather, there is hardly a day in the year where my husband and I don’t feel very drawn to go and find out what its offering will be. Some days are like the one I mentioned before where you have many pleasant unexpected visits with friends. Other days you won’t see a single other person. Often times I’ll take it as a challenge to make it all the way from the river to the upper trail at a jog and then continue to see if I can keep up with my husband navigating the rocky traverse to the north side. Other days it’s a bit of a slower clip - taking our time and simply observing – noticing the newly turned yellow leaves on the cottonwood trees in the valley below, seeing a dramatic sunset over the Collegiate Peaks, smelling the scent of a just awakened piñon tree in the spring time, hearing the echo of cheers coming up from the softball field below on a summer night, or intensely watching the ground just beneath my feet in hopes that I’ll stumble upon an arrowhead.

I love to imagine all the people who have been there before me. The Utes, the miners, and all of those hearty folks who originally built our town and that many years ago used to step off of the steam train at the Midland depot at the top of the trail. How did all of those stagecoaches make it down the rugged hillside on the 450-foot decent in to town?

I also enjoy thinking of what my time spent on that trail means to me. Somehow it contributes an incredible sense of balance to my day. It sometimes can be weeks or months between opportunities to get up into the backcountry, but on any day I can take five minutes and go just as far as the footbridge over the river and feel significantly rejuvenated.

All in all, the Whipple Trail is one of my most favorite aspects about living in Buena Vista. I have never lived in an area with such a tremendously beautiful, fulfilling, and refreshing resource literally in my back yard. It’s quite a gem in our community.

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