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David and Phebe Novic
became the owners of
The Warming House, an outdoor outfitting
store in Estes Park,
Colorado in 1983. Both being former
educators, they found
teaching people to hike and buy the
proper gear an enjoyable
experience. David always said, "Teachers
make great retailers.
When people come in and actually ask
for help, and to be 'taught', we fall all
over ourselves.
After hiking in Colorado and
spending
11 years traveling to Nepal and many
parts of Europe, they
discovered long-distance hiking "inn to
inn-style" on a trip
across England. Here was a great
opportunity for walkers who
didnt want a backpacking experience, but
loved to hike and
travel.
In 2003, they began
Footpaths Of The World,
introducing Americans to the joys of
long-distance walking - an established favorite way of
traveling by the Europeans.
Then, in January of 2005, they
put together a
long-distance route from Estes Park to
Allenspark, primarily
for fun and for an article for The Estes
Park News. "It was supposed to just be a concept about how
a long-distance hiking would
look here," said Phebe. As lodging is
always an important
part of the experience, she met with the
B&B association
in Estes Park where the idea caught on
immediately. "Before I
knew it, they were saying- forget the
article, let's do it."
Today the newly established Walter Tishma Way, hiking
and snowshoeing trips in Colorado, and
several overseas trips
are offered by Footpaths as guided or
self-guided trips. There
is also information on other routes
around the world as well
as plenty of gear and packing tips to
help you get ready. With
23 years of experience in the outdoor and
travel industry,
they know how it's
done.
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