Written By Donna Engle
One wall of the recreation room in Jerry Baugher’s house near Mount Airy is filled with hundreds of brightly colored patches, souvenirs of trails trekked across America and in Europe, 20,000 kilometers (12,400 miles) on 1,860 volksmarches.
Volksmarches? Baugher is president of the Piedmont Pacers, a group of Carroll Countians whose passion for the sport of noncompetitive group walking-imported to the U.S. from Germany in the 1970s-brings them out on weekends to the trails of Hashawha Environmental Center, or past historic buildings and shops rimming the streets of Carroll County towns, or along the lake in Piney Run Park.
For Baugher, the exercise pays off in aerobic benefits, stress relief and staying in shape for downhill skiing and cycling. “I like pushing myself to see what I can do,” he said. At age 57, he can walk a 12-minute mile; hike the 25-mile round trip to the summit of 14,115-foot Pikes Peak, finish a 100-km (62 mile) event in under 15 hours, and the 41-mile Maryland section of the Appalachian Trail in 11 hours.
Volksmarching is a corruption of the German word “volksmarsch,” or “people walk,” an organized, noncompetitive walk of 5 to 10 kilometers (3.1 or 6.2 miles).In the 18 years of the Piedmont Pacers’ existence, the club has sponsored 82 organized walks, with participant registrations, checkpoints and souvenir medals or patches. The club also offers routes for five year-round events, where volksmarchers pick up directions from a “walk box” and walk on their own.
Volksmarchers say the lure of their sport is fun, fellowship and fitness.
Many who have volksmarched in Germany remember the fun of those walks. “It was like a festival, with bratwurst and beer and people mingling after [the walk],”
said Linda Jensen of Clarksville, who encountered the sport during her husband’s military service in Germany.
“A weekend volksmarch can erase work-related tension,” said Gloria Reedy of Dover Township, Pa., as she hiked around Hashawha on a recent Pacers walk. “Just getting out to see all the beautiful areas, towns and woods, it’s like a stress release,” she said.
For some, the fellowship of the walks is poignant. Carl Frock Jr. of Finksburg, a former president of the Pacers, has logged more than 26,000 kilometers since his first volksmarch in 1988. He and his son, Carl Frock III, began walking together.
“We walked every Saturday, summer, winter, rain or shine,” Carl Jr. said. “I’ve done walks in absolute pouring down rain. I’ve done walks in snow. Just the fact that you’re out there, the snow’s coming down, it’s quiet and peaceful. You’re not worried about the car sliding. It’s just you and nature.”
Carl Frock III died of cancer last year. Carl Jr. remains an active volksmarcher.
When volkssporters discuss fitness benefits, women often say walking keeps weight off. Men frequently mention conditioning for speed and distance.
There is no prize for finishing first or fastest. The hiking clubs from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, who formed the International Federation of Popular Sports (IVV) in 1968, agreed to keep the sport noncompetitive.
The Pacers, with 62 member families, are one of 350 local clubs in the U.S. Clubs sponsor walks; state organizations coordinate and sanction walks; the American Volkssport Association (AVA) awards pins, patches and certificates; and the IVV sanctions events in member countries and establishes award criteria. Some clubs sponsor other sports, such as bicycling, swimming, or cross-
country skiing, but the Carroll
group has held to the original purpose: walking.
The Pacers formed after a 1987 volksmarch in Westminster, sponsored by the Maryland Volkssport Association to assess local interest. Nearly 600 made the trek, 15 of whom signed up to start a club. Among them was Steve Duex of Westminster, who had been introduced to volksmarching in Germany during the 1970s. Steve became its first president.
Steve recalled going to the organizational meeting in September 1987,“with the idea of (it) being the Piedmont, from the mountains to the sea.” Someone suggested “Pacers” to connote setting the pace for volksmarches, and the club had a name.
The Pacers’ first walk was a 10-kilometer trek from the Union Mills Homestead to Hashawha in June, 1988. Club members laid out a trail, designed souvenir medals featuring the Shriver Grist Mill and patches with a Maryland theme, and enlisted the Silver Run/Union Mills Lions Club to sell refreshments. Nine hundred walkers made the trek. Buoyed by success, the club sponsored a walk in Piney Run Park five months later, which drew more than 800.
And the rest was history. The Pacers have continued providing opportunities for volksmarchers to gain fitness, meet like-minded walkers and discover hidden corners of Carroll and Frederick Counties.
On every volksmarch, volunteers make sure no one is left behind at the end of the day. But many volksmarchers admit to an occasional scenic detour.
Veteran volksmarchers Betty and Perry Rogers of Waynesboro, Pa., were not to blame for a misstep that once led them astray. Betty recounted the story during a recent Pacers walk. The couple was on a volksmarch with directions to start, “on the left side of the port-a-potty.” Unfortunately, before the couple started walking, someone moved the portable toilet. “We did 11 miles instead of six that day,” Betty Rogers said with a laugh.
Volksmarchers, who enthuse about the camaraderie and fitness benefits of their sport, are puzzled by a local, national and international decline in participation. “It’s really sad. With all the interest in health and fitness today, we can’t put a finger on why people just don’t or won’t participate,” said Pacers trailmaster Chuck Merkel of Sykesville.
Chuck, a founding member of the Pacers, said club membership has held steady over the years, but participation in walks is down. The tally for the club’s May 14 and 15 volksmarch at Hashawha was 166 walkers. “Years ago, 450 was a bad day,” Merkel said.
To celebrate the Pacers 20th anniversary in 2008, Baugher has his eye on more walks. “I would like it to be really special,” he said. His goal is to sponsor five or six natural trail walks that year, with an award or special patch in celebration of two decades of volksmarching. Additional information can be found at the club website: www.angelfire.com/md2/pacers/.
