The experience allows those involved a rare glimpse into one aspect of traditional Navajo life.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account and connect your subscription to it by clicking here.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active, online-only subscription then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
The Ultra Adventures and Vacation Races held a Hogaán Building campout to give their race participants a way to see the land through which they run and a way to experience it that is culturally unique. The experience was also a way to thank the Manson family who allowed the Antelope Canyon Ultra race to use the trail on their grazing land. The hands-on learning project drew a small crowd of regulars from the destination races that Ultra Adventure and Vacation Races hold annually.
It was a volunteer event coordinated by Matt Gunn, one of the co-owners of Ultra Adventure and Vacation Races.
Gunn reached out to Otis Manson who is also a runner. Otis then reached out to Tom Manson, his son Tyler and their family.
“They were agreeable to the idea,” said Gunn. “We came to meet with Tom and discussed how we might be able to get the runners involved in a meaningful experience that would allow them to learn about Navajo culture and what the land means to them. Hopefully, we have the opportunity to show our gratitude for being able to run in this beautiful area.”
The hogaán building project began with the Manson family needing to tear down a 45 year old hogaán that had some wall deterioration and had not been built in the traditional fashion.