Full of life: photographer hikes entire Chisholm Trail with 'tramily'

Apr. 14—For five weeks, Bart Smith, M.J. "Sunny" Eberhart and Barry Riddle traveled from Alamo, Texas, to Abilene, following in the footsteps of the cowboys on the historic Chisholm Trail. Smith and Eberhart hiked, while Riddle followed along as support in his remodeled white van. Unfortunately, Eberhart could not finish the journey due to a car running over and breaking his leg. Smith continued the hike on his own, and finished the journey at noon April 11.

"We take joy in this. You're talking to a guy that's pushing 85-years-old, and I am just so happy for life," Eberhart said. "How many people do you know my age that you can say that they're full of joy, full of energy and they're passionate about life yet? I'm there, Barry's getting there, and Bart's getting there because of how we live."

Hiking the Chisholm Trail

Smith, Eberhart and Riddle began their journey March 4. Their route was almost 1,000 miles long. For five weeks, Smith and Eberhart hiked over 20 miles each day.

"Walking the trail, it's obviously so different, but the one thing you can appreciate is the scale of the land that they had to do when you walk it," Smith said. "Just the elements they had to deal with, and you can really appreciate, like, on a night when there's a big old lightning storm, I mean what they would have had to deal with to control 2,000 cows and longhorn cattle in a situation like that."

Smith said the group followed the trail as best as they could. The historic trails are not meant to be hiked in their entirety, so Smith and Eberhart had to respect private property and walk along the trail when needed. For example, they mostly traveled from Alamo along Interstate 35 to Fort Worth, Texas. Despite some not claiming the trail starts near the U.S.-Mexico border, Smith said they wanted to start in Alamo because others claim the trail starts in Alamo.

"I'd say that everywhere we went, especially Oklahoma and Kansas, you can just see the pride of the local folks on the Chisholm Trail," Smith said.

Part of their hiking experience, Eberhart and Smith said, is they are traveling generally at the same minimum rate of 20 miles per day as the pioneers, travelers or whatever footsteps the two are following.

"There's whispers and shadows out there," Eberhart said. "You can hear the whispers, and you can look and see the shadows, but you can't make it quite real."

One of Smith's favorite memories from the hike was experiencing the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center in Duncan, Oklahoma. Another favorite moment was spending the night talking with an Oklahoman.

"By and large, the people are just nice as can be; respectful, supportive," Smith said. "I really haven't had a bad experience walking all of America's 30 trails, not where I'd be in a danger kind of situation."

Bart Smith

Smith, 63, lives in Tacoma, Washington. His profession is nature photographer, carrying his gear on most of the historic and scenic trails he has hiked. He has 10 photo books published, two being "America's Great Hiking Trails" and "America's Historic Trails." He is considering publishing a book about cattle trails in America and include his photos from the Chisholm Trail.

"I say that these trails kind of give me an excuse for an adventure. That adventure is being Huck Finn, experiencing the land in an unusual way; a physical, very step-by-step kind of way," Smith said.

Smith said he has hiked all 20 of the U.S.'s National Historic Trails and 11 National Scenic Trails. While the Chisholm Trail is not designated by the federal government, Smith said he expects it will be eventually. He hiked the trail in anticipation of the designation.

"Maybe more so, it's just that's where the cowboy ethos originated, was on the cattle drives," he said. "That's such a large impact on America's view of ourselves and all that with the western era."

In the future, Smith said he wants to hike all of the 2,000-plus miles of Route 66 and do more wilderness hikes.

To see more about Smith, go to his website at bartsmithphotography.com.

M.J. "Sunny" Eberhart

Eberhart, 83, grew up in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. What the retired eye doctor and army veteran is most known for is being the oldest person in recorded history to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. He finished at the age of 83 in 2021, finishing the trail for the third time. He also has written several books, such as "Ten Million Steps" and "Where Less the Path is Worn."

"I'm Huck Finn," Eberhart said.

