atn mayâjune 2000 appalachian trailway news

ATN 

MAY–JUNE 2000 

APPALACHIAN TRAILWAY NEWS

2 MAY–JUNE 2000

APPALACHIAN TRAIL 

MAY-JUNE 2000 

ATN 

APPALACHIAN TRAILWAY NEWS 

MAINE 

TO 

GEORGIA 

ON THE COVER 

Blue blaze to Table Rock, Grafton Notch 

State Park, Maine. Photo by Niobe Burden. 

Left, the Mt. Washington Cog Railway at 

day’s end. Photo by Kristen Furstenburg. 

VIEWPOINTS 

SHELTER REGISTER ♦ LETTERS 4 

FROM THE CHAIR ♦ DAVID B. FIELD 5 

MINISTRY OF FUNNY WALKS 31 

WHITE BLAZES 

PAPER TRAIL ♦ NEWS FROM HARPERS FERRY 8 

Accessibility: Q&A with Dave Startzell • 

New ATC Web site • Staff changes at ATC 

SIDEHILL ♦ NEWS FROM CLUBS AND AGENCIES 13 

Busy with beavers at Dry Run 

TREELINE ♦ NEWS ALONG THE A.T. 15 

Quarry at Hump Mountain• Renovations 

at The Place • Deaths: Guy Waterman • 

“2,000-Milers” for 2000 

BLUE BLAZES 

WHAT IS PAST, AND PASSING, AND TO 

COME 22 

By Glenn Scherer 

Assembling a “cultural inventory” of 

Trailside historical sites. 

SHUTTLING 101 26 

By Stephen H. Knox 

The ins and outs of back-and-forth. 

TREADWAY 

MEMORIAL GIFTS 16 

NOTABLE GIFTS 21 

TRAIL GIVING 29 

PUBLIC NOTICES 30 

APPALACHIAN TRAILWAY NEWS 3

Appalachian Trailway 

News 

VOLUME 61, NUMBER 2 • MAY–JUNE 2000 

Appalachian Trailway News is published by the Appalachian 

Trail Conference, a nonprofit educational organization representing 

the citizen interest in the Appalachian Trail and dedicated 

to the preservation, maintenance, and enjoyment of the 

Appalachian trailway. Since 1925, the Appalachian Trail Conference 

and its member clubs have conceived, built, and maintained 

the Appalachian Trail in cooperation with federal and 

state agencies. The conference also publishes guidebooks and 

other educational literature about the Trail, the trailway, and its 

facilities. Annual individual membership in the Appalachian 

Trail Conference is $30; life membership, $600; corporate membership, 

$500 minimum annual contribution. 

Volunteer and free-lance contributions are welcome. Please include 

a stamped, self-addressed envelope with your submission. 

Observations, conclusions, opinions, and product endorsements 

expressed in Appalachian Trailway News are those of the author 

and do not necessarily reflect those of members of the board or 

staff of the Appalachian Trail Conference. 

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS 

Brian B. King 

EDITOR 

Robert A. Rubin 

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS 

Hollyce H. Kirkland 

Glenn Scherer 

ATC BOARD OF MANAGERS 

Chair 

David B. Field 

Vice Chairs 

Brian T. Fitzgerald Thyra C. Sperry 

James Hutchings 

Treasurer 

Kennard R. Honick 

Secretary 

Marianne J. Skeen 

Assistant Secretary 

Arthur P. Foley 

New England Region 

Stephen L. Crowe Carl Demrow 

John M. Morgan Andrew L. Peterson 

Ann H. Sherwood Steven Smith 

Mid-Atlantic Region 

Walter E. Daniels Charles A. Graf 

Sandra Marra Eric C. Olson 

Glenn Scherer William Steinmetz 

Southern Region 

Bob Almand Theresa A. Duffey 

Michael C. McCormack 

William S. Rogers Vaughn H. Thomas 

James M. Whitney, Jr. 

Members at Large 

Al Sochard Dawson Winch 

Appalachian Trailway News (ISSN 0003-6641) is published bimonthly, 

except for January/February, for $15 a year by the Appalachian Trail 

Conference, 799 Washington Street, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425, (304) 

535-6331. Bulk-rate postage paid at Harpers Ferry, WV, and other offices. 

Postmaster: Send change-of-address Form 3597 to Appalachian 

Trailway News, P.O. Box 807, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425. 

Copyright © 2000, The Appalachian Trail Conference. All rights 

reserved. 

Shelter Register 

Trail diversity? 

ERE ARE THE FACTS. LATINOS AND ASIANS 

Hwill represent more than half of the 

U.S. population growth every year for the 

next fifty years. The population of non- 

Latino whites, presently 75 percent of all 

Americans, will shrink to a bare majority 

by 2050 (52.8 percent); Latinos will 

make up 24.5 percent and African Americans 

will make up 13.6 percent. The fastest-growing 

group in the United States is 

Asian Americans, increasing eight times 

as fast as the general population. 

Diversity is not about EEO and affirmative 

action. It is about organizations 

accurately reflecting the society within 

which they exist. It is about organizations 

understanding the needs, interests, and 

values of the general population in order 

to successfully recruit members, raise 

dollars, and generate support for programs 

and initiatives. 

Ginny McGrath was right. If anything, 

we as an organization need to go 

even farther in addressing how to understand 

and react appropriately to the 

changes occurring in our society. We need 

to take our message of stewardship and 

wilderness preservation and reach out to 

populations not traditionally raised with 

the “back to nature” ethic. Contrary to 

other views, I respectfully submit that 

this is one of the most important things 

we have to worry about. 

Sandi Marra 

Fairfax, Va. 

Editor’s note: Ms. Marra is a member of 

the ATC Board of Managers. 

♦ 

Letters from our readers 

well-equipped young hikers who wanted 

to prove they were as tough as any Indian. 

What could he do? Take a swing at one of 

them? I saw a lanky mechanic from Colorado 

being shunned as he moved up the 

Trail, with hikers “warning” park and 

forest service personnel that he was coming 

because they thought he was 

dangerous. I tented out next to him at Bly 

Gap, and he offered me a cup of coffee 

before taking off up the Trail. Some dangerous! 

I saw fewer than a dozen black 

kids, all within the shelter of organized 

groups. Funny, they looked like they were 

having a good time. 

I have no quarrel with people choosing 

their own company. If we are a group 

of snobs, that’s okay, too, but, for goodness 

sake, let’s at least be honest about 

hikers who are “not our sort of people.” 

If they don’t hike, they won’t belong to 

ATC, and we won’t be seeing them on our 

Board of Managers. 

Sally J. Walker 

San Francisco, Calif. 

♦ 

HEN I WAS A CHILD GROWING UP BLACK 

Win the western North Carolina 

mountains, I learned from my parents’ 

teachings and from my own experiences 

that the greatest safety lay in staying in 

sight of those who hoped they could protect 

me. As an older adult who loves hiking 

and backpacking, pursuits learned 

Letters 

Appalachian Trailway News 

WAS TOUCHED BY THE WARM, HUMAN RE- 

in the March/April ATN to will be edited for clarity and length. 

welcomes your comments. Letters 

Isponse 

Ginny McGrath’s recent letter about diversity. 

