TRAIL USER PROFILE: Gene White and Kings Mountain Gateway Trail
Gene White is a familiar face along the Kings Mountain Gateway Trail, a section of Carolina Thread Trail in Kings Mountain, NC. As we walked the loop he and his wife take several times a week, he greeted everyone who passed by. He’s noticed that there has been an increase not only in trail usage lately, but also in the diversity of trail users. His goal is to make each person feel welcome in hopes that this trend continues.
92-year-old Gene White, the “Walking Champion” of Kings Mountain Gateway Trail, has logged over six thousand miles since 2009.
At 92 years young next month, Gene finds the 0.7-mile loop segment of the 5-mile trail to be the perfect path to walk with his wife, Dru, and enjoy the beauty and wildlife that the trail has to offer.
“There was a full-grown doe that just came out right in front of me,” Gene told us as he reflected on one of his favorite trail moments, “and she had two little fawns tripping along behind her, they were probably 5 or 6 days old. You can’t see things like that anywhere else.”
Gene has logged about 6,000 miles since the Gateway Trail opened in 2009, but he had been an avid user of that trail long before it got its name. He credits his time on the trail to helping with his health through a surgery, chemo, and radiation treatments over the years. These health benefits, along with the interaction he gets with other trail users, are just a few of the things that motivate him to get out of the house and into nature.
One request Gene made to us at the end of our walk was to acknowledge the incredible impact that Shirley Brutko, Executive Director of the Kings Mountain Gateway Trail, has made in their community. Not only does Shirley oversee the trails’ maintenance and improvement today, but she led the planning committee for the trail back in 2001, and saw the plan through to the trail’s opening in 2009. The Thread Trail supported the trail’s creation through grant funding, helping to make it a reality.
As the honorary “Walking Champion” of the Kings Mountain Gateway Trail, Gene advises that the trail is an excellent place to walk year-round, and that it offers plenty of shade and beauty. From wildlife spottings to activities like 5k and 10k races, he is sure you will encounter something special during your time on the trail.