CC CONNECTIONS
Left to Right: Melissa Walker ’72 on a bird walk; Priscilla Walker Engeln ’73 (sister of Melissa) snow shoveling in April; Jay Engeln ’74 (husband of Priscilla) hiking with their dog Molly in May; Valerie Hanna ’18 hiking at Palmer Park in Colorado Springs in April.
When the Coronavirus pandemic prevented Melissa Walker ’72 from exploring the great outdoors with her family and friends, she organized a virtual hiking adventure and named it “CoTreK.” Participants added miles by individually walking, hiking, and biking actual miles during the quarantine.
Since three generations joined CoTreK, Melissa decided that miles could also be counted by participating in activities (safely with family members) such as gardening, yoga, street hockey, dancing, snow shoveling, fly fishing, etc. Each 15-minute period of activity equaled one mile.
The CoTreKKers completed the original goal in the very first week by collectively hiking the 486-mile Colorado Trail.
During the next seven weeks, they completed the Appalachian Trail (2,193 miles) and the Pacific Crest Trail (2,650 miles), and ended the eight-week virtual hike in Montana on the Continental Divide Trail (3,100 miles)!
CC alumni CoTreKKers included Melissa and her husband Les Goss ’72, Rolle Walker ’69, Winston Walker ’70, Cindy Brumbaugh Walker ’71, Priscilla Walker Engeln ’73 and Jay Engeln ’74, John Goss ’73, and Valerie Hanna ’18. Twenty-five other family and friends living in Oregon, Colorado, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Virginia stayed connected through Spring 2020 with photos, weekly mileage, and trail updates. Collectively, the CoTreKKers completed 7,650 miles in eight weeks!
Reach Out To the Bulletin:
CC Connections typically features alumni who have unexpectedly encountered a fellow Tiger somewhere in the world. But we know the events of this year are already unexpected and connections are happening in many different ways. If you’ve got something to share — from out and about the world or from home like the CoTreKKers — let us know!
Please send digital photos (JPGs at 300 dpi and minimum of 3.5 x 5 inches) or good quality prints at a similar size. Include complete information about the location, date, and circumstance, and identify people in the photo left to right.
Contact Us
Bulletin/Communications
Colorado College
14 E. Cache La Poudre St.
Colorado Springs, CO 80903-3294
Email: bulletin@coloradocollege.edu