Please send them to: 

How careless of her not to have 

Letters to the Editor 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 

David N. Startzell 

realized that the underrepresentation of 

minorities on the Trail was because they 


P.O. Box 807 

prefer to watch television in urban security. 

Harpers Ferry, WV 25425-0807 

E-Mail: 

This is what I saw on the Trail: A 

native American being heckled at Tray 

Mountain Shelter by a group of affluent, 


and, for the most part, engaged in in the 

company of white friends, I have not entirely 

put away caution. 

The responses to Ginny McGrath’s 

letter appealing for more heterogeneity 

throughout ATC’s operations reminded 

me of a letter I received from a Trail-maintaining 

club after an outings leader looked 

past me and my niece, dressed as foretold, 

when we met at the prearranged spot in 

an otherwise empty parking lot for a wildflower 

walk. (She and her companions 

arrived and tumbled out of their car, and, 

standing right next to me, she said, 

“They’re not here. Let’s go look in the 

other parking lot.”) The letter from the 

club leader patiently explained, in response 

to a letter I had written, that there 

was nothing racial about the incident, 

that “our leaders are not like that.” 

Contrary to those who find comfort 

and confirmation in assertions that the 

Trail does not “appeal to all people” and 

that only certain people have the capacity 

to “love the Trail,” I find hope in 

Ginny McGrath’s willingness to champion 

the Trail as a resource and trust that 

embodies many stories, not all of which 

are honored, and as a legacy we must all 

learn together to value and protect. 

Bertha Johnson 

Raleigh, N.C. 

♦ 

EGARDING THE DIVERSITY ISSUE, I THINK 

Rthe two letters published in the 

March/April ATN probably reflect how 

most hikers feel about this vacuous concept. 

The Trail discriminates equally 

against all—no excuses, no set-asides, no 

affirmative action—only merit, commitment, 

and determination wins the day. 

The A.T. is one of the few remaining bastions 

of what life and this country is supposed 

to be about. I agree with Mr. Tarlin: 

We’ve more important things to worry 

about. 

Richard Hurd, Jr. 

 

Trekking poles 

LANG! CLING! SNAP! THAT IS WHAT IT 

Csounded like while I was quietly 

From the Chair 

David B. Field 

Broken twigs, symbols carved on trees and rocks, paint blazes, and letters 

routed in wood—humans have marked their paths with “signs” for millennia. 

When the goal was simply to find the way from one place to another, 

the clearer the direction, the better it was. Symbols that warned of 

dangers, milestones that confirmed progress, and signs that identified locations 

were welcome contributions to a traveler’s safety and peace of mind. 

In addition to markers, blazes, paint and cairns, the local club in whose territory 

the Trail lies should put up and maintain signs at principal points on the 

Trail, particularly where highways cross it. 

—ATC Trail Manual for the Appalachian Trail, 1951 

For many years, ATC and Trail clubs have put information in Trail guides rather 

than on signs along the Trail. The basic goal has been to maintain as primitive an 

experience for Trail users as possible, consistent with needs for resource protection 

and safety. Some signage has been reduced, such as the old painted mileage markers 

formerly on the Trail in Maine. More attractive 

and naturalistic wooden signs have 

Sign Language replaced stenciled signboards. The use of 

the metal A.T. diamond has largely been 

discontinued. At the same time, Trail managers 

have long recognized that many Trail users simply do not carry a guidebook. An 

ATC study in the 1970s led to the use, in Maine, of simple one-page information 

sheets at each trailhead that provided basic information about Trail conditions, safety 

precautions, and basic rules for Trail use. 

Managers’ communications to hikers will be primarily through guidebooks 

and other literature distributed off the Trail and secondarily through signs on 

the Trail.... Commercial endeavors designed to profit from visitor use are not 

an acceptable component in the Trail corridor. 

—Comprehensive Plan for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, 1981 

In 1999, a new sign appeared at the intersection of the A.T. and a logging road 

near Maine’s Pemadumcook Lake. The operator of a commercial sporting camp near 

the Trail corridor sought to supplement winter snowmobile and summer fishing patronage 

by attracting A.T. hikers to his meals, beds, and showers. The advertisement 

was an immediate success, but triggered broader concerns among Trail managers 

about the appropriateness of commercial signs in the Trail corridor and the more 

philosophical question of intrusion into the Trail experience. 

Signs not installed by or approved by the MATC or an agency partner will not 

be permitted along the Trail or in the corridor. 

—Local Plan for the Management of the Appalachian Trail in Maine, 1995 

Ironically, hikers in Maine were originally expected to stay at the eleven commercial 

sporting camps (including the predecessor of the one that caused the 1999 

debate) that existed in 1937, when the A.T. was completed. Primitive campsites were 

rare along the route east of Maine’s Kennebec River. So, there was no need to carry 

bedding, other camping gear, or food across this hundred-mile section of Trail. Already 

weakened by the Great Depression, most of those camps closed their doors to 

the public during World War II, which meant that hikers had to provision for a tenday 

hike between Monson and Katahdin. 

With new corridor-management responsibilities, clubs and ATC now must use 

informational and regulatory signs to inform hikers, Trail neighbors, and po- 

Continued on next page 



lunching at Pocahontas Spring in Pennsylvania 

with my grandson. “What is 

that?” he exclaimed. Tranquility was 

shattered, and inquisitive squirrels scurried 

for shelter. 

Having liked the Trail since 1952, my 

wonderful world of serenity was shattered 

by those “trekking poles” (ATN November/December 

1999). Let us go back to 

basics and preserve the Trail’s peace and 

quiet as it was intended to be. 

Shirley Henry 

Mertztown, Pa. 

Access for the disabled 

AVY RAY’S LETTER TO THE EDITOR IN THE 

DMarch/April issue addressed an important 

question about whether to make 

the A.T. accessible to the disabled. 

My wife, Dolores, suffered a ruptured 

brain aneurysm six years ago and is disabled 

to the point that she finds sustained 

concentration difficult. This makes 

climbing rough trails tough. 

Our dilemma is that she loves the 

A.T. but cannot hike on much of it. I have 

From the Chair . . . 

Continued from previous page 

thought about the idea of volunteers rebuilding 

parts of the Trail into a smooth 

pathway without rocks and roots, so she 

and other handicapped folks could more 

easily walk on it. But what parts would 

we want rebuilt? Among many favorite 

places I’d like her to see are the Bigelow 

Range, Katahdin, and Saddleback, all for 

their wild, high, remote beauty. Would 

they still have those qualities after the reconstruction? 

A seasoned maintainer once commented 

at a Maine Appalachian Trail 

Club annual meeting that a hill in his 

section had become “steeper,” so he had 

added steps. Folks chuckled, but, in fact, 

he was already making his section a bit 

more accessible to disabled hikers. There 

are places along trails already accessible 

to the handicapped—the summit of Mt. 

Washington and Cadillac Mountain in 

Acadia National Park, to name but two 

in our neck of the woods. We don’t go 

there because they’re too crowded with 

automobiles. 

I asked Dolores what she thought, 

tential trespassers about restrictions that apply on the Appalachian Trail and 

corridor lands. 

