PROVO CANYON -- Walk, run, hike or jog. Ride a bike, an ATV, motorcycle, or take a good friend, old Dobbin, for a leisurely trot along the Great Western Trail.
Start from the Beaver Mountain Ski Resort to the north and come out near Kanab to the south.That's what a group of horsemen did last week. In fact, they rode the trail from Yellowstone National Park to the Grand Canyon in one day in an organized relay that covered more than 1,000 miles.
It was an attempt, said Mike Browning, director of the Utah arm of the Great Western Trail Association, to show it could be done and "to help draw attention to the multiple uses of the trail."
The idea of a north/south trail from the Canadian to Mexican border, cutting down the backbone of Utah, has been looked at for many years. In 1990, trail building began in Utah. Over the next five years, at a cost of several thousand dollars and with the help of some 25,000 volunteers, 95 percent of the trail system in Utah was completed. The trail through Utah is anywhere from 18 inches to 10 feet wide in places.
The trail system is not, as the name might imply, one long path but is a series of connecting trails, sometimes paralleling each other, with designated users. One section, for example, might allow motorized vehicles, while another may not.
The horse ride was put together by the GWT association and The Back Country Horseman of America groups in Utah, Idaho and Arizona. Riders started in a number of locations along the system.
Browning's group started at a new trailhead in Provo Canyon.
"I'm guessing, but I believe we had more than 200 riders spread over the trail. In our group, there were 35 riders. The idea was to cover as much of the trail as we could," said Browning.
"People are familiar with other uses, like ATVs and hiking, so we wanted to demonstrate that long horseback rides over the trail were possible. Currently, most of the trail is complete. In fact, you can go from one end of the state to the other hiking or on horseback. We hope to have the entire length of the trail finished for all users within the next decade."
Recently, the GWT was one of 16 systems accepted into the National Millennium Trail program. Fifty trails applied.
The purpose of the Millennium Trail is to spark the creation and enhancement of more than 2,000 trails as part of America's legacy.
In recognizing the trails, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton said, "We are building and maintaining trails that tell the story of our nation's past and will help to create a positive vision of our future."
Other trails accepted into the package include the Cascadia Marine Trail, which is a water trail off the Pacific Northwest coast; the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, a 1,200-mile section from the Mexican border to San Francisco; and the Freedom Trail, which connects 15 sites in old Boston, including one watched closely one night by Paul Revere.
There is also a move on to make the trail through Utah a part of the National Trail System.
Events such as the ride, said Browning, "are timely in getting the trail the recognition needed for Congress to pass an amendment making it a national trail."
As part of the ride, officials from GWT and Provo dedicated an equestrian trailhead. The trailhead is located across from Vivian Park in what is known as South Fork Canyon.
The new trailhead will make horse-riding access to the trail "much easier and more convenient," added Browning.
For those interested in using the trail, a guide with detailed maps of the northern half of the trail is available through the Great Western Trail Association, P.O. Box 41, Kaysville, UT 84037, or by calling 801-593-9378. Browning said the book of maps showing the southern half will be available by the end of the year.