CHOICE Trekker Finds New Meaning to Vacation
by Soren Jespersen
Each day I would wake up with the sun, pack my bag, and walk
For over four months this summer (2001) from April 26th to September 3rd, I
hiked around the four states that comprise the Colorado Plateau Arizona, New
Mexico, Colorado and Utah. My only responsibilities were: 1) to stay alive,
and 2) to enjoy the view. The first responsibility proved to be less of a burden
than I expected. Most of my days were leisurely walks in the woods. But at times,
there were challenges. On Day 2, north of the Grand Canyon, I was forced to
cross one large and treeless meadow after another as snow and lightning struck
down all around me. On Days 58 and 59, I found myself traversing the perilously
steep and exposed couloirs and cornices of the still snow-packed Continental
Divide. The tennis shoes I was wearing didn't work well as skis and my plastic
umbrella failed miserably in its role as an ice-axe.
Soren Jespersen with traveling companion Dora in the El Mapais National Monument,
New Mexico. Dora and Soren hiked over 34 miles the day this photo was taken.
Mysteriously mushy dinners
The routine danger of my days usually amounted to nothing more than murky drinking
water and mysteriously mushy dinners. So I had time to focus on responsibility
number 2, enjoy the view. In over 100 days of trail I have seen and experienced
so much of what this most unique of American landscapes has to offer. I have
seen countless elk, innumerable deer. I have swam with the trout and nearly
been gouged by the talons of a swooping eagle. I have spent nights in the rain,
days in the snow, and weeks in the summer sun. One morning, I awoke to a bear.
Another morning, hail. Another, gunshots! In Arizona I spent the night on a
fire tower at the edge of the Mogollon Rim while small fires burned below, shooting
geysers of smoke out of the gently wrinkled blanket of ponderosa pines beneath
my perch.
Almost always hospitable people
When planning this trip I often fantasized about all the wonderful places and
things Iíd see. I knew I'd see bears. I knew I'd have to deal with hostile weather
and forbidding terrain. And I looked forward to it. But the one thing I didn't
quite expect, the major aspect of this summer that I didn't anticipate and the
one thing I have yet to mention is the people. By far the most rewarding aspect
of this summer-long odyssey into the heart of the American West was the amazingly
gracious, entirely interesting, and almost always hospitable people that I met
on the trail and in the towns and cities along the way.
The people you meet become the greatest experience
I met Randolph "Pat" Jenks, a 91-year-old cattleman and bird-lover who took
me to his ranch in Luna, New Mexico for a week of good food and even better
friendship. I met Steven Herter, a Colorado fly-fishing guide who, after rescuing
me from the interminable dust and noise of a busy ranching road, took me to
his small house for a dinner of steaks from his son's first elk. I met a lady
in Gunnison, Utah who stopped her car as I walked along the road, simply to
offer me good luck on my trip and to give me one of her "locally famous" and
entirely enormous home made cinnamon rolls. This summer I learned that macaroni
and cheese does not taste good before 10:00 a.m. I learned that cattle respond
best to the Spanish language. And I learned that while we often look forward
to the sights or tastes or activities of a vacation, the people you meet become
the greatest experience. The people we meet and share ourselves with provide
the memories that we value most in the long run. The people are what traveling
should be about. The food and the views are just a bonus.
Soren Jespersen with friends Pat and Julia Jenks in Luna, New Mexico. 91-year
old Pat Jenks was a personal friend of Everett Ruess, the man for whom Soren
named his trail around the Colorado Plateau.
Editor's Note
Soren Jespersen spent the summer of 2001 walking "The Everett Ruess Trail,"
a 2,200-mile route of his own creation through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado
and Utah. While the national media has been impressed by Soren's trek because
of its originality and difficulty, CHOICE Humanitarian is especially grateful
to Soren. In dedicating his trek to impoverished people throughout the world
Soren found a unique way to raise money for CHOICE Humanitarian projects. In
pledges and contributions, 24-year-old Soren Jespersen raised over 65,000 dollars!
His summer "adventure" will result in improved lives for thousands of people
in CHOICE project countries. Soren was the first recipient of the newly created
CHOICE Service Learning Scholarship presented at the CHOICE Humanitarian 9th
International Gala in Salt Lake City in October, 2001.
Note: This article appeared in the fall 2001 edition of Footsteps, the CHOICE
Humanitarian official newsletter.
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Soren Trek
