Falcon Wanderers Walking Club

Took a couple of photos on the Sand Creek Trail walk today. A nice shady trail along the creek and a picture-perfect blue sky!

The Canyon City Fellowship Walk scheduled for today, April 15th, has been CANCELLED due to weather.

The Arkansas Riverwalk was stunning in its autumnal glory during yesterday's walk. If you missed this weekend's Fellowship Walk, we hope to see you on November 12th. Check out our Events section for all our upcoming walks!

A lovely May day to celebrate 41 years as a volksmarch club! We had a few "free walkers" right at the start/finish point, but they didn't seem in any hurry to start out on the trail. The weather was almost unseasonably warm, but there was a nice breeze through the pine-treed and hilly trails. Thank you for your participation!

Though the wind was chilly and gusty, the Garden of the Gods Earth Day Walk offered beautiful blue skies, sunshine, lovely landscapes and we spotted a few deer, as well! Perhaps you saw some big horn sheep or additional wildlife? Thank you for coming to walk with us!

Our Pueblo Riverwalk walk took place this morning. While we lacked the "river", we had a lovely sunshine-y day, plenty of beautiful art sculptures to view, and many friends to enjoy the walk with!

Pikes Peak Greenway Year-round walk change:

Trail has been modified to an up and back to the Air Force Academy ice lake gate for both the 5k and 10k distances. The registration box has been stocked with the updated directions, which will be in place from now until sometime in 2022.

Blue skies and sunshine!! The walk around Northern Colorado Springs neighborhoods and through John Venezia Park was well-received. We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you, again, in September for our Clear Spring Ranch Walk!

This past Saturday was the walk in Woodland Park where over 70 walkers enjoyed a new route along trails, storefronts, and through neighborhoods. The weather was beautiful and the rain held off until all walkers had finished for the day! We were even treated to a hooved walking companion along the trail!

A lovely, sunny celebration day as we held our 40th Anniversary walking event. The USAFA provided picturesque scenery and we welcomed over 100 walkers! Also commemorating the occasion were the current Club president alongside three of our past presidents.

You may have heard that the Falcon Wanderers Club celebrates a milestone anniversary this year!! To commemorate our 40 years in operation, a special embroidered patch is available for purchase ($9) at all of our walks throughout the year.

And don't miss our anniversary walk on May 1st. Pre-registration by April 21st is MANDATORY. Please see the event link for more information.
https://fb.me/e/zz95wbKB

The start point for the Manitou Springs year-round/seasonal event, The Magnuson Grand Pikes Peak Hotel, has unexpectedly closed. The walk is still available by utilizing the remote registration process. Thank you.
http://www.falconwanderers.org/YREs/YRE.php?year=2020

2020 YRE/Seasonal Events, Falcon Wanderers, Colorado Springs, CO

The executive board has decided to cancel the Christmas Walk on December 5, and the membership meeting scheduled for December 14. With the increased restrictions on gatherings of people from unrelated households, we felt the risk of exposure to illness was too great for our workers and participants.

Non-perishable food and monetary donations can be made in a "drive through" format at the Modern Woodmen building, 2924 Beacon Street, on December 5 from 9 A. M. to Noon. We will utilize the driveway on the north end of the building to access the drop off point behind the building, and return to Beacon St. via the south driveway. Donations by check can also be sent to the club at PO Box 17162, Colorado Springs, CO 80935-7162, clearly marked for Westside Community Center.

No sign of the snow to come this evening. The day warmed quickly and allowed us to have a successful and gorgeous walk in Homestead Ranch Regional Park! We appreciate your participation!!

Another cloudless Colorado day yesterday for the Farish volksmarch. There were still golden aspens to be seen on the trail and not even a ripple of a breeze on the lake. We were happy to see you!

The smoky haze of the past couple days gave way to blue skies and sunshine as we remembered an integral member of the Falcon Wanderers during our Violet Sykora memorial walk in Bear Creek Park. We were happy to see so many of you!

We held a beautiful memorial walk yesterday in recognition of club member John Baird. Cheyenne Mountain State Park did not disappoint with it's beautiful scenery and miles of well-maintained trails. We hope you enjoyed the opportunity to walk with us!

Happy Earth Day, walkers!
The photo is from our Earth Day Walk through a snowy Garden of the Gods in April 2018. Sadly, we missed seeing you, as our annual Earth Day event this past weekend was cancelled. We've also cancelled our Anniversary Walk in May and are greatly missing you!
We hope you are well, safe, and healthy and we look forward to being able to walk together again, soon!

A bit of chilly weather for today's walk, but a very nice route. The Trolley Museum was a definite highlight!

