Kerisha Goode

Community Writing Project with Friends of the Chessie Trail (FOTC)

15 December 2016

My entry into writing about nature.

Initially, my first thoughts when I heard I was going to have to do a course about conserving nature in Rockbridge County, I wasn’t too pleased. As we all know, many, if not all VMI Cadets have a painful memory regarding the Chessie Trail. With it’s depressing demeanor, I knew it was going to be a challenge. I thought after completing a few readings from people like Jourdan Keith or Robert Moor, in addition to my frequent visits to the trail, I would come to this “awe” moment and learn to love what I was experiencing before me. I thought I would take the topic I chose, mile markers, compile all the research I had gathered together and create this elaborate project. I had the strangest idea that this was going to be a breeze. Much to my surprise, it didn’t happen that way, at all.

Back in October, when the Friends of the Chessie Trail (FOTC) hosted the 5K and half-marathon, I conducted a series of interviews with the runners. I interviewed some locals that had been on the trail several times before. Other locals, like Bobbe Graham, who had never been on the trail had a much different experience. Being originally from Idaho, she had never ran on a flat trail with cows, “it added a new element” she says, in a good way that is. There were a few participants who weren’t from the Rockbridge County area, like Katie Beringer and Ryan Derrick, both experienced marathon runners, and was the marathon winners for both the men and women side. Being from Washington, D.C. They were use to city marathons, however they both simultaneously said they preferred running on trails. They described the scenery as beautiful, elegant, and unique. When asked what did they liked best about the trail, Katie said, “It was one of the most well maintained trails I’ve ran on. It didn’t have any roots I had to worry about tripping over, no cars, only cows”. Ryan agreed, noting that, “it’s softer on your knees, and no traffic!”

I also interviewed Mr. and Mrs. Patterson, a couple who currently live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, but are Rockbridge County natives who frequently return home to visit family.

They say they’ve both been on the trail several times, however never for an event like this one. Because they are on the email list for Friends of the Chessie Trail, they are always informed about events going on in the area. When asked about how frequently they visited the website, I was shocked to find that they visited as often as twice a month.

After viewing all of my footage I noticed I had not asked all the questions regarding the mile markers I originally intended on asking. Instead, I tended to focus my questions on what the runners did, how they felt, and what if any improvements and suggestions they wished to offer. I then thought to myself, what could I do with all of this good information? I wanted their voices to be heard. So I started to research running websites both on and off trails, such as AmericanTrails.org, Running Times, and more. These websites were the voices for runners ranging from beginners to Veterans. I found that each of these websites not only had section for runners, but many used the same trails for cycling, walking, and even hiking. There was even a section were people could leave helpful tips regarding a specific trail. That’s when I thought why couldn’t FOTC’s website do something like this? Granted, FOTC isn’t a website for runners however, I could create a section dedicated to all trail users. So I compared FOTC’s website to others, and noticed a few things. First the home page, only discussed hiking the trail, even though walkers, cyclists, and runners use it. Second, the webpage didn’t have much information on it regarding FOTC or much of anything at all. These running websites helped me alter my perspective to match the mission and community goals of FOTC. I then reached out to both Ms. Lisa Tracy and Ms. Hannah Slough and asked if I could share my ideas with them. I created a proposal which included all the possible additions I could add to the website. They both thought it was a great idea. On December 1st my project was finally in full motion and I was beginning to see results.

When I first arrived at Ms. Hannah’s office, I thought I was just going to be adding a small piece about the runners to the website. I was then asked to redesign the entire web page. At first I thought, no, this is just too much work but then I said to myself, they took the time out to help me with my project I can do the same, and so I did. My final results turned out to be phenomenal. I ended up making changes to homepage, which now explores three different ways the trail can be used: hiking, biking, and running (http://www.friendsofthechessietrail.org). On the menu, under the tab titled “Trail News”, features MAJ Hodde’s ERH-411 Fieldwork class. This section includes several of my pictures and interviews taken on the Chessie Trail, as well as other Cadets and their projects from the semester (http://www.friendsofthechessietrail.org/trail-news.html).

These particular changes on the website revealed a new broader connection for community engagement with FOTC. I see these changes as having a positive impact on FOTC, VMI advisory, and the community as a whole because it brings a fresh insight on the relationship between nature and culture. It also speaks to the younger generations with hopes that they too would want to be involved.