—ATC Local Management Planning Guide, 1997 

One might argue that, despite greatly increased road access, the demise of the 

Maine sporting camps created a more “wilderness-like” environment than was experienced 

by the original Trail builders. This could justify resistance to any further 

intrusion, physical or psychological, that a renaissance of this Trail tradition might 

threaten. On the other hand, one might argue that we should consider the reduced 

impact on A.T. campsites if fewer people camp along the Trail itself and the regional 

economic boost that some restoration of Maine’s traditional sporting camps and facilities 

elsewhere could provide. With services located outside the A.T. corridor, but 

readily accessible via side trails (signed and controlled by A.T. managers), hikers could 

choose the level of accommodation and solitude that suited their preferences. 

Personally, although I tend to resist the more elaborate “kiosks” and other large 

signboard structures that are becoming more common at trailheads, I enjoy the traditional 

directional signs and place markers and recognize the need for informing the 

public about the lands for which we are responsible. I’m also not especially troubled 

by information (excluding commercial signs within the Trail corridor) that helps Trail 

users know about services near the Trail that they might choose to use. The Appalachian 

Trail Conference and the Trail clubs will continue to struggle to find the balance 

of sign language and other information that will best serve the Trail community. I 

welcome your ideas and suggestions.♦ 

and she replied that there are places where 

she will just not be able to venture. She 

says she doesn’t resent that, as it’s an acceptance 

of part of her life. Most of us 

gradually become physically disabled to 

some degree as we grow older. How far 

do we carry A.T. accessibility? 

Milton Gross 

Steuben, Maine 

♦ 

T WAS NEVER ONE OF MY GOALS, BUT I’M 

I“one of the above” now, and that gives 

me the right to speak on the subject. 

Those who attended the biennial meeting 

at Radford will remember me as the 

“senior” whose knee decided to give out 

as I arrived at the cafeteria that first day. 

Well, since I refuse to have a knee replacement 

(metal here, metal there, and 

plastic goosh in between!), I will be getting 

around on one crutch the rest of my 

life. I am a hiker and will be making what 

progress I can, trying out all the rail trails 

and any part of the A.T. I can manage. 

As for changing the Trail for me, or 

any other handicapped hiker, I say, Don’t 

you do it! If we want to finish the Trail, 

we’ll do it, if it means crawling up on our 

elbows. Meanwhile, please don’t smooth 

our way. The Trail needs to be a challenge 

for even the strongest—else, why do it and 

be proud of making it all the way? The 

path is fine. Didn’t a blind man make it 

through? Didn’t someone go all the way 

on two crutches? We all, even the strongest, 

dream of a nice little antigravity 

machine we can attach to our pack straps 

to help us up Mt. Washington. But, don’t 

tell me about it, if someone actually invents 

one. 

And, that’s the opinion of “Flake.” 

See you at the next biennial meeting. 

Carol Vernon Hope 

Staten Island, N.Y. 

Editor’s note: For further information on 

the issue of access to the Trail by people 

with disabilities, please see the article 

and interview with David Startzell on 

pages 8-12 of this issue. 

Escaping the city 

OWHERE IN MY JULY 1999 LETTER TO 

NATN [regarding Jacques d’Amboise] 


Camping in the 1940s 

did I state that the Trail is not for everyone. 

Fortunately, of those who do use the 

OGER MEYER’S NOVEMBER/DECEMBER some of the down bags even then in ex- 

five pounds, it was a little heavier than 

Trail, most are trying to escape from the R 1999 ATN article about camping in istence, but they were too expensive for 

city rather than trying to take the city to 

the Trail. 

Harold Croxton 

Abingdon, Va. 

the 1940s was interesting and doubtless 

accurate as far as his experience went, but 

I found superior camping resources even 

ten years earlier. 

As a member of Takoma Park, 

us. That booklet also listed the firm of 

Ome Daiber in Seattle. In 1941, I scraped 

up the ten dollars needed to buy their version 

of the Bergan frame rucksack that, 

with one replacement sack, served me 

The First Thru-hikers? Maryland’s Boy Scout Troop 33, we had a until 1970. And, yes, it had pockets. 

VERY YEAR I READ WITH INTEREST THE troop committee made up of scientists Two books that I acquired should 

E names of that year’s thru-hikers in from the departments of agriculture and have also been available to Mr. Meyer and 

the ATN. Mine was so listed for 1983. In 

1994 (November/December), an article, 

“The Summer of 1936,” documents the 

thru-hike of Max Gordon, Seymour 

Dorfman, Louis Zisk and three other Boy 

Scouts from Troop 257, Bronx, New York. 

Regarding their hike, the editor offers the 

caveat that three miles of the Trail were 

“not yet complete.” Using this criteria, 

the following hikers cannot be given 

credit for finishing the Trail: 

1. Myron Avery—credited with finishing 

in 1936, before the A.T. was even done. 

2. Earl Shaffer—during his 1948 hike, the 

Blue Ridge Parkway construction had 

wiped out much of the route south of 

Roanoke, which forced him to improvise 

a route. 

3. Ed Talone—during my 1983 hike, the 

A.T. was not recognized for about five 

miles around Sherburne Pass, Vermont, 

and a second section was wiped 

out by logging in Maine. 

4. Every hiker who has had to leave the 

Trail because of fires, landowner disputes 

(I’m showing my age), and so on. 

Before anyone has a stroke, I only list 

the above examples to illustrate the point 

that even today the A.T. is hardly ever 

“an unbroken footpath.” The six intrepid 

hikers of 1936 followed a little known and 

poorly (by today’s standards) maintained 

route from Katahdin to Mt. Oglethorpe. 

Their tremendous achievement should be 

celebrated. I look forward to seeing the 

names of Max and his fellow hikers in the 

next listing by ATC of those who report 

completing the A.T. To Max and the others 

I say, “Welcome to the Club.” 

Ed Talone 

Silver Spring, Md. 

Editor’s note: The names were added to 

the listing in this issue. 

the interior. One of them, for example, 

was able to get permission from the 

Weather Bureau to let us camp at Mt. 

Weather in 1938. That included my first 

hike on the Appalachian Trail. I haven’t 

been able to stop yet. (Finished the whole 

Trail in 1979.) Members of Troop 33 certainly 

carried trash out, dug holes for our 

waste, and certainly filled up those holes 

and the ditches we dug around our tents. 

At the end of each outing, the committeemen 

snooped around each patrol’s 

campsite and expected to find no evidence 

that we had ever been there or had built a 

fire. “No-Trace Camping” is not so new 

as some might think. 

These same men introduced me to 

L.L.Bean. From Bean’s I got—among other 

things—a “Hudson Bay” axe, a pack basket 

with waterproof cover, a three-and-a 

half point “Hudson Bay” blanket and dehydrated 

Maine potatoes—yes, not as 

good as freeze-dried, but not bad. I still 

have the blanket and the ax. When another 

Scout and I spent three weeks in 

the Shenandoah Park in 1941, there were 

stacks of chestnut logs at each shelter. 

The axe was great for splitting these logs 

down to size. I did not use a stove until 

hiking the Smokies in 1966. 

