September 1974: Meeting of recreational trail
users led by Dorothy Moore. Out of that meeting came the concept of
Perry Lake Trail and the Kansas Trails Council.
The Kansas Trails Council fielded its first
team of pathfinders on a bitterly cold day in January, 1976---that’s
when the Perry Lake Trail was born! From the beginning the Kansas
City Outdoor Club has played a major role in mustering volunteers to
do the hard manual labor of scouting, designing, clearing, marking
and maintaining a hiking trail.
The first two sections, stretching from
Slough
Creek
Park
through
Longview
Park
to Old Military
Trail Area were dedicated as a National Recreational Trail in April,
1978.
In 1983, the pathfinders came back to
Perry
Lake
, determined to add
another fourteen miles, and determined, also, to develop a network
of organizations and individuals to take care of the trail. Six
years later they put the final blue blaze and the entire 28-mile
loop was marked and ready for hiking.
2/28/1991: Richard Douthit signs on as Trail
Coordinator at Perry.
3/27/1992: Steve Hassler and Kevin Otterman
sign on as Trailwatchers at Perry.
10/17/1992: Trailbuilding workshop at
Longview
Park
, led by Richard
Douthit. Cleared the spur trail to access a Hiker’s Campground with
seven campsites. Each site provided a table and a rock fire ring,
and was separated from other sites by at least
20-30’
10/18/1992: Volunteers camped the weekend at
Old Military Trail for the trailbuilding workshop above. The
Trailhead at Old Military Trail was relocated from an erosion area
to an area about 20’ east at the corner of the parking
lot.
1993: Coordinator: Richard Douthit;
Trailwatcher Section1: Jim Jackson; Trailwatcher Section 2: Kevin
Otterman; Trailwatcher Section3: Steve Hassler; Trailwatcher Section
4: Don Morford; Project Manager: Frank Funk; Park Manager: Dennis
Archer.
November 1993: Jim Jackson led a work crew
which began on top of the hill at Devil’s Gap Trailhead and made a
loop down to the picnic grounds.
February 1994: Dorothy Moore is announced as
the Coordinator for Perry Lake Trail, replacing Richard Douthit. The
trailwatchers consist of: Jim Jackson, Section1; Kevin Otterman,
Section 2, Steve Hassler, Section 3; John Haynes, Section
4.
February 1996: Natural Resources Specialist
Bunnie Watkins starts at Perry and takes an active role with
the trail.
March 1997: Dave Brackey signs on as
Trailwatcher for Section 1.
11/1/97: Sierra Club Maintenance Outing. Small
crew devoted manpower to finishing the OMT
bridge.
1/31/98: Sierra Club Maintenance Outing. Sierra
club crew worked on the reroute of Section 2 near the current
site of Richard Douthit park bench.
November 2004: KCOC volunteer crew, led by
Kevin Otterman, installs Dorothy Moore Memorial Park Bench on
Section 2 at Solitude Point.
6/18/2005: National Trails Day event. Dave
Brackey, Bunnie Watkins and Kevin Otterman install the Richard
Douthit Memorial Park Bench on Section 2 along the main
lake.
Fall 2005/Spring 2006: Mile markers installed along sections 1, 2
and 3.
10/2/05: The 94th Street Foot Bridge
was lost to flash flooding sometime in the morning
hours.
The other foot bridges remained intact,
but the
Old
Quarry Road Bridge
was only a couple feet above lake level!
12/10/05: Volunteer laid out initial
reroute path for Section
4 near Ferguson Road. The reroute will
intersect access road to the Slough Creek boat ramp, near the Slough
Creek Bridge on Ferguson Road. Benefits include: new trailhead
access with parking, easier maintenance on portions of trail moved
into the trees, improved/safer crossing of Ferguson
Road.
3/4/2006: Sierra Club/KCOC Maintenance
Outings. Reroute of Section 4 near Ferguson Road completed. Old
route abandoned.
3/25/06: Volunteers installed mile markers on
Section 4. At this time, mile posts #1 thru #18, #24,
and #26-#28 are in place. Section 4 near the Audubon
sanctuary is in very good condition due to regular maintenance. New,
updated maps were placed in the kiosk at the Slough Creek
trailhead.
March/April 2006: Eagle Scout volunteers from
Troop 249, Topeka, construct the 66th Street foot bridge.
March 2006: Trailhead Kiosk at Old Military
Trail area installed by Troop 351 Shawnee. Eagle Scout project for
Josh Wood.
March 2006: Foot bridge under construction at
66th Street. Troop 249 Topeka. Eagle Scout project for Doug
Ingersol.
June 2006: Hiker crossing signs were erected on
Ferguson Road at the Slough Creek Bridge and at Old Military Trail
area. Thank you, Jefferson County!!!
6/11-6/24/06: Volunteers completed construction
of the Trailhead Kiosk at the Slough Creek Bridge boat ramp
area.
7/10/06: New Trailwatcher volunteer for Section
4. Welcome Aboard, Bob!
7/16/06: COE meeting with volunteer crew. Dave
assumes role as the new Trail Coordinator.
