BOOTS AND BONNET, WOMAN TO HIT THE TRAIL

If you have driven to Gordonville on Route K lately, you have seen Sharon Shafer walking along the road.

She's hard to miss. Shafer is the only walker wearing hiking boots, an early American-style prairie dress and a bonnet.

"Each time I walk I learn something new, something I can do better," Shafer said. "It's amazing how hot a bonnet is, though. I might have to do something about that."

Shafer, a nursing instructor at the Cape Girardeau Vocational-Technical School, is in training to walk in the sesquicentennial anniversary reenactment of the early settlers' traverse of the Oregon Trail.

In the mid-1800s, more than 300,000 people traveled the 2,200-mile trail from its starting point in Independence, Mo., to the west coast. Some journeyed in search of religious freedom, some looked to start a new life in the frontier and others went in search of California gold.

"It's a tribute to the settlers who traveled the Oregon Trail and a walking museum for all to see," Shafer said.

Shafer first heard about the reenactment on a television advertisement.

"I called just to get some information about the trail," Shafer said. "I wanted to make sure that it was going on at the same time that I was on vacation."

The reenactment starts at the Wyoming/Idaho border on June 26, and winds west to its final destination in Oregon City on the West Coast. Walkers, people riding in covered wagons and people on horses will travel on streets, roads, paths and bridges, sticking as close as possible to the original course.

The caravan is due to arrive in Oregon City Sept. 5.

Shafer will walk the trail for three days ... almost 60 miles across the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Idaho.

"I really didn't walk much before I decided to do this," Shafer said. "So I've been conditioning myself, walking from Wal-Mart to Gordonville and back. They told us to be prepared for a hot and dusty walk."

The participants are asked to bring a sleeping bag, a tent and changes of clothing. The brochure suggests that era-clothing be worn.

"They'll feed us and allow us one shower a day," Shafer said. "So we have to spend the whole day walking or riding, and then we have to set up our tents and sleeping bags. You can't just go home and take a shower and sit back and relax."

At night, the camp will be open to the public.

"There'll be dancing, story telling, the reading of journals from people who walked the trail and other frontier-type activities," she said.

The Idaho Dairymen's Association is providing oxen and cattle to walk alongside the participants.

"They said in the brochure that the cows that are prone to kick will be marked with red tags on their tails, just so everyone will know who to avoid," she said.

Since signing up to go along, Shafer has read several diaries and books about the Oregon Trail and the settlers who traveled it.

"People died on the trail every day from things like exhaustion, disease, malnutrition and childbirth," Shafer said. "Pioneer women had to have tremendous endurance. They spent the entire day walking or riding in shaky wagons, and then would get out and cook dinner over an open fire.

"In some cases, the settlers had to take the wagons apart and float them on rafts across rivers, which could take days, or even weeks," she continued.

"There were very few Indian attacks," Shafer said. "There were a couple of massacres, but for the most part, the Indians approached the settlers to trade things like venison for blankets or grains."

Although the wagon train participants will be in traditional era dress, there will be some modern adornments to the trip.

"I bought myself a $150 pair of hiking boots," Shafer said. "The trauma walking that distance inflicts on your feet is tremendous."

For Shafer, the trip is a dream vacation.

"I always wanted to take part in a wagon train to see if I had the guts and strength to endure the conditions," Shafer said. "I think that it will prove we can still take care of ourselves in that kind of situation."