When four local residents began hiking at Weston Bend State Park their goal was to exercise, stay healthy and enjoy the beauty of nature.
Their reasons for hiking have expanded over the last two years to include a safe escape from COVID-19 lockdown and, most importantly, a commitment to keep local parks healthy by removing trash and debris.
Greg Boyer and Bob Behrends began their hikes in the park in 2015 and Bob Schulenberg and Craig Hoerler joined them a few years ago. The walks turned out to be a great lockdown activitiy.
Craig Hoerler, left, and Greg Boyer hike and collect trash at Weston Bend State Park.
“At first you’re just digging the fresh air and scenery, but slowly over time we realized some needed social therapy was going on,” Boyer said. “I’ve been working on becoming a better listener and not being lost in my head.”
The beauty observed during their daily hikes inspired them to reciprocate for their enjoyment of the natural aesthetics by ensuring that the area would remain clean to the best of their ability.
“We alternate hikes between Weston Bend and Wyandotte County Lake Park,” Boyer said. “Weston Bend has very little litter, so we use loppers and hand saws or bow saws to help keep trails clear of fallen sticks and smaller limbs, stickers, etc. Wyandotte Lake is cluttered with picnickers’ and fishermen litter, so that’s where 99% of our trash pickup occurs. At Wyandotte Lake there’s a ton of it, probably several tons. Sometimes people see us gathering litter and thank us. We always hope for the spirit to catch on, so that everyone cleans their area before leaving. Sometimes we get slightly encouraged, but more often we soldier on alone. It’s a lonely business.”
The group hopes that people will become more responsible about not littering anywhere, but especially in parks and campgrounds since they are meant to be escapes to enjoy natural beauty.
“You can travel to any state in the union and be staggered by the natural beauty everywhere,” Boyer said. “It’s not the land’s fault that we always seem to be at each other’s throats. We live in incredible beauty, why wouldn’t we want to keep it just so?”
A few weeks ago Boyer and Schulenberg gathered about eight, five-gallon buckets of mostly beer bottles and cans over about a quarter mile at Wyandotte County Lake Park. Boyer said fishing spots are the worst. The group uses reachers/grabbers with buckets and 13-gallon kitchen trash bags to collect the debris.
“Trash amounts vary with the route chosen,” Boyer said. “I’d say three or four, five-gallon buckets with a half-filled 13-gallon trash bag is an average haul at the lake.”
While the parks benefit from the daily cleanups, the four hikers also benefit from their treks.
“Who among us doesn’t need to shed some tonnage?” Boyer said. “Other than that we’re all pretty healthy lads considering, though I’ve recently been told my blood sugar’s elevated and steady exercise is on the menu, no more arguments.”
Most of their hikes are between three and five miles per day, but now that they are focusing on litter pickup, the mileage is dropping.
“Then there’s extenuating circumstances like raw weather, newly found trash heaps, someone’s specific ache or pain on a given day, significant others’ honey do’s, etc.,” Boyer said.
Weather can be a major factor in the feasibility of hike days for the group. In hot, summer weather, the walks usually begin about 7 to 8 a.m., and in cold weather starting times change to 9 or 10 a.m.
“The idea is to stay healthy and not catch colds,” Boyer said. “Oddly enough we get out in winter more often than you might think. If temps are in the 40’s with little wind we give it a try. Cooped up next to skin-shredding, forced air furnaces usually drives us out the door.”
As the group heads into their ‘70s, they are more aware of the beneficial aspects of daily exercise. Boyer said that as he rounds the corner into the septuagenarian chapter, his yearly physical checkups are holding fairly steady with a few extraneous exceptions unrelated to sedentary versus active lifestyles.
In addition to health benefits and natural beauty at its finest, hiking in Weston Bend State Park also offers opportunities to learn.
“As anyone who goes there will tell you, every hour hiking its trails adds an hour to your life,” Boyer said. “There are six or so different trails, so things don’t get boring. Once you learn the lay of the land you can adjust your efforts to how strong you feel on given days. You can mix and match a few trails for variety’s sake. The flora and fauna are ever changing, it becomes fun to learn the names of trees and try guessing at bird calls. There’s a river trail with many wayside instructive signs telling of Lewis’ and Clark’s 1804 adventures nearby. Migrating birds come and go as the year progresses. All this brings you ever closer to the simple pleasures of earth rhythms.”
While parks are a good way to meet new people, the pandemic has put limits on those possibilities.
“Beyond the need to stay distant most folks are lost in thought communing with nature, probably working on personal problems quietly,” Boyer said. “That’s a good reason to hike, work things out.”
For Boyer, personally, both of his deceased parents came from the St. Joseph area, so visiting Weston Bend brings them back closer to his heart.
The greatest benefits for the group, both mentally and physically include brotherhood, learning from each other, and joking around. “Also practicing being grumpy old dudes - and, oh yeah, heart and stamina health,” Boyer said. “Plus removing trash adds an altruistic element, feels good to thank all the forest, lake, and river trails for the incredible beauty therein.”