Trail Blazers

It’s always amazing to me how someone who lives with passion can change the lives of everyone he meets. A charismatic personality and the gift of gab don’t hurt, either. The men and women who make up the Palo Duro Canyon Corps of Engineers can attest to Red Spicer’s influence, and it all began by simply being invited to work.

Red loved people and being with them in the canyon that he loved. Over a little more than a decade, Red put in more than 22,000 hours building many of the original trails in the canyon, along with Bob Givens and Tom Lowery. He was an avid long distance runner and for 23 years was the race director for the Palo Duro Trail Run, which is held each October in the canyon. Since the canyon didn’t have trails, he started volunteer efforts to change that.

“He’d hang out down there and clear trails and build bridges or trails,” said Bill Ross, a PDC Corps volunteer.

Bill Ross and his wife, Wynn, were runners and Red’s neighbors. As was his way, Red got them to start volunteering in 1995. Wynn told me she met Red one time when she was running in the canyon and literally ran into him.

“He asked if I might want to help him move a rock,” Wynn said with a chuckle. “As he met new people, he’d always invite them to work.”

Kenneth and Patty Chambers met and married as a result of volunteering with Red. Patty met Red, Wynn and Bill after she saw them all carrying a picnic table and all the fixings (including wine) through the canyon on a hot summer day.

“I thought that they were crazy for doing that in the heat,” said Patty. But her curiosity got the best of her and she had to find out what they were doing. Patty credits them for inspiring her to trail run, run marathons and eventually volunteer in the corps.

Red formally named his work group the Corps of Engineers in 1996. All the corps members have badges that Red made them.

“He’d tell us we had to work 2100 volunteer hours and then we’d get a badge,” Wynn said. Red never a created a formal non-profit organization. He just gathered people who shared his passion for the canyon and running and put them to work. Sadly, Red passed away in August 2008.

Members of the Corps still labor once a month in the canyon not only because they find it therapeutic, but also because they want to keep Red’s memory alive. For now, they work mainly in cooler seasons to avoid the summer heat. They maintain all the trails by keeping landslides at bay, addressing erosion concerns and removing boulders. Currently, there are about 10 volunteers but the corps would like “young blood” to come in and help take up Red’s torch.

That night, the “young blood” volunteers were Cris Villagomez and Matt Melvyn. The two are working with Partners in Palo Duro, which is an organization that helps the group with tools and volunteers. Melvyn plans to file for non-profit 501(c)(3) status.

“I want to make sure that PDC stays in the same great shape,” said Cris. “That way, we’ll all be able to keep using it.” In the future, the group hopes to have at least three trail work days each summer, a clean up day once a month and build more trails that will support the growing number of people using them.

When I met up with the corps members, Bill and Wynn Ross, Rodney Hess, Kenneth and Patty Chambers, Bill Snure, Cris Villagomez and Matt Melvyn were hard at work breaking a large boulder into pieces to clear a trail. It was back breaking work but easy to see that they all found joy in it. In fact, it seemed more like a family reunion than a work day; after laboring for a few hours, everyone pitched in and cooked a delicious steak dinner that they were kind enough to share with me. Then they enjoyed their canyon and each other’s company until dusk.

This volunteer work is perfect for anyone who loves the outdoors and enjoys the immediate reward of seeing the fruits of their labor. The corps has a supply of tools or workers can bring their own.

“Whatever you’re comfortable with,” says Bill Ross. “Come out and be prepared to work hard. People don’t have to stay all day, even just an hour would help.”

For more information about volunteering with the Palo Duro Corps of Engineers, send an email to palodurocoe@gmail.com to receive monthly updates regarding work days.

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