The 1938 Scout hike on the A.T. led 

me to visit the original office of the ATC 

and to learn about the Potomac Appalachian 

Trail Club. I didn’t join PATC until 

1941 (at age sixteen, I believe that I was 

their youngest member to date, and it was 

through Jean Stephenson’s intervention 

that I was deemed worthy). In those days, 

PATC had a wonderful booklet listing 

lightweight camping and trail-maintenance 

equipment. As a result of that 

booklet, my parents bought me a David 

T. Abercrombie mummy sleeping bag. At 

gave invaluable help on lightweight 

equipment. One, of course, was Horace 

Kephart’s Camping and Woodcraft. The 

other was the Boy Scout Fieldbook. (Incidentally, 

Camping and Woodcraft was 

originally printed in 1917 and reprinted 

in 1988 by the University of Tennessee 

Press. Even some of you “young squirts” 

reading this letter could learn something 

from it.) 

Lightweight tents made of some material 

like that of parachutes (also called 

“balloon silk”) and well waterproofed 

were in existence, but rather expensive. 

A friend and I made a lightweight Fraser 

tent (Camping and Woodcraft, page 83) 

out of unbleached muslin with much help 

from his mother. Our first waterproofing 

didn’t take. In 1940, we were soaked at 

Keys Gap after hiking in two weeks 

from the Susquehanna River. But, I 

rewaterproofed it, and, in 1945, I was 

“high and dry” in a hurricane rain at Petites 

Gap. 

Much of my experience did resemble 

Mr. Meyer’s. Other than Bean’s potatoes, 

we didn’t have lightweight food. We usually 

ate Ralston or Cream of Wheat (not 

instant) for breakfast or pancakes if there 

were time. We frequently baked our own 

bread. In 1942, at Katahdin Stream Campsite, 

my buddy turned out a blueberry 

cobbler that would surpass anything from 

Mountain House or AlpineAire. We carried 

the cereal and flour in paraffin-treated 

cloth food bags that were no more mouseresistant 

than today’s plastic. Even though 

I did not enter the Coast Guard until 1943, 

I always preferred canned corn beef to 

Spam. Like Mr. Meyer, I profited by World 

War II’s equipment developments, especially 

those for the mountain troops. In 

Continued on page 28 


PAPER TRAIL 

News from Harpers Ferry 

An “Accessible” Trail: 

Are new federal rules a nightmare or just misunderstood? 

“ 

ACCESSIBILITY FOR THE 

disabled”— for some 

Tame or not, “accessibility” 

the ATC Board of Managers’ ecutive Director Dave Start- 

is coming to the Trail. representative at a two-year zell, the conference’s alternate 

wilderness lovers, Like other national parks, the process of negotiations designed 

representative, on an advi- 

the words conjure up a horrific A.T. is subject to federal laws 

to come up with a sory committee of twenty-five 

vision: blue-and-white wheelchair 

passed over the last thirty reasonable plan for making all people appointed by the United 

signs instead of white years regarding access. New U.S. recreational facilities States Architectural and Trans- 

blazes. Paved paths, concrete federal accessibility regulations 

more accessible to the disportation 

Barriers Compliance 

ramps, guardrails, and elevators 

that will affect how all abled, the A.T. as it presently Board, better known as the 

up the sides of cliffs and trails are constructed could be exists is largely exempt from “Access Board.” About half 

mountainsides. Something in place by next year. 

new access requirements. The were people with disabilities 

tame, something resembling But, hikers and Trail changes will be incremental, or representatives for groups 

the Park Service’s concrete maintainers shouldn’t start as new treadway and Trail facilities 

associated with particular 

observation tower at Clingmans 

having nightmares just yet. 

are built, and even disabilities; the other half rep- 

Dome. 

According to Peter Jensen, those changes should be of the resented various federal and 

Above: Ramp and observation tower atop Clingmans Dome, common-sense variety. state agencies and groups 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 

Jensen joined ATC Ex- 

such as ATC and American 


Paper Trail 

Trails, as well as recreational 

businesses such as Kampgrounds 

of America (KOA). 

Meetings began in 1997 and 

concluded last year. 

According to Jensen, 

much of the alarm over the 

issue of accessibility boiled 

down to a problem of communication. 

“The way these regulations 

are written, each piece 

refers to other pieces by 

numbers of sections and subsections. 

It’s like learning a 

whole new language,” Jensen 

Editor’s Note: Appalachian 

Trailway News asked Dave 

Startzell to discuss the process 

by which ATC worked with 

advocates for the disabled, 

federal agencies, private citizens, 

businesses, and other 

“recreation providers” to 

build a unified approach to 

dealing with access issues. 

ATN: How would you characterize 

the experience of 

serving on the committee? 

Startzell: In a word: intense! 

ATN: How so? 

Startzell: We met on ten occasions, 

for three to four days 

each time, with sessions often 

extending from early 

morning to late at night. 

This included “breakouts” 

and subcommittees. 

ATN: I gather that discussions 

got pretty heated. 

Startzell: Many of the discussions 

related to “scoping” 

[the process of determining 

what should be examined for 

accessibility] were highly 

emotional, while others 

related to technical requirements 

were extremely 

tedious. And yet it would be 

difficult to participate in 

said. “Not everybody learns 

it at the same pace, and 

that’s what people are really 

reacting to. Once they understand 

it, they’ll see that it’s 

not as worrisome as some 

think it is.” 

Jensen said the most important 

parts of the proposed 

regulations might be those 

related to Trail maintenance. 

“Routine maintenance is excepted 

from the regulations,” 

he said. 

What that means, in essence, 

is that the ATC and 

clubs are free to do work 

that maintains the Trail’s 

current form, or restores it to 

that form, without having to 

build in new “accessible” 

features. 

New shelters, bridges, 

and new sections of Trail 

longer than five hundred feet, 

however, will not be exempt, 

and Trail designers will have 

to consider access issues as 

they are being designed. Even 

so, he said, the proposed 

policy includes exceptions 

that may permit them to be 

ATC’s Startzell: Both factions took “a leap of faith” 

such a process and not come 

away with a heightened 

sense of awareness of the 

challenges that people with 

disabilities face in gaining 

access to outdoor-recreation 

areas. 

ATN: Do you think the outcome 

satisfied members of 

the disabled community 

and recreation providers 

alike? 

Startzell: For the most part, 

yes. But, compromise is at 

the heart of any negotiation, 

regulatory or otherwise. In 

that respect, neither side got 

everything it wanted. The 

disabled community wanted 

a “bright line”—they wanted 

the recommendations to be 

very clear about the number 

or percentage of recreational 

elements required to meet 

accessibility standards. 

They feared some recreation 

providers would exploit 

ambiguities in order to avoid 

meeting the requirements. 

With respect to the recommendations 

affecting trails, 

there is no “bright line.” 

Considerable discretion will 

remain with the recreation 

provider. 

ATN: What did the recreationproviders 

fear? 

Startzell: They feared that, 

even if considerable discretion 

were permitted, 

regulations could be misinterpreted, 

requiring them to 

make modifications to 

accommodate access for disabled 

people, even where 

such modifications were 

never intended. 

ATN: Is it a legitimate fear? 

Startzell: The final recommendations 

do not necessarily 

remove that risk. 

ATN: So, where does that 

leave us? 

