Up the Continental Divide Trail

Matson and Sherpa tell the tales

GRANTS - Little did we know that not only would Matt Matson and Pem Sherpa tell of their adventures on the Continental Divide Trail going north from Mexico through New Mexico on Thursday night, we would witness a video slide show which would take us to the top of Mt. Everest and witness a wedding.

In an intimate setting, Rotary Club members and eavesdroppers came together at La Ventana's and broke bread with two world travelers and were able to learn about journeys few of us will ever take.

“Last winter, four past presidents of the National Forest Service in Denver spoke,” Matson said in an interview before dinner. “They said, 'We're losing our connection to the land.'”

Matson did some soul-searching. He had been spending some time with his grandson, Asher, and thought that he didn't want the land to be losing meaning by the time he grew up. In a manner of speaking he is not only walking the Trail for himself and to raise money for the Trail, but for Asher and future generations.

His concrete mission is that he is raising awareness for the Trail and he is also raising Rotary endowment funds so that more youth can work with the Americorp group in the summers on the Continental Divide Trail.

Matson says there is a list he wants for the Trail: Water, better sanitation facilities, and educational facilities. Signage would be nice also, and it is no surprise that the Trail needs constant maintenance.

An idea that Matson and others have is that different service organizations - like the Rotary Club - could adopt a portion of the Trail to maintain in their own neighborhood.

Matson lives in Conifer, Colorado and he says that his Rotary Club has adopted their part of the Continental Divide Trail

“They have adopted seven miles,” Matson said. “There are all kinds of things a group can do.”

When Matson and his traveling companion from Kathmandu, Nepal - Pem Sherpa - arrived in Pie Town, New Mexico they knew there was a cabin waiting for them. It is owned by a woman named Nita Lauronde, who allows hikers on the Trail to stay there and enjoy her little piece of paradise.

“She raised five children there,” Matson says. “its only purpose now is for hikers to stay there.”

Kayci Cook Collins, who is the director of El Morro and El Malpais national monuments says that the Rotary Clubs along the Trail really support the Trail. Collins talked about the “Trail Angels” and how Matson exemplified the whole spirit of the Angels by hiking the entire trail, as he carves out one state at a time.

Matson says that he is hiking the New Mexico Trail in 2007, the Colorado Trail in 2008, and the Wyoming Trail in 2009.

And, as he goes he and Sherpa are studying the Trail to see what it needs.

Who climbed Mt. Everest to marry?

Sherpa and his bride Moni Mulepti needed a neutral place to marry because he is a Buddhist and she is a Hindu. Their parents were a problem, and they were trying to solve their dilemma.

So, Mulepti, who had already climbed Mt. Everest, suggest that as a place to marry.

Pem Sherpa and Moni Mulepti married with witnesses after an arduous climb, which took three months. We were able to witness their marriage by video.

Since, they have a two-month-old daughter, Pelzom Moni Sherpa.

Pelzom was born after her father left on his Continental Divide journey - already the little adventurer.

Contact the Grants Rotary Club to find out about the Rotary CDT Challenge and how you can help.

By Lia Martin