A loss

Taylor County lost a conservation giant this week with the death of Gerald “Buzz” Meyer.

Buzz was one of those guys who reached a certain point in his life and from then on appeared not to age or be impacted by weather, or much of anything. — much like the weathered tree stump near a forest trail, silver with age, serving as a guidepost and marker for generation of hikers.

Buzz never seemed to age from the moment I met him at the former Holiday Station where the south Kwik Trip now stands, to when I spoke to him last fall about leading a group of students through the woods. In my mind’s eye he appeared closer to 50 than to 72 years old.

I got to know Buzz over the years covering trail building efforts by members of the High Point Chapter of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail and his excitement about helping to lead Rib Lake school students and others along the trails. He would point out the hemlock and the pines and the broad open spaces of mature forests areas. He was always ready to put his back into trail building and maintenance efforts.

In the past few years, I had the opportunity to talk with Buzz while he was staffing the trail crossing on CTH E during the Midwest 100 Ultra Marathon. The race starts in the dim light of dawn above the beach at the Mondeaux Recreation Area, and participants would spend about and hour in the woods until coming out into the open and crossing the road before heading back into the forest.

There was usually time to kill as we waited for the runners to emerge from the early morning gloom of the forest and Buzz would talk about upcoming trail projects, recently completed works and would share stories of the through-hikers he would ferry as they traveled through Taylor County.

It would surprise area residents to realize just how many people decide to take a walk along all roughly 1,200 miles of the trail. As a representative of the High Point Chapter, and who put in many hours maintaining and building trails, Buzz would be contacted by the throughhikers and pick them up and drop them off at different parts of the trail. While some people enjoy sleeping in a hammock in the woods or in a tiny tent just off the trail, others finish their day’s hike with a beer and a warm shower in a hotel room. Buzz would connect with the hikers and help them along on their journeys, offering advice on trail conditions and learning about areas that needed to be improved. In the time spent standing at the side of sleepy, rural county road, Buzz would share stories of some hikers that were grateful that he would provide such a service, while others were demanding or, rarely, outright rude.

This year, Buzz was absent from his regular station. The trail entrance seemed a bit darker without his light to brighten the morning air.

Prior to the run, I had talked with Butch Clendenning of Rib Lake, another stalwart Ice Age Trail supporter, who let me know that Buzz wasn’t doing well and that the prognosis was not encouraging.

I had held out hope that I would have gotten to hear his stories one last time. Life and death and the passage of time doesn’t work like that. For all the moments time seems to drag along at a snail’s pace, the world is always rushing forward.

Buzz Meyer was not a flashy man. He would much rather spend time on the trails than share a spotlight. His legacy is in the many miles of trails he helped develop and maintain and the enduring love of the forest and nature that was evidenced in the stories he would share.

Buzz was one of the quiet, dependable people who worked hard and through his efforts made Taylor County a better place to be.