Startzell: In a sense, both factions 

were forced to take a 

“leap of faith” and accept 

that, somehow, a commonsense 

interpretation of the 

recommendations will prevail. 

Only time will tell 

whether such faith is justified. 

ATN: Did the committee 

reach consensus on all of the 

issues? 

Startzell: Not entirely. A few 

issues, presented as questions 

in the final report, will 

be highlighted during the 

public-comment phase. 

built in many circumstances 

and locations without elaborate 

access features. 

Jensen pointed out that 

the regulations are not mostly 

aimed at long wilderness 

trails, such as the A.T., but at 

beaches, campgrounds, public 

parks, and other facilities in 

areas with road access. 

The committee’s report, 

issued in January, will be sent 

out later this year for public 

comment after a final review 

by the federal Office of Management 

and Budget.♦ 

Based on the feedback received, 

a final determination 

will be made by the Access 

Board. 

ATN: What sort of issues? 

Startzell: One particularly relevant 

issue concerns how 

accessibility requirements 

are applied to remote campsites 

that only can be reached 

by a trail that does not 

meet accessibility standards. 

About half the group 

believed that recreation elements 

associated with such 

sites—including shelters, 

privies, fire rings, picnic 

tables, tent platforms and 

pads, and so forth—should 

meet accessibility standards. 

The other half of the group, 

including ATC, argued that 

the modifications would 

result in unnecessary expenditures 

of limited financial 

and human resources at sites 

few, if any, disabled people 

are likely to ever reach. Our 

view is that a more logical 

approach is investing in sites 

that can be readily accessed 

by disabled people. 

ATN: Did the committee consider 

how likely disabled 

Continued on following page 


Paper Trail 

Blind thru-hiker Bill Irwin’s 1990 trek made national news. 

people are to actually use 

primitive or backcountry facilities 

and trails? 

Startzell: Yes. It probably is fair 

to say that the prevailing 

attitude among the representatives 

of the disabled 

community was: “If you 

build it, they will come.” 

However, a number of 

recreation-providers with 

experience in designing and 

building accessible recreation 

facilities did not 

necessarily support that. 

ATN: What about the Appalachian 

Trail? 

Startzell: People with various 

disabilities—including serious 

vision and mobility 

impairments—have explored 

portions or even the full 

length of the Trail without 

the benefit of accessibility 

modifications. But, our 

experience simply is too 

limited to draw reliable conclusions 

about the extent to 

which use by disabled people 

is likely to be generated by 

expanded opportunities for 

such use. 

ATN: What are the implications 

of the cost? 

Startzell: The disabled community 

generally believes 

that equal (or at least proportional) 

access fundamentally 

is a civil-rights issue that 

does not lend itself to traditional 

cost-benefit analyses. 

Some recreation-providers, 

on the other hand, believe 

that accessibility requirements 

stemming from the 

Americans with Disabilities 

Act and other related legislation 

simply represent 

an “unfunded mandate.” 

ATN: How did the committee 

resolve this conflict? 

Startzell: I believe each side 

came to recognize some basis 

for both perspectives. In 

any case, the Access Board is 

required to develop and consider 

some financial-impact 

analyses before adopting any 

final regulation. That information 

also should be 

available for inspection during 

the public-review period. 

ATN: Do the recommendations 

address the needs of all 

disabled people? 

Startzell: Not necessarily. The 

greatest emphasis was on 

people with mobility impairments, 

who require the 

assistance of wheelchairs, 

motorized scooters, or prosthetics, 

and, to a lesser extent, 

people with vision or hearing 

impairments. 

ATN: So, how would you 

summarize the committee’s 

recommendations affecting 

trails? 

Startzell: The committee 

recommended an “exceptions-based 

approach.” This 

means the decision-maker 

begins by assuming that 

accessibility can be incorporated 

into the design and 

construction of the trail or 

trail segment. In other words, 

to paraphrase one of the 

committee members, “access 

should be ‘on the table’ 

whenever decisions are made 

affecting outdoor-recreation 

facilities, including trails,” 

in much the same way as we 

presently consider slope, surface 

conditions, and a host of 

other issues. 

ATN: Will all trails will be 

required to meet these 

standards? 

Startzell: No. That’s why it’s 

“exceptions-based.” In the 

first place, the standards apply 

only to new construction 

or substantial alterations to 

existing trails or trail segments. 

Also, the affected 

segment must be connected 

to an accessible trailhead or 

to another accessible segment. 

The regulations would 

not apply to trail segments 

“in the middle of nowhere.” 

Another general exception 

would effectively eliminate 

from consideration trail 

segments characterized by 

“extreme” conditions—severe 

slopes, cross-slopes, 

and/or surface impediments. 

Such conditions are quite 

common along primitive, 

mountaincrest footpaths 

such as the A.T. 

ATN: Are there other exceptions? 

Startzell: Yes. Where modifications 

would cause substantial 

To paraphrase one of the committee 

members, “access should be ‘on the 

table’ whenever decisions are made 

affecting outdoor-recreation facilities, 

including trails.” 

harm to natural or cultural 

resources; where they would 

substantially alter the nature 

of the setting or the purpose 

of the trail; where they 

would require construction 

methods prohibited by federal, 

state, or local laws; or 

where they would not be 

feasible due to terrain or 

prevailing construction 

practices. Clearly, one or 


more of these circumstances 

may exist along many sections 

of the A.T. 

ATN: Both you and Peter 

Jensen have been attempting 

to keep leaders of Trail-maintaining 

clubs informed of this 

issue throughout process. 

What’s been the reaction 

among those volunteers to 

the accessibility proposals? 

Startzell: Before the actual 

language of the recommendations 

was fully developed, 

many of the reactions tended 

to cluster at the “fear and 

loathing” end of the spectrum. 

ATN: And now? 

Startzell: Once the exceptions-based 

approach was 

explained, I think people 

came to understand that 

what is being proposed is 

not as onerous as some had 

feared. I would not, however, 

suggest that all of the concerns 

have disappeared. The 

most commonly voiced concern 

is that modifications 

could fundamentally alter the 

nature of the Appalachian 

Trail experience. The Trail has 

been designed, constructed, 

and maintained for seventyeight 

years to provide a 

primitive, mostly backcountry 

experience with 

opportunities for physical 

challenge and to “lie lightly 

on the land.” When people 

think of wheelchair-accessible 

trails, they tend to think 

of flat, paved pathways that 

would be altogether incongruous 

with the character we 

have striven to establish and 

maintain along the A.T. 

ATN: That’s not a legitimate 

concern? 

Startzell: It’s legitimate, but 

extensive grading and paving 

are not necessarily 

required in order to meet the 

recommended accessibility 

Extensive grading and paving are not 

necessarily required . . . and no one 

is suggesting that a primitive footpath, 

such as the A.T., should be 

modified in that way. 

standards, and no one is 

suggesting that a primitive 

footpath, such as the A.T., 

should be modified in that 

way. 

ATN: So, what will clubs have 

to do that they didn’t do before? 

Startzell: Today, new Trail 

construction or reconstruction 

tends to make greater 

use of sidehill terrain to facilitate 

drainage anyway. It 

has a somewhat wider treadway, 

gentler slopes and cross 

slopes, and more self-maintaining 

erosion-control 

devices, such as drainage 

dips. Many of these same 

techniques also can be employed 

to make the Trail 

more accessible to people 

with varying degrees of disabilities. 

