Montrose – Their chatter bounces down the rocky canyon. The occasional peal of laughter is drowned out by the rumbling Curecanti Creek.
It’s another day in the life of the 500 Mile Walkers, a southwest Colorado band of hikers – all older than 50, but don’t dare call them “senior” – who gather weekly for strolls in the hills.
“I hike to be somewhere, not to get somewhere,” said June Goodyear, the spry and giggling 71-year-old matriarch of the group, who has an adventurous tale from every peak she passes.
The Montrose-based group is one of dozens of hiking clubs in Colorado, but one of the few that courts the wisest hikers. Most of the 500 Mile Walkers are retirees who gravitated to the Montrose area from across the country.
“We have such a broad spectrum of people from all different places who bring all sorts of different experiences to the club,” said Dee Hall, 53, who serves as a volunteer leader for the club by organizing weekly hikes and ranks as one of the kids in the club.
The group formed 15 years ago as a regional effort to get senior citizens outside and exercising, hence the “walkers” name. The idea was to get seniors to saunter 500 miles a year.
Former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer once met with the group for a walk as part of a statewide endeavor to promote healthy lifestyles for Colorado’s older set.
But the founders of the group eventually reached their 90s, a time when walking on anything but pavement becomes a challenge. That’s when the youngsters took over with an idea to move the strolls into the hills. They began exploring trails across the Southwest, from Chaco Canyon in New Mexico to Indian ruins in Arizona to the Colorado National Monument in their backyard. Today, they travel across the state for extended hiking trips.
The more energetic influence of the young hikers has preserved the original intention of the club: socially rich exercise. The 60-plus members of the 500 Mile Walkers still easily log that many miles. They don’t do it with lengthy grunts. Most of their hikes are 3 to 8 miles, but they hike about 100 times a year.
They’re all fit, tan and happy, and could pass for 20 years younger.
“These places keep you young,” Hall said.
The 500 Mile Walkers hike year-round, strolling the desert Canyonlands of Utah in the winter and the lofty mining trails around Silverton and Ouray in the the summer.
The weekly groups can reach 20, and about that many met for a chatty hike down the stunning Curecanti Creek drainage above the Gunnison River last week. The group featured rock hounds who pointed out different geological formations, flower folks who identified the wildflowers and well-versed locals who told the history of the area.
“There are people who have lived around here all their lives and we know more about the area than they do,” said Ray Seese, 70, who retired from a computer consulting job in Houston a decade ago and moved to Montrose with his wife, Dee Hall.
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Last week, the group drove for an hour to Curecanti Creek. The hikers meandered down the trail, taking their time and often stopping to admire raging waterfalls, steep canyon walls and serene vistas. They prattled on and laughed as if they were at a cocktail party with their best pals.
“This is a new group for me,” said Chuck Moroni, 73, who spent years hiking with his local group on Battlement Mesa and compared Curecanti to two rarely traveled creeks near Glenwood Springs. “You don’t see any crabby hikers out with these groups. This is truly a great hike.”
Jason Blevins can be reached at 303-820-1374 or jblevins@denverpost.com.