By Kacie Svoboda
On Saturday and Sunday, June 6-7, 9,500 participants made the 6.2 mile trek of the Crazy Horse Volksmarch.The reward for the climb is to stand on the outstretched arm of Chief Crazy Horse and get a close-up view of the 87-foot face of the Lakota leader. This unusual opportunity to see the carving in progress is what makes the Crazy Horse Volksmarch the most popular organized hike in the United States, gathering 15,000 walkers in a record year.
This family event is sponsored by the Black Hills Chapter of the American Volksmarch Association (AVA) and hosted by Crazy Horse Memorial.
This year’s event was cut short on Saturday due to the threat of a thunderstorm. This was only the second time in its 30-year history that the event has been stopped. Many hikers reminisced about doing the climb in snow and rain in previous years, but the potential for lightning was too much of a safety concern on Saturday.
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