ATN: Aren’t modifications to 

accommodate accessibility 

expensive? Will funds be 

diverted from other Trail 

projects in order to pay for 

accessibility modifications? 

Startzell: It depends on the 

site, the length of Trail, and 

other factors. But, modifications 

to accommodate 

wheelchair or scooter access 

definitely can be quite expensive 

when compared to 

our “normal” construction 

practices. Since neither ATC 

nor the Trail-maintaining 

clubs have unlimited financial 

resources, funds targeted 

for accessible-trail projects 

certainly could divert funds 

away from other projects. 

ATN: Is that the main concern? 

Startzell: A greater concern 

may be the impact on our 

human resources—our volunteers. 

Those volunteers 

already devote an incredible 

number of hours to Trail 

construction and maintenance. 

If compliance with 

accessibility regulations significantly 

increases demands 

on those volunteers, the burden 

could prove to be “the 

straw that breaks the camel’s 

back.” 

ATN: How do we address that 

issue? 

Startzell: My hope is that this 

new challenge will prove to 

be manageable if we focus on 

Trail segments that can be 

most easily modified to 

accommodate accessibility— 

and where there is the 

greatest likelihood for ready 

access by disabled people. 

We also will need to program 

these projects in a way that 

does not exceed our available 

resources or create excessive 

or disproportionate demands 

on any single Trail-maintaining 

club. 

ATN: What are the next steps? 

Startzell: Next comes the pub- 

Bob Barker battled both A.T. rocks and multiple sclerosis in 

1987 to become a “2,000 miler.” 


Paper Trail 

lic-review process. We hope 

many Trail-maintaining 

clubs, as well as individual 

ATC members and Trail 

users, will participate by 

commenting on the recommendations 

developed by 

the advisory committee. 

ATC also will be submitting 

additional comments. 

ATN: When will we actually 

see regulations? 

Startzell: Even if the publiccomment 

phase results in 

some changes to the recommendations, 

my expectation 

is that new regulations will 

be adopted within the next 

year or so. 

ATN: What will ATC be doing 

in the interim? 

Startzell: I’m suggesting to our 

Board of Managers and leaders 

in the Trail-maintaining 

clubs that we may want to 

begin now to incorporate 

“accessibility awareness” 

into our decision-making 

processes. We make decisions 

almost every day 

affecting Trail construction 

and reconstruction projects 

all along the A.T. Considerations 

related to accessibility 

traditionally have played 

little or no role in the design 

or construction process. 

Those days may soon be 

coming to an end. Through 

expanded education and 

training programs, I hope 

staff and volunteers engaged 

in the Trail project can develop 

the skills necessary 

to incorporate more opportunities 

for people with 

disabilities to experience at 

least selective portions of the 

Appalachian Trail. But, I believe 

we should create those 

opportunities in a way that 

does not alter the primitive 

character or the challenging 

recreational experience that 

makes the A.T. such a special 

place. That will be our 

greatest challenge. I think 

we can do it! 

Editor’s note: ATC will post 

the final report at . Or see 

the Access Board’s Web site at: 

. ♦ 

ATC Web site gets new domain name, content 

Staff changes at ATC 

ATC ANNOUNCED IN 

January three staff 

changes in positions 

that deal directly with the 

Trail community and the hiking 

public. They are: 

• Kevin Peterson, for thirteen 

years ATC’s New England 

regional representative, left 

that position in January to 

become regional land trust 

administrator. Peterson now 

oversees ATC Land Trust activities 

from Maine to New 

Jersey, including the work 

of four “land trust coordinators,” 

who cultivate 

conservation projects outside 

the publicly owned A.T. corridor. 

He continues to serve 

as the coordinator for New 

Hampshire and Vermont, 

where several landscape 

conservation projects are 

underway near the Trail. 

• J.T. Horn was named as 

ATC’s new regional representative 

for New England. 

He coordinates Trail-man- 

agement issues with the six 

New England clubs and 

serves as ATC’s primary 

liaison to government agencies 

from Connecticut to 

Maine. Horn joined ATC in 

1997 as associate regional 

representative in New England, 

and, in 1999, took on 

expanded duties in Trail 

management and club liaison 

while Peterson expanded 

his role with the Land Trust. 

• Lauren Post was named assistant 

to Laurie Potteiger, 

information services coordinator 

at ATC’s Harpers Ferry 

office. She will work with 

volunteers and answer questions 

from the public about 

the Trail, and help provide 

news about current Trail 

conditions. She completed 

the Appalachian Trail in 

1999, and served as ATC’s 

summer information assistant 

in 1999, in addition to 

volunteering at the Harpers 

Ferry office. ♦ 

ATC’S WORLD WIDE 

Web site has a new 

address, new features, 

and a new look. 

Beginning in 1999, a 

grant from the Robert and Dee 

Leggett Foundation funded redesign 

and technical updates 

by the Collaborative Technology 

Group of Arlington, 

Virginia. The new site went 

“live” in April. Eight conference 

staffers contributed to 

its content, with reviews by 

members of the ATC’s volunteer 

committee on education, 

information, and outreach. 

The heart of the site is a 

state-by-state compilation of 

hiking-related information, 

including an unprecedented 

listing of all governmental 

regulations and ATC policies 

applicable to use of the Trail, 

by section. Later phases of the 

renovation will add listings of 

all ATC policies, a new history 

of the Trail and conference, 

and possibly archives of past 


articles. 

To go along with the new 

look and content is a new “domain 

name,” donated to ATC 

by member Rich Sliwinski, 

who had registered it with the 

intent of using it to post news 

of a planned 2001 thru-hike. 

ATC’s current domain name, 

www.atconf.org, will continue 

to work, but will redirect Web 

browser programs to the new 

address. 

ATC’s new Web site can 

be found at: 

 

♦ 


SIDEHILL 

News from clubs and government agencies 

Busy with beavers at Dry Run 

By Karl Kunkel 

WHEN A FAMILY OF 

beavers set up 

housekeeping in 

late 1998 at Dry Run, where 

the Appalachian Trail crosses 

the creek in southwest Virginia, 

it was clear that something 

had to be done. 

Once known as “the buffalo 

of the east” because of 

their great numbers and influence 

on the environment, 

beavers in the Appalachians 

were virtually wiped out by 

19 th -century fur trappers. Only 

in recent years have significant 

numbers started reappearing 

up and down the East Coast. 

Their impact on the environment 

can be profound and 

positive, drawing birds and 

other wildlife to the ponds. 

But what happens when a 

beaver dam threatens to flood 

the A.T.? That’s the question 

that members of the Piedmont 

Appalachian Trail Hikers 

(PATH) had to confront as the 

dam started to take shape and 

water crept up from Dry Run 

toward the path. 

At first, the beavers built 

a small dam a few yards downstream 

from the footbridge 

built to get hikers over the 

thigh-deep stream at Dry 

Run and onto a bottomland 

meadow. That was fine, until 

the beavers set to work damming 

up the whole meadow, 

felling large trees and turning 

more than one hundred yards 

of the A.T. into a bog—a bog 

that would soon become a 

pond, submerging the treadway 

entirely. 