Eberhart's hiking experience stretches back to the 1980s, according to his blog. His first self-recorded long distance hike — on his blog and book "Ten Million Steps" — is the Eastern Continental trail that incorporates several trails, starting in the Florida Keys and ending in New Brunswick, Canada, which took 10 months to complete. His blog also contains 25 other long distance hikes or, as he calls them, Odysseys.

For now though, Eberhart is going to spend the future healing his leg. On his blog, he said the Chisholm Trail would be his last long distance hike.

To read about Eberhart's journey's and learn more about him, go to his blog at nimblewillnomad.com.

Barry Riddle

Alabama resident and retired Alabama Department of Public Health employee Riddle, 68, describes himself as a day hiker and supporter. He has completely driven the Oregon Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Appalachian Trail, Florida National Scenic Trail and parts of more.

He first met Eberhart on Flagg Mountain in Alabama in 2017 as Eberhart was hiking the Pinhoti Trail. Since then, Riddle has filled the role of support for Eberhart in a few hikes, such as in New Mexico and Arizona as he hiked Route 66 and for a few weeks as he hiked the Appalachian Trail for his achievement.

"I'm here because of those guys," Riddle said. "They provide an excellent experience for me in supporting them, picking them up, set up camps, finding camps, scouting out different things and places."

Riddle drives what he calls the Chuck Box, a white Chevrolet Express van with a modified interior. He bought the van right after he retired. Behind the driver's seat are wooden shelves holding packaged food, hiking gear, medical items and other supplies. The shelf is about three feet parallel with the driver's side, leaving space on the passenger side for a door and entrance. Perpendicular to the shelves as long as the van's width is a bed frame with a queen-sized mattress. Eberhart rested on the mattress for the remainder of the Chisholm Trail hike after a car ran over and broke his leg. In the back of the van is about a square foot or two long of trunk space.

Typically he camps out of the van, Riddle said. The Chisholm Trail hike was the first for the van after its remodel, Riddle said.

"He's discounting the importance of this," Eberhart said, "but it's very important."

Smith compared Riddle's role to the chuck wagons of the pioneers; feeding and providing a place of respite.

Smith described Riddle as "the glue" of their operation.

Trail names

Smith and Eberhart both have trail names. Eberhart is the Nimblewill Nomad. Smith, though he does not use it often, is Infinite Dust. Some are given, others are self made, Eberhart and Smith said. Smith created his own trail name.

"On so much of these old trails, we have no idea the dust they had to deal with, and very rarely in westerns — I don't know if I've ever seen it in a western movie — they'd come in with wagon trains, and they'd be so covered in dust. They'd look like clowns, and they did not have much for protection." said Smith on why he chose Infinite Dust. "If you walk the Pacific Crest Trail, you're dealing with some serious dust. And then there's also, part of us will all go on to become stardust. It covers several levels."

Eberhart said trail names can either be given or made in honor of something or after a stupid decision.

Tramily

"We're cut from the same cloth, Bart and I," Eberhart said.

Riddle said many people in the hiking community often hike in groups. Consistent groups become a tramily — a trail family — as they bond over their experiences on the trail.

"Sunny was going to do the Lewis and Clark Trail. I was thinking that would be cool, but I had to do other things. He ended up doing the Lewis and Clark trail, so I missed that with him," Smith said about how him and Eberhart first began hiking together. "Then a number of years later, he saw that I did the Oregon Trail, and then I was going to be doing the California Trail. He just called me up and said, 'hey, let's do the California Trail.'"

Eberhart's and Smith's California Historic Trail hike happened around 2015. The two have also completed the Pony Express Trail and the Mormon Pioneer Trail together.

"(Smith) mentioned a while ago, the vicissitudes of getting up, dealing with the wind and whatever the elements are, wearing yourself out and being glad the day's over and asking yourself, 'Why the hell are you doing this,' and, 'Why don't you just go home,'" Eberhart said. "Then next morning you can't wait to get going again. You feel that energy."