Portraits of Adventure / BTA / Diane Wright
Diane Wright
Great Miami River Recreation Area, Dayton, OH
September 2025
Diane’s section of the Buckeye Trail looks simple at first. It follows paved bike paths, sidewalks, and small towns rather than deep forest. But that surface level view hides the work she carries, which is almost entirely human. Diane maintains relationships the way others maintain footbeds and bridges. She stays in touch with park staff, hiking groups, partner organizations, and the constant flow of people who discover the trail for the first time in her section. For her, a well kept trail is as much about connection as it is about terrain.
As an ambassador, she loves watching someone realize that adventure is waiting right outside their door. Hikers stop at her booth, or join a holiday walk through a small town lit with luminaries, and say, “How did I not know this was here?” She has seen those same people return, posting that they are 40 miles in, then 200, then volunteering at Trail Fest because the trail changed something in them.
The Buckeye Trail changed Diane, too. A ten mile COVID walk with her husband shifted how she sees herself and the world. Now she gives that same opening to others, guiding them, welcoming them, and quietly shaping their first steps on a trail that reshaped her own life.
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