A Hike on the Colorado Trail for Love INC
My name is Jerry Hertzler. I’ve been volunteering with Love INC of Littleton for the past 8 years. I’ve been involved with the transportation ministry (Love on Wheels) and the Renewed Treasures resale shoppe. I am very excited about the new IMPACT program that has been implemented recently by Love INC. IMPACT provides life skills training and a mentoring relationship to help participants transform their lives. I attended the recent graduation ceremony, celebrating the journeys taken by IMPACT participants from fairly desperate situations to new self-reliant lives. I plan to embark on a journey of my own and would like to support Love INC programs along the way. I’ll be hiking the Colorado Trail over the next 2 summers, and am seeking support for Love INC as a part of that adventure.
From Waterton Canyon to Durango
I’m looking forward to hiking the Colorado Trail. I won’t do it all at once, but will break the hike up into smaller hikes over the next 2 summers. The Colorado Trail covers 486 miles from Waterton Canyon to Durango and is divided into 28 segments. The first segment goes from Waterton Canyon to up near Conifer. It’s a 17 mile hike with about 2,800′ of elevation gain. It will be done as a day hike and should give me an idea of what to expect on the other segments of the trail. I expect the second hike will take me as far as Kenosha Pass. It covers the next 4 segments of the trail and should take 4 to 5 days of backpacking to complete. I’d like to cover about 15 segments of the trail this first hiking season, ending in August or September of 2018. I hope to then complete the adventure during the summer of 2019. I’m a bit nervous about whether or not my 60-something body will be up to the challenge. With your support, and God willing, I’ll complete the hike by the fall of next year.
I’m seeking financial pledges for this journey in an effort to support programs offered by Love INC of Littleton. (Click HERE for the pledge form). Please consider making a pledge for every mile I’m successful in hiking over the next 2 summers. Your support will provide an incentive for me to complete the journey while also supporting the journeys of Love INC clients who benefit greatly from its various ministries. Thank-you for your support!
Photo CaptionJerry Hertzler (St. Luke’s United Methodist Church) “retired” as the volunteer store manager at Renewed Treasures. In celebration of this milestone (and possibly because he had too much time on his hands) Jerry and his brother Glenn decided to take to The Colorado Trail. Jerry invites you to experience this with him through this blog, AND wants to raise funds for Love INC in the process. Click HERE for Jerry’s pledge form.