David Rogers and other 100 Mile Hiking Club members have submitted log sheets chronicling over 7,500 miles hiked this summer. Here David poses in the Mammoth Employee Dining Room with his 100 Mile Achievement Shirt. David was the first member to reach 100 miles this season.
by Andrew Coghill
On May 25th, with snow and ice still choking many park trails, a member of the 100 Mile Hiking Club submitted the first completed 100 mile log sheet of the season. That was fast! David Rogers of Richmond, Kentucky set the quick pace and log sheets have been pouring into recreation offices ever since.
David took the Club’s challenge to hike 100 miles in a single summer and, you might say, hiked with it. Before orientation for his new job working for Xanterra in Mammoth’s Employee Dining Room, David climbed the Mammoth Terraces and after his first shift he hiked Lava Creek to Undine Falls. An avid hiker, David wasn’t going to waste his first trip to the Rocky Mountains. “I’m trying to make the most of it while I’m here. Who knows if I’ll be back.”
In Yellowstone one hike often inspires another. From atop Seplucher Mountain David plots his ascent of Electric Peak. Photo by David Rogers.
Waterfalls are a favorite of David’s. After visiting the Mammoth Recreation Office and perusing The Guide to Yellowstone’s Waterfalls and Their Discovery David marked his map and before June he had checked ten waterfalls off his list, including Undine, Osprey, and Hidden Falls on the Blacktail Deer Creek trail.
Like so many 100 Mile Hiking Club members David has fallen in love with Yellowstone. “Just being able to call this place home is nice.” Whether back home volunteering for Explore Kentucky, hosting IHikeKentucky on Facebook, or in YNP, David can’t keep from thinking about his next adventure. Before the summer is over he has his sights on Mount Holmes, Electric Peak, and plans to hike over 500 miles.
When David is not on the trail he has joined YCERP for dodgeball, pickup basketball, group hikes, kayaking on Lake Yellowstone, and league softball. “It’s been good here. I’ve met some nice people and made a lot of friends.”
David’s advice for employees considering joining the 100 Mile Hiking Club is simple: “Just take it one mile at a time.” Since David first turned in his log sheet 75 employees have submitted their 100 mile log sheets. It seems David has many employees hot on his heels.
