The Vision of the Manatee
Hi, I am John Voss. The owner and founder of the Manatee. I grew up on a small farm in Kansas where we milked a few cows, raised hogs, and chickens, and raised crops. That tradition continues. We went to church and Sunday School every week. These formed the foundations of my life today- hard work, faith, and an independent life. I carry those with me to this day. These things form the base of my trail life also. We are all aware of how hard the trail can be sometimes, but the rewards can be spectacular. The views, the peacefulness, the people. All those who offer a kind word of hope when we're struggling. The trail has always been a place of peace and healing for me. It renews my faith in this world and the people in it. In 2020, I did a fundraiser on my hike to support the organization, "Food for the Poor.” The generosity of people back home and on the trail was awe-inspiring. People still care for those who struggle to exist.Wide Mouth Water is just a tiny company. It’s mostly just one man’s vision to produce a product that every person on the trail will enjoy. The American dream, I believe “The Manatee" will become commonplace on the trail. Coming after “The Manatee,” I envision revolutionizing the hydration bladder system, so be on the lookout for what is to come!
When One Door Closes, Another Opens
After going through a painful divorce in 2016, I wanted to go to the mountains and experience something different. So, I loaded up my two teenage children and my dog and rented a Jeep to ride the trails near Buena Vista, Colorado. We ended up at a place called Hagerman Pass where we decided to get out of the Jeep and stretch our legs for a bit. We spotted a little stream that seemed to come out of an old mine and decided to check it out. We followed the stream to a bridge that took us across and into the trees, which led us to a sign labeled “Trail.” We looked at each other and decided to follow it. We had come to the mountains for adventure, but little did we know what or where we were getting into. As we followed the trail further into the mountains, we ran into people as they were coming down. The hikers kept saying it was beautiful, but when we finally made it to the opening, beautiful didn’t begin to describe what we discovered. Much to our surprise there was a lake with rocks as big as small homes. And of course, we found the Hagerman Tunnel where the railroad had run through the mountain many years before. There was even an old town put up by the “ladies of the night" who thought business would be better if they moved it closer to the tunnel diggers.
We ended up hiking back down and savored the experience for days to come.
After about six weeks of being back home in Kansas, the idea came that I wanted to go back and backpack the mountains after having such a pleasant surprise on Hagerman Pass. So that’s what I did. I knew absolutely nothing about backpacking and honestly, I didn’t know that it even really existed as something to do. This was before I ever heard of " Dixie" or "Darwin” (whom I met on the Colorado Trail in 2020). I googled and googled and googled; I wanted to learn as much as I could about backpacking in the Colorado Rockies. After a lot of research in 2017 and an itch to get back into the mountain, I set out with my faithful companion Sadie, a border collie, on the Colorado Trail. And that was it! That’s when it all started. What I’ve discovered on the trails is priceless—including Sadie running off the trail and getting lost 11 miles from the trailhead on my first solo hike!
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