“That’s when we knew 

we had a problem,” said Paul 

Clayton, president of the club, 

which maintains fifty-seven 

miles of the Trail between the 

south fork of the Holston 

River, south of the Mt. Rogers 

Visitors Center, and the Interstate 

77 crossover near Bland. 

The club’s board members 

immediately huddled to discuss 

the options. Some favored 

just going in with hand tools 

to destroy the dam, returning 

again and again until the beavers 

gave up. Others suggested 

trapping them alive, then 

transporting them to another 

stream. Still others argued that 

they were an important part of 

the environment, and the Trail 

should coexist with them. 

In early 1999, club officials 

met with Mike Dawson, 

ATC’s regional representative 

in southwest Virginia, and 

Terry Bussey of the Wythe District 

of the U.S. Forest Service, 

the agency that manages the 

land. The rule of thumb in 

such matters along the Trail is 

that the land-managing agency 

calls the shots, but that the 

goal is to preserve nature. 

Dawson said he was impressed 

with the extensive 

homework PATH had already 

done before he and the Forest 

Service were contacted. 

“They were looking for 

a way for the Trail to get 

through and preserve this 

natural scene,” Dawson said. 

“One of the most important 

things about the volunteer 

Trail community is that they 

always have a great deal of 

imagination to come up with 

solutions that professional 

land managers might not 

think of.” 

One choice, quickly ruled 

out, was to relocate about half 

of a mile of the A.T. back onto 

a nearby two-lane blacktop 

The beavers set to work damming up the 

whole meadow, felling large trees, and 

turning more than one hundred yards of the 

A.T. into a bog. 

Puncheon and bridge across flooded meadow at Dry Run. 

that would take hikers past the 

boggy area. Though the Trail 

had followed that rural road for 

many years, the twisting roadway 

with blind curves is used 

regularly by local residents, 

many of whom speed along it, 

endangering hikers. The Forest 

Service had purchased land 

nearby to get the Trail off the 

road and give it more of a scenic 

buffer from civilization. 

Abandoning that property for 

a trek along a trash-strewn 

roadside would not be a good 

use of the land purchase or its 

scenery. 

Also ruled out were the 

ideas of tearing the dam down, 

having hikers walk over it, 

or installing a “Clemson pond 

leveler,” a drainage pipe system 

developed at Clemson 

University that regulates the 

water level by discharging excess 

water below the dam. The 

leveler was not necessary because 

the water would never 

get high enough to threaten 

the existing bridge. As for the 

dam-as-bridge idea, no one 

wanted to disturb the beavers. 

Trying to tear the dam down 

might be a losing proposition 

against a determined beaver 

family. One visionary suggested 

forming a ferry service, 

shuttling hikers across the 

pond in canoes for a fee. 

Ultimately, the group 

voted to let the beavers do 

their thing undisturbed, while 

allowing hikers to do theirs, 

too. They settled on a plan of 

building wooden “puncheon” 

—essentially a footbridge lying 

on the ground instead of on 

abutments—that would stretch 

over the boggy meadow, secured 

by rods driven into the 


Sidehill 

ground. By making it temporary, 

The planks, purchased even become a destination said Bob Proudman, ATC’s di- 

the club was adhering to with $300 of club money, for people. Club member rector of Trail management 

ATC’s creed of having the Trail had been cut and stacked on Scotty Folds has made several programs. “If we have persistent 

“lie lightly on the land,” respecting 

pallets by a local lumber com- 

two-hour trips from her home 

beaver activity in the 

the environment. pany on very short notice and in Winston-Salem, N.C., just drainage, it is nice to have 

Beavers migrate. They lugged in by club member Bill to watch the beavers. Folds enough land higher up to relocate 

create a habitat, raise a family, 

Medlin. About thirty volun- 

describes the pond as a magi- 

if we have to. Sometimes, 

exhaust the food supply, teers with numb toes and cal, tranquil place. There, she we will be on a pond shore— 

and then move on, leaving behind 

soggy gloves worked alongside said, a harried person can es- 

this is common in northern 

fertile wetlands. When the Forest Service’s Terry cape from civilization easily New England—and then the 

they do leave and the waters Bussey throughout the day and and enjoy nature within minutes 

pond level will come up. So, 

recede, PATH will remove the into the chilly evening, completing 

of busy Interstate 81. the people will keep moving 

wooden walkway and use 

more than ninety feet The pond is hidden from the the Trail up. Occasionally, we 

the materials for other A.T. of walkway, stopping only highway’s view by one small will do relocations.” 

projects. 

when they ran out of poles. A hill. Folds usually arrives When the beavers do migrate, 

PATH’s thirty to fifty few weeks later, when more about dusk and quietly finds 

they will leave behind a 

“regulars” (out of a membership 

poles were scavenged, they fin- 

an unobtrusive perch to watch fertile ecosystem they helped 

of about two hundred) ished the project. 

the beavers preen one another. create. They will also leave 

range from retirees to teachers 

behind some good feelings 

to bankers to skilled 

among club members who 

craftspeople, but they are not 

watched them create it and 

accustomed to working together 

learned to enjoy a side of the 

on intricate projects 

Trail they hadn’t seen before. 

with hand tools in weather 

The beavers haven’t migrated 

hovering around the freezing 

yet and, in fact, are 

point. Most live in North 

colonizing, building additional 

Carolina and drive one hundred 

dams in the area. 

to three hundred miles 

Since the first project, the 

each way into the Virginia 

club discovered another dam 

mountains monthly in order 

site on the Trail two miles 

to remove blowdowns in the 

south of Dry Run. Several 

early spring, wage a war with 

members, using materials 

briars and other overgrowth 

provided by the Forest Service, 

installed a Clemson 

throughout the summer, work Tree stumps and beaver pond near Holston River footbridge. 

with ATC crews on major (Photos by Karl Kunkel) 

“pond leveler” to prevent the 

projects, and repaint white Hikers now had a clear “They look totally contented,” 

water from submerging a 

blazes on the trees in the snow path—and dry feet—as the 

she said. 

walkway over a tributary of 

flurries of late October. Special whole meadow was transformed 

The pond has also become the Holston River. That 

projects such as the beaver 

from a nondescript a good educational setting for project, completed in late 

pond require special trips and field into a lush nature preserve 

youngsters, Folds added. On 1999, required volunteers to 

special effort. 

as the beavers widened one field trip, she took two don chest-high waders and 

On a frosty Saturday in the dam and the water backed neighbor children, ages two work in frigid water for hours. 

February 1999, club members up. Ducks, geese, and birds not and five, to the pond. 

By early 2000, however, the 

crawled out of sleeping bags often seen in that part of the “They were so excited,” beavers had worked around 

and started work. They used state suddenly appeared. she said. They watched the the problem of the pond leveler, 

telephone poles donated and Clayton even spotted a mink. beavers work together as a 

and water was rising 

hauled to the edge of the road Dawson noted that several family and were fascinated by once again. At press time, it 

by the Forest Service, then types of Virginia wildlife that the characteristic shapes of the looked as if PATH would 

dragged to the site by Clayton had disappeared when the beaver 

tree stumps left by the gnaw- 

once again be getting busy 

in his Jeep. Railroad ties, although 

population was decimated ing of the beavers. 

with beavers.♦ 

available, were ruled years ago have started to return 

“With animal rights and 

with the proliferation of the high sensitivity now to Karl Kunkel lives in High Point, 

out because of the danger of 

N.C., and edits PATH’s 

creosote preservative leeching beaver ponds. 

creatures, it pays to accommodate 

the Trail to the beaver,” 

newsletter. He has been a club 

into the water. 

