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Local Hiker to Complete CDT and Get Youth Outdoors
04/17/07
Pine, Colo. (April 17, 2007) – With a focus on building greater awareness for the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), Mat Matson begins an epic journey from Mexico to Canada. As part of the Rotary CDT Challenge, the Conifer, Colorado resident, who will turn 70 later this year, sets off April 26 to hike the entire 735 mile-long section of the CDT in New Mexico. In 2008, he and his team will hike through Colorado, in 2009 through Wyoming, and in 2010 he will complete the 3,100 mile-long trail, hiking through Idaho and Montana.
As he travels through New Mexico, Matson will participate in numerous community celebrations to encourage local involvement in building, maintaining and protecting this national treasure. The Rotary Club of Conifer, of which Matson is member, has taken a special interest in the CDT, with Conifer Rotarians volunteering their time, making donations, and even adopting a section of the Trail. Matson hopes to encourage other civic organizations along the Trail to become similarly involved. Matson and his fellow hiker Pem Sherpa are seeking volunteers to assist with resupply and shuttles in New Mexico. Anyone wishing to help is encouraged to contact Suzanne Barkley at InDesign2@wispertel.net.
Matson’s Rotary CDT Challenge is more than just about one trail, he says. “We are losing our connection to the land – a connection that has been a major part of who we are as a country for the last two centuries,” Matson believes. A large part of his outreach efforts includes getting young people interested in the outdoors. He will make presentations to Boy and Girl Scouting organizations, schools, and youth groups, as well as Rotary Clubs and other service organizations. Matson has already made a big difference in the life of his four-year-old grandson who now wants to go hiking all the time.
In cooperation with the Continental Divide Trail Alliance (CDTA), Matson’s Rotary CDT Challenge will continue to build momentum for completing the Trail and to ensure that it remains protected in the future. “Encouraging local community involvement up and down the Trail is vital,” said Bruce Ward, Co-Executive Director of the CDTA. “Caring for the sections of trail that have already been completed is just as important as building new tread. Local organizations who take ownership of the Trail in their areas by participating in the Adopt-a-Trail program are a key component to our continued success,” he said.
Matson hopes to raise enough funds as part of the Challenge to support the endowment of a Rotary-sponsored Youth Corps that would spend 10 weeks each summer working on the CDT. To complete this goal, Matson will be asking for donations that will be evenly split between the Rotary Foundation and the CDTA. He hopes to eventually raise $3.1 million, or $1,000 for every mile of the Trail. While a few outdoor recreation companies are donating gear and food, Matson and his team are almost totally self-supporting. No part of the contributions will be used for any Challenge expense.
The Rotary CDT Challenge team also includes Curt Harris and Randall Sackerson of the Rotary Club of Evergreen, Colorado, who will be hiking the entire length of the CDT this year. They will serve as an advance team, relaying trail conditions and other messages back to Matson. Hiking with Matson will be Pem Sherpa of the Rotaract Club of Kathmandu, Nepal, who has climbed Mount Everest several times. In 2005, he carried the Rotary Centennial Banner to the summit and later presented it at the Rotary International Centennial Convention. The Rotary CDT Challenge will also involve guest hikers who trek sections of the Trail with Matson.
The Continental Divide Trail was established by Congress as a National Scenic Trail in 1978. When complete, the “King of Trails” will be the most significant trail system in the world. Stretching 3,100 miles along the backbone of America from Canada to Mexico, it accesses some of the most wild and scenic places left in the world while conserving the environment and promoting personal well being.
Since 1995, the Continental Divide Trail Alliance has played a central role toward the completion, management and protection of the Trail and it is the voice for unity in the diverse story of the Trail.
For more information about the Continental Divide Trail, call (303) 838-3760 or toll-free (888) 909-CDTA (2382). Or visit www.cdtrail.org.