Sign up underway for Volksmarch to benefit High Mountain Youth Project

• Drop-in center for students experiencing home disruptions will be the beneficiary of event proceeds

On Aug. 17, the High Mountain Youth Project will offer local enthusiasts and visitors a chance to “take a hike” for a good cause, said officials with the volunteer group aimed at helping students experiencing homelessness

Registration of groups, families and individuals is underway.

Sanctioned by the global Volksmarch organization and sponsored by High Mountain Youth Project in partnership with Sun Country Striders, the event will be staged from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., on the Mescalero Fitness Trail south of the Inn of the Mountain Gods on the Mescalero Apache Reservation adjoining the Village of Ruidoso.

A donation of $10 per family is suggested, but larger donations are welcome from walkers and non-walkers alike. This is the second annual High Mountain Volksmarch event. The first was conducted last year on one of the Fort Stanton hiking trails.

“The five kilometer trail near IMG is paved and offers a rolling but moderately easy path for walkers of all ages,” said event coordinator Roy Benavides. “It’s going to be a healthy, family friendly opportunity to enjoy quality time together while helping a good cause.”

Support local journalism: Subscribe to the Ruidoso News

Participants can hike the 5K or 10K, rated 2A. The Mescalero Fitness Trail is across from the Inn of the Mountain Gods at 287 Carrizo Canyon Road. The reservation adjoins the Village of Ruidoso and Carrizo is one of the main connecting roads.

Snacks will be available for sale. The altitude is about 7,000 feet.

High Mountain Youth Project operates a drop-in center every afternoon at the Jira Plaza on Mechem Drive across from Albertsons in Ruidoso. The center is aimed at helping teenaged students who need a quiet place to do homework, get tutoring or advice from trained adult staff and volunteers, or just read and relax.

Go outside and move 

Volksmarching is a form of non-competitive fitness walking that developed in Europe in the mid-late 1960s, according to High mountain officials. The Volksmarch movement maintains and publicizes a schedule of approved events all over the world, and aficionados often travel across state and national borders to take part in the ones that appeal to them.

Sun Country Striders is a southern New Mexico-based member of the American Volkssport Association, America’s Walking Club, and features year-round walking events in Las Cruces, Old Mesilla Village, Cloudcroft and Ruidoso.

In Texas the club also offers walks in El Paso and the Guadalupe Mountains.

Volksmarching origins

The term volksmarching comes from the German "Volksmarsch," which means "people's march." A form of non-competitive fitness walking that developed in Europe, by 1968, the International Federation of Popular Sports was formed by Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

The national emblems of those four countries were placed in a wreath to form the symbol IVV, and the headquarters is in Altötting, in the Bavarian region of Germany.

Though walking is the primary activity, the volkssporting movement also includes bicycling, swimming, cross-country skiing or snow-shoeing, and other approved activities. Special provisions also allow for people with disabilities to participate in most events.

Volksmarching associations offer incentive awards for participating in a certain number of events and for covering different cumulative distances over time. IVV members around the world organize more than 7,500 events each year for an estimated participation of 10,000,000 people, according to information about the organization.

More:Mountain marching to benefit High Mountain Youth Project

More:Third Annual Great High Mountain Bed Race in Ruidoso June 1

For more information about the event and how to register, follow this link: http://clubs.ava.org/gen3/data/event_details.asp?eventid=113938.

Reporter Dianne Stallings can be contacted at dstallings@ruidosonews,com.