How the xTexas Trail Project Started
On June 15, 2024, Charlie Gandy was hiking in Lake Tahoe California and dealing with far more snow than he realized he’d need to. He began wondering why his home state of Texas didn’t have its own cross state trail.
After all, Texas would be the perfect place weather wise when other long-distance trails were inaccessible due to snow and other weather challenges.
The more Charlie thought about it, the more he liked the idea. He called his wife Melissa (back home in Poulsbo WA) and told her about his big new hairy goal: create the first cross-state Texas trail for hiking and biking to be travelled in late fall, winter, and early spring. He’d need her help to create the website and social media. “I’m in,” she said, “but only if horses are included. It needs to be a hiking, biking, and equestrian trail.” Charlie said sure, why not?
Our Year and a Half Timeline: Things are moving fast
July ‘24: Charlie began researching the most rugged, romantic, and remote route across Texas he could imagine. He included all of his favorite places and mapped it out both with physical maps and Ride with GPS.
August ‘24: The xTexas Trail Project is officially launched with a website.
September ‘24: The xTx officially became a project of BikeTexas. Charlie hit the road doing the first level of in person ground-proofing and presented at the Texas Trails & Active Transportation Conference. The trail is featured in Texas Monthly.
October ‘24: Donations started pouring in as more media outlets pick up the story. The xTx was featured in Fox News online, the Good News Network, Gear Junkie, Chron.com and more.
November ‘24: Over 200 people completed the 1st xTx volunteer survey offering their time, talent, and treasure to make the trail happen. The xTx maked it into The Texas Standard, CNN’s 5 Good Things Podcast, and more. Landowners like Pene Ferguson of the White House Ranch in West Texas, Brandan Jacob in East Texas, and Beverly and Cobra Garland (who end up buying land along the route) reach out to become key players in making the trail happen.
Winter ‘24/‘25: The xTx ended the year beating its initial funding goals. The first xTx “Show & Tell” event was hosted at BikeTexas. People came from across the state to learn more, including veterinarian and endurance equestrian Tracy Kelly and her cycling husband Stewart. The xTx was featured on Texas Public Radio.
Spring ‘25: We host the 3/10 “Sweaty Taste of the xTx: The 1st 100 Miles.” Bicyclists, equestrians, and hikers joined Charlie for a week of adventure testing out the route. Cyclist Rhea Wallace went on to complete 1,200 miles of the draft route. “Show + Tells” were hosted in San Marcos and Sanderson. Charlie hosted 3 group ground-proofing expedition hikes through Big Bend’s Santa Elena Canyon for the xTx. The xTx was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, Conde Nast Traveler, and more!
Summer ‘25: July brings a terrible 1,000-year flood to the Hill Country through part of the xTx draft route. Charlie spends a week with the Heart ‘O the Hills helping clean up in the wake of the tragedy. We hired an Executive Director in Training! Beckie Irvin brings an amazing array of talent to the tiny xTx team. The xTx began the process to become a non profit on our own. The starting point of the route was moved further north on the Louisiana border. Charlie and Beckie did more painstaking in person ground proofing to solve pain points and gaps on the route. The xTx is featured on the Texas Parks & Wildlife Better Outside podcast.
Fall ‘25: We officially become a non profit on our own. The xTexas Trail Association is born! We announced our new Board of Directors. Rhea Wallace and Charlie finished cycling the final 300 miles of the route and Rhea becomes the first person to cycle the full 1,500 miles! Texas Parks & Wildlife shared a highlight reel of their Better Outside podcast interview and we gain 500+ new Instagram followers in a few days. Wow! What a gift. A new complete GPS route will be announced at the end of November/beginning of December. Stay tune!
Shown in the images from the top left:
1) Charlie being interviewed for the Texas Standard 2) The Bike Texas xTx “Show & Tell” event in Austin in February. 3) Sweaty Taste of the xTx: 1st 100 Miles ground proofer and equestrian team leader Tracy Kelly. 4) Rhea Wallace from the road cycling the 1st 1,200 miles of the xTx in March. 5) Moondog Roop on the road skateboarding and hiking the full xTx route 6) Journalist and photographer Pam LeBlanc hiking Santa Elena Canyon with Charlie this late spring. 7) Our new ED in Training Beckie Irvin. 8) The new starting point of the xTx at Martin Dies, Jr. State Park 9) Beckie ground proofing in West Texas.