Please see the following statement regarding the status of the St. Patrick's Day event tomorrow:

Due to health concerns and risk of exposure to illnesses in group situations, the Falcon Wanderers will host a scaled back version of the 23rd Annual St. Patrick’s Day Walk tomorrow, March 14. We will have minimal workers at the start/finish area, at the Modern Woodmen of America building, 2924 N. Beacon Street, in Colorado Springs. The start will still open at 8:30 A. M., and the finish time may be adjusted depending on the number of participants, and the start time of the last walker. AVA books and New Walker packets will be available for purchase, as well as club memberships/renewals and “B” Awards. We request participants to refrain from providing snacks and “green goodies” for this event. We emphasize that attendance and participation in this event is at the discretion of each individual. We hope that the current situation will improve before our next event on Earth Day, April 18, at Garden of the Gods. We appreciate your support of the club and our events, and we hope that you and your loved ones remain healthy and active.

An absolutely gorgeous day and a wonderful turnout from our walkers ensured that we had a great time in Fountain Creek Regional Park today.

A nice walk in Florence, CO today through neighborhoods and along historic Main Street. The start/finish point was the old rail road depot. Spotted this skilled carving from a tree stump, too.

Sharing so anyone interested can make plans to attend the Memorial Walk in November.

Clark C. Soeldner of Colorado Springs, CO



On Tuesday, October 8th, 2019, Clark "Chuck" Soeldner, loving father, brother, grandfather, and friend passed away at the age of 75.

Chuck was born on February 16th, 1944, in Boston, MA, to A. Warren and Mary (Atkinson) Soeldner. He served in the US Air Force for twenty-four years, followed by a twenty-seven-year career with Global Credit Union overseas before retiring to Colorado Springs to spend time with family and friends. On December 6th, 1964, he married Demetra Mitsi Eftichidou. They raised one son, Warren.

Chuck had a passion for traveling and walking and managed to combine both - globetrotting all over the world to participate in organized walks and Volksmarches. From Europe to Australia, South America to Asia, North America to Africa - Chuck logged walks in China, Norway, New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Germany, India, to name but a few of the dozens of countries he visited. He was booked to travel to Antarctica in January to log his seventh continent. Chuck was a member of the Internationaler Volkssportverband (IVV), the Federazione Italiana Amatori Sport Per Tutti (FIASP), and the American Volkssport Association (AVA), as well as an active member of local clubs wherever he lived. On any given day he could be found pacing off a new walk on the front range, run-walking three thousand meters up in the alps, or just keeping others company as they walked his favored Pikes Peak Greenway Trail. Always recognizable by his bright shirts, floppy hats, and mutton chops, he would strike up a conversation in any country and was known by many as a great friend. Chuck was also an avid train buff, never missing an opportunity to snap a photo of a locomotive for his collection, enjoy a scenic train ride, or add new rolling stock to his beloved N-scale Railroad.

Chuck was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his son Warren, his sister Carol, and several cousins, granddaughters and great-grandchildren.

A committal service will be held on Friday, November 29th, 2019 at Pikes Peak National Cemetery at 3 p.m. Donations in memory of Chuck may be made to the Springs Rescue Mission and the National Parks Conservation Association.

The Colorado Springs Walking Club will sponsor a 5 km walk in Chuck's memory, starting at the Colorado Springs Downtown YMCA at 9 a.m. on November 29th, 2019.

On December 1st, 2019, there will be a memorial 5 and 10 km walk in the town of Belfiore, Italy to honor the "run-walkers" who passed away this year. The Aviano Road Runners Club will all be there in Chuck's memory and to add his name to the monument wall.

It turned out to be lovely sunny weather in Farish with a brisk blustery breeze. The leaves had mostly turned to brilliant golden hues!
Thank you for making another successful event!

What great weather for a pre-autumn walk at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument!
I saw bugs and birds and had a chat with a chipmunk on my journey.
How was your experience today?

It was another beautiful Colorado day and the walk starting from Mt. Saint Francis was the perfect way to enjoy it!

It was a beautiful spring day in Colorado and so many of you showed up to participate in the Earth Day Walk. Thank you for coming and supporting your local walking club!

Anyone who wants to walk the new Falcon Wanderers Olympic walk is invited to meet at the 7-11 registration point, 310 west Uintah, at 10 am on Saturday, March 30. Details on GroupWorks.

A beautiful, sunshiny, pre-spring day today and many of you joined us for this lovely walk! Whether you participated in the 5k or the 10k, we were so happy to have you! Our next event is April 20th, so we'll see you, again, soon!