Hearty hikers hit the trail to start 2024 at Wildcat Glades

John Hacker, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·3 min read

Jan. 2—About 10 hikers braved temperatures in the 30s and gray skies to start the new year with a first day Hike on the trails at Wildcat Glades along Shoal Creek in Joplin.

Colvin Paige, naturalist with the Wildcat Glades Nature Group, led the hike around the Woodland Loop near Shoal Creek, pointing out animals and plants working to survive winter's shorter, colder days.

"Now that we're in the deep stages of winter things are starting to change," Paige told the hikers. "Animals are settling in for the long haul, a lot of our migrators are completely out of here. Then a lot of the animals migrating to us are here and they're here to stay."

Area residents said they were glad to get out on a crisp New Year's morning for fresh air and to see what was out and about in the woods along Shoal Creek.

"I love this walk," said Christy Bauer, of Joplin. "It used to be earlier, which was harder to get to, but 9 a.m. I can get to. It's not too bad, the wind is not blowing today and it's just a really beautiful walk. There's always something changing on the trail because we live in Joplin and there's a lot of seasons. There are birds and a variety of animals. You never know what you're going to run into."

Jennifer Tindle, of Neosho, said this was her first time walking the trails at Wildcat Glades and she was looking forward to it.

"I enjoy hiking, I've always wanted to do a first day hike and I decided this year I'd make that happen," Tindle said. "You know the old wives tail, what you do on the first day of the year you do all year. I'm hoping to do more hiking. I have not walked this trail before. I'm new to this area. I went to college in Neosho and now that I've graduated I've decided to stay around, so I'm looking to find more ways to get out in nature in this area."

Johnny Brown, rural Newton County, is a volunteer at Wildcat Glades every Tuesday, but he's not as familiar with the trails in Wildcat Park as he'd like to be, so he brought his wife, Janet Brown, to the first day hike.

"We want to get a little bit of exercise right off the bat and I'm still learning the trails a little bit," Johnny Brown said. "We started last summer coming out and I decided to join their volunteer group and we spend a lot of time, we don't necessarily walk all the trails, we spend a lot of time here, there, covering up graffiti and things like that."

Brown said he thought the hike was a great chance to get out with his wife and see things they might not see hiking on their own.

Paige said getting out on the first day of a new year can be special to some people.

"I think it's kind of symbolic," Paige said. "A lot of people spend New Year's Eve partying and getting wild but starting New Year's Day with a tranquil event like this kind of, it's like locking in what we want for the new year."