Brief by Central Staff
Outdoors – October 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine
The Colorado Trail, which runs about 425 miles from Durango to Denver, will celebrate its 30th birthday with a spaghetti dinner at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, at St. Rose of Lima Church parish hall in Buena Vista. (And no, the trail will not be attending.)
The selection of 2004 as the 30th-anniversary year is somewhat arbitrary, as the idea had been around for a while before that. But the first serious planning of the route began in 1974, according to Marian Phillips of the Colorado Trail Foundation in Golden.
The trail, built by volunteers who donate a week of vacation to hard labor with hoes and shovels to build a segment, was completed in 1987 with some work west of Buena Vista, and in the years since then, the route has been revised.
The dinner in Buena Vista will bring together the directors of the trail foundation and many volunteers, and there will be door prizes and entertainment. Gudy Gaskill, who used to head the trails and huts committee of the Colorado Mountain Club, was a prime mover in getting the trail built, and she will be honored at the dinner.
Some Sunday activities are also planned, ranging from a guided hike on the Trail to GPS instruction.
If you’re interested in attending the banquet, it costs $8, and you need to contact The Trailhead in Buena Vista (719-395-8001) or the Foundation at 303-384- 3729 as soon as possible.