First Member Hike

Founder's Blog – 5 August 2023

I've written this blog post to commemorate our very first member hike to the Preserve!  Many thanks to Bill Gerrard, our official first tourist to our land, and the beginning of many more.

In WLP's last Quarterly Report to members, I included an invitation to all members to come on a guided trip to WLP's First Preserve.  We'd had the Preserve for about a year now, and no one but the WLP directors and my brother had set foot on the land.  Our goal is to bring nature closer to everyone, and I decided it was high time to do just that and treat our loyal members to some beautiful scenery.

Bill Gerrard stepped up to accept my offer, and I'm glad he did.  He's an expert photographer (Bill Gerrard Photography) and seasoned connoisseur of natural landscapes.  We all met up, Bill Gerrard, John Whitney, and myself, at the head of a winding trail that disappears into canyon foliage, and headed up.

We were all grateful for some time to get out, stretch our legs, and breathe heavy.  The world today feels increasingly citified, with all the trends leaning toward technology and the urban life.  But such things only generate counter movements, something we're there to support, and I think in a world focused on convenience, it felt a little more rich for us as we took time to walk the path that was not of least resistance.

At our lunchtime spot on the south-facing side, Bill took the chance to fly his drone around a bit.  Here's a video he took, showing off our stopping point and the rest of the area.  It's the first drone shot on the website of the Preserve and the first one to get a good aerial view of the landscape that surrounds it.  I have a drone myself that I'm still learning the ropes with.  In the future I plan on adding some good aerial overview shots to the First Preserve page.

First Camp Over

But another thing that happened that day, or rather those two days, was I stayed overnight on the Preserve.  I strung out a hammock tent in the topmost grove of aspens.  Speaking of drone shots, here's one I took flying over my camp.

There wasn't anything special I planned to do; the experience of it was the goal.  And though I may not have felt it at the time, what with the critters, heat, and lack of water, it was an experience worth having.  Like the hike up with Bill, sometimes a rougher road makes its resolution that much sweeter.  It's that kind of joy that Western Lands Preservation seeks to foster, not the Amazon-shipped, instant-potato, pre-sliced pleasure of the world today.

And there you go, my synopsis of WLP's first guided member trip to the First Preserve.  Another milestone for us, one that paves the way for more such adventures.  Thank you to all our members for your support and help keeping our vision alive, and I hope one day I'll be able to take the trip to the Preserve with you as well.

These amazing flowers were everywhere at about 8,000 feet on the preserve.

– Steven Whitney

 
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