By Glenn Koster
Walking Through Life
If you are reading this, I want to welcome you to the first edition of my “Walking Through Life” column with The Hutchinson Tribune. Almost anyone who knows me is aware that I am known for two things. First, I am a double-adoptee, who was abandoned in 1962 in northern Michigan. This means that I am not a native Kansan, even though my birth mother traces her roots to Fort Scott back before the Civil War and Kansas statehood. Secondly, I walk everywhere! In fact, over the course of the past nine years, I have now walked 36,000 miles. Along the way, I have walked every mile of every paved street in Hutchinson at least twice. I have walked to every nearby county line. I have walked to every community in Reno County. In fact, I am in the process of repeating each of these sometime in 2026. I have also walked from South Miami Beach, Fla., to Westport, Wash., by way of Texas and North Dakota. This should give you a good indication of where the title of this column came from!
I often talk to people about my walking, and invariably, the conversation will circle around to why I walk. I generally walk to stay in shape for my longer walks, which are designed to raise awareness for foster care and adoption. It usually does not take long for whoever I am talking with to say, “I could never walk like that!” In fact, they often tell me that if they are walking, it always has to be with a destination in mind.
Let me tell you, if you always walk with the destination in mind, you miss out on a lot of what you walk past! Hutchinson is full of inspirational places to walk and hiking trails that cover the majority of our town.
You can walk the Jim P. Martinez Sunflower Trail on the west side of town. It runs from Rice Park all the way to (and around) Carey Park. Any adventure on this trail will allow you to meet a variety of people and see virtually every aspect of Hutchinson’s geography. Granted, there are no mountains to climb and no deserts to cross, but it is an enjoyable walk nonetheless.
If you are into new and adventuresome experiences, you can walk the newly dedicated Bob Helfrich (Bad Bobby) Memorial Trail by Plum Street and Kisiwa Village Road. The trail was dedicated in November to remember the local bicycling leader. It has a gazebo, picnic spots, water fountains, and even a bicycle sculpture along the way. (And if you get hungry, it abuts the Dillons store on 30th Avenue and will soon cross paths with the new Wendy’s going in on 30th.)
You could also walk through River Banks Orchard Park, Sand Hill State Park, the Dillon Nature Center, the Meadowlark Trail, the Prairie Sunset Trail, Carey Park. Our city is full of adventurous places to walk without needing a destination in mind!
Or you could just come on out and join me as I walk the myriad wide sidewalks that cover our town.
The opportunities that await are too numerous to simply pass up! Just remember to walk with our eyes open: looking for the small things, the squirrels, the geese, the new yard ornaments you will encounter, and the smiles on people’s faces.
Glenn Koster is a former reporter, a retired pastor, and a retired IT professional who spends most of his time now walking and working with various Reno County non-profits. He can be reached at Glenn.Koster@gmail.com or by phone at 620-960-4492.