It was a “Family ‘Mystery’ Hike,” so here’s the riddle:

“I am an essential part of every ecosystem. I have a top and a bottom. I am made up of many parts. Some parts are very small and some parts are very large. If one part is removed, all the other parts are affected. What am I?”

Solving the riddle was the job of three dozen refugees from the long Christmas weekend who had gathered on a perfect Sunday afternoon at Cheyenne Mountain State Park.

The hikers were led by Pat Grove, who said he’s the staff naturalist at the park when there’s enough money in the budget to pay him, and a volunteer the rest of the time. Sunday, he was a volunteer.

Grove had left a series of clues along a mile-long route that looped around one of the park’s lower trails.

Each clue, hung in a tree near a piece of pink surveyor’s tape, added a letter – think “Wheel of Fortune” hits the trail – to the spelling of the phrase that solved the riddle. The clues also provided field notes on fauna and flora native to the park.

Kathleen Cook, who with Jack Busher was helping to keep the hike moving, described the turnout as huge for Cheyenne Mountain, which opened in 2006 and is the newest part of the state park system.

The park may not be exactly at the top of the list in Colorado Springs, but its fame is spreading. Ed Barrett is from Maryland, and he’s already been to Cheyenne Mountain four times.

Barrett said his daughter lives here, and on Sunday he was enjoying a grandfather’s day out with Ella and Amber Martin, ages 5 and 4.

The girls found the clue about grasshoppers and the letter D.

When all the letters were unscrambled, the answer was “food chain,” and Grove, using the species featured in the clues, showed how Cheyenne Mountain’s lions eat its bobcats eat its skunks eat its snakes eat its mice eat its grasshoppers eat its grasses.

Three-year-old Jameson Fitzpatrick of Colorado Springs doesn’t know what a food chain is,but despite a spill or two on the trail, he was obviously enjoying the hike. His dad, Daniel, said he and Jameson are regulars.

“This is our third time here in a week,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s a gorgeous park. They’ve done a very good job.”Contact the writer: 476-1654 or dean.toda@gazettedev.gazette.com

“Family ‘Mystery’ Hikes,” offered every other Sunday, are part of Cheyenne Mountain’s programs of interpretive hikes. “Cookie Burner Hikes” – “a lot more walking and less talking,” according to naturalist Pat Grove – are offered on Saturdays. Other programs include bird identification and geocaching classes.

Information: http://parks.state.co.us/parks/cheyennemountain or 576-2016.

Ella Martin, 5, and her grandfather Ed Barrett walked along Coyote Run trail Sunday during a nature walk at Cheyenne Mountain State Park. A group of 36 people enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather. Photo by JUSTIN EDMONDS/THE GAZETTE