Trailing or Leading: Great trails have similar beginnings

A trail has to start somewhere. Even well-established, popular trails were once only thoughts and maybe some crushed gravel in a field. I’m proud to be a part of the early stages of the MYPath trail, mostly because I can see how this will grow.
Last week an acquaintance sent me an old photo. It was a picture of me and my wife, with our kids on our shoulders, walking on the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail in Elkhart County. It was taken in 1997. I used to live in Elkhart, about fifteen miles east of Notre Dame and five miles south of the Michigan state line. At the time, Pumpkinvine was a new rails-to-trails project that faced opposition and policy battles. But it kept growing, a little at a time. Now it is one of the iconic trails in Indiana.
The photo was sent to me by Joe Dits. He used to be a nature and outdoor activity writer for the South Bend Tribune. Currently he writes “Joe Dits on the Outdoors” on Substack. You should check it out. He and I have stayed acquainted, sharing info on trails and adventures. He is certainly aware of our efforts on MYPath.
When I lived up north, I enjoyed visiting the Pumpkinvine. I remember when it opened. It was a relatively short trail, on crushed stone, through a cornfield. Now, it connects Goshen, IN to Shipshewana, through beautiful Amish countryside. A tunnel under U.S. 20 was constructed so Pumpkinvine users could get from one side of the highway to the other. Let me say that again. A tunnel was dug under a U.S. highway for the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail.
The city of Elkhart worked with the county and Goshen to develop the Mapleheart Trail, to connect Elkhart to the Goshen Pumpkinvine trail. Get it? Goshen is the Maple City and Elkhart has “hart” in its name. City with a heart.  Mapleheart. Halfway between the cities is Oxbow Park, which is a really nice county park along the Elkhart River.
The dream of MYPath has always been to connect the Owen County Family YMCA on the west edge of Spencer with McCormick’s Creek State Park. Get it? Y for YMCA. M for McCormick’s Creek State Park. And then we are hoping one day to connect with a trail from Ellettsville. Connect Spencer to Ellettsville, Bloomington, and beyond with a park, McCormick’s Creek, in the middle.
I appreciate Joe Dits sending me the photo of our family walking along the Pumpkinvine trail. It brings back a lot of good memories. Maybe more importantly it reminds me of how great trails have simple beginnings. Just fourteen years ago, on Oct. 27, Mark Rogers from the Owen County Community Foundation, Darrell White from the Owen County Family YMCA, and other interested people conducted the first exploratory hike on what would become the MYPath Trail.
Look how far we have come in those 14 years. We can use existing sidewalks to get from the YMCA to downtown Spencer. Then we can cross the bridge and access the paved trail at the Owen County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) office. Then we can leave the paved trail and connect with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources boat ramp.
People are using MYPath and people are taking photos. Someday, one of us will send a MYPath photo to a friend, and it will trigger memories about how a trail can become an iconic trail in Indiana.

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