Summer Games
Trail ride marks first day of summer for youths

By Pamela G. Dempsey
Staff Writer

Mountain bikers from Gallup Middle School who are participating in the National Indian Youth Leadership Project work their way along the trails at Cibola National Forest near Fort Wingate Tuesday. [Photo by Jeremy Schneider/Independent]

GALLUP — The first day of summer was welcomed by some local residents with a five-hour bike ride through a trail in McGaffey.

About 10 Gallup middle-school students soon to be junior high students strapped on helmets and swigged Gatorade before trekking off into the forest.

But it's a walk in the park for these kids as most of their experiences under the National Indian Youth Leadership Project have been outdoor ones.

"Realistically, it's a moderate trail," said Alex Tallant, one of the project's coordinators. "For kids, it's pretty hard."

Tallant and coworker Ben Soce used the trail's challenges to demonstrate how to take safe risks.

"We try to teach them to make good choices," Tallant said.

Although this was the group's first time on the trail, the kids have been working together since the beginning of the school year with different types of service projects.

Tallant said the group has been rock-climbing, backpacking, rappelling, and white water rafting.

Tomorrow, the kids will learn survival skills.

"Gallup Mid-School has been very supportive of us," Tallant said before riding off to catch up with the group.

Down the road, as the kids were peddling their way out of sight, another group, the Bruners, was settling in for a quiet afternoon.

Sharanne and Brett, an Albuquerque couple, took advantage of the cooler temperatures yesterday to sit outside of their tent and read a book while their dogs, Alice and Cinder slept nearby.

"We're trying to relax out here," Sharanne Bruner said as her husband lounged in a hammock reading.

Brett is in law enforcement and Sharanne works in the legal field.

On the advice of friends, the two decided to take in a few days at McGaffey and have hiked and read since Saturday.

Gallup's first day of summer saw temperatures range from as low as 45 to a high of 93, differing from last year's low of 50 and high of 86. A stray thunderstorm was also predicted for yesterday.