PATH’s beaver pond has 

member since 1995. 


Hikers view proposed quarry (highlighted) from the Stan 

Murray Memorial near Hump Mountain. 

Construction continues on quarry in 

Hump Mountain viewshed 

CONSTRUCTION IS PROceeding 

on a gravel 

quarry near Hump 

Mountain, in western North 

Carolina, despite recent public 

outcry over its effect on the 

view from the A.T. 

At issue is the Putnam 

Mine, a quarry under development 

two miles from Hump 

Mountain, in Avery County, 

North Carolina. The quarry is 

visible from a scenic stretch of 

balds in the Roan Highlands. 

A public hearing was held 

March 16 to hear complaints 

about the quarry, and thousands 

of public comments 

have been submitted in response 

to publicity on several 

Internet Web sites. But, since 

protests came only after a permit 

had already been granted 

TREELINE 

News from along the Appalachian Trail 

and construction begun, it appeared 

doubtful that the North 

Carolina Division of Environment 

and Natural Resources 

would take further action. 

According to ATC Regional 

Representative Morgan 

Sommerville, the state’s permit 

process for quarries did 

not require any notification 

about the potential impact on 

scenic views. “That’s unfortunate, 

as it’s likely to have a 

significant visual effect on 

this very scenic stretch of 

Trail,” Sommerville said. 

ATC continues to work to 

reduce the quarry’s impact and 

has since urged the state to 

revise its permit process so 

that communities near such 

quarries can be notified in a 

timely way, he said. ♦ 

Hikers and church committee raise 

$19,000 for repairs at “The Place” 

Corridor countdown 

The Place,” the storied 

A.T. hostel in Damascus, 

Virginia, that 

has sheltered thousands of 

hikers since the 1980s, is getting 

a facelift. 

“It was kind of old, kind 

of ugly on the outside, the 

paint was peeling, and there 

were problems with water 

damage,” said Mary Hayes, a 

member of the hostel committee 

of the Damascus United 

Methodist Church, which operates 

The Place. “At first, 

when we started talking about 

it, we just thought we’d get 

some new siding,” Hayes said. 

The committee put out 

the word last year that funds 

were needed for renovation. 

But Hayes said they never expected 

the response they got. 

By March, more than $19,000 

had been raised from the Trail 

community, including more 

than $5,000 from hikers. 

“Now, we’re going to be 

able to put on new siding, put 

in new windows, paint the interior, 

and paint the roof,” 

Hayes said. Hayes said that 

more than 184 different people 

contributed funds to the 

project. The hiker money was 

mostly raised through a charitable 

raffle and gear sale at 

“The Ruck,” an annual gathering 

of past, present, and 

future long-distance hikers, 

held in February 2000 at 

Pennsylvania’s Pine Grove 

Furnace State Park. 

The largest contribution 

IT’S THE HOPE OF CONGRESS, THE FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION, AND 

the Trail community that the Appalachian Trail can be 

pronounced “fully protected” by the end of this year. Here 

is where federal and state agencies stood at the beginnig of March 

2000 in terms of footpath miles (one percent to go!) and adjoining 

acreage left to acquire: 

States Map Miles Acres 

Maine 4.2 1,188 

New Hampshire 0.2 18 

Vermont 0.0 42 

Massachusetts 0.1 447 

Connecticut 0.3 210 

New York 0.1 214 

New Jersey 0.0 78 

Pennsylvania 3.0 301 

Maryland 4.7 806 

Virginia 5.0 2,252 

West Virginia/Va. 0.0 0 

N.C./Tennessee 3.9 2,179 

Georgia 0.0 513 

Total 21.4 8,248 


Treeline 

Memorial Gifts 

came from the estate of a 

member of the Damascus 

church whose son was an A.T. 

hiker, she said. 

“I think the thing that has 

meant the most has been the 

letters,” Hayes said. “I was 

glad I did this, just to read the 

letters. People said the nicest 

things. And, a lot of the hikers 

will be coming here in 

April to help us clean it up and 

get it ready for Trail Days.” 

Hiker John O’Mahoney, 

who helped coordinate the 

hiker contributions, said that 

a ceremonial presentation of 

an oversized check for the 

hiker funds will be made at 

Trail Days, the town’s annual 

celebration of hikers and hiking, 

scheduled for May 19–21.♦ 

Deaths 

Guy Waterman, author and maintainer 

UY WATERMAN, AN INFLU- 

author of books Gential 

on wilderness conservation 

and the history of trail-making 

in the northern Appalachians, 

froze to death February 

6 near the summit of Mt. 

Lafayette, on Franconia Ridge 

in New Hampshire’s White 

Mountains. His death was 

ruled a suicide. He was sixtyseven. 

Mr. Waterman was an 

avid climber and longtime volunteer 

with the Appalachian 

Mountain Club (AMC). With 

his wife, Laura Waterman, he 

had adopted the section of the 

Appalachian Trail along Franconia 

Ridge, carefully building 

walls and steps to keep hikers 

from damaging fragile alpine 

plants at a time when overuse 

was causing extensive damage 

to the above-treeline ecosystem 

on Franconia Ridge. The 

Trail work done there by the 

Watermans and others is credited 

with helping trampled 

vegetation recover. It became 

a model for trail design in 

similarly fragile alpine environments. 

The Watermans, a husband-and-wife 

writing team, 

were authors of the influential 

books Backwoods Ethics and 

Wilderness Ethics, both instrumental 

in the Appalachian 

Trail Conference’s 1995 policy 

mandating that the primitive 

character of the Trail be preserved. 

This policy has since 

been integrated into all Trail 

and resource decision-making 

affecting the Appalachian National 

Scenic Trail. Their most 

extensive work, Forest and 

Crag: The History of Hiking, 

Trail Blazing, and Adventure 

in the Northeast Mountains, 

contains numerous references 

to the early history of the Appalachian 

Trail. It took more 

than a decade to prepare and 

is without equal in documenting 

the trail and mountain 

history in the eastern United 

States. 

Before moving to Manhattan 

in the late 1960s, Mr. 

Waterman had been a successful 

jazz pianist. His career 

included work as a campaign 

speech writer for Presidents 

Eisen-hower, Nixon, and 

Ford. He met Mrs. Waterman, 

who became his second wife, 

on a climbing trip with the 

AMC New York Chapter. As 

soon as they were able, 

they moved to a primitive 

twenty-seven-acre farm in 

East Corinth, Vermont, 

Since our last edition, donations to the Appalachian Trail 

Conference were made in memory of: 

RAY BROWN • By Roberta K. Tower 

CLARA CASSIDY • By Marylee M. Armour, John and 

Dorothy Hughes, Larry E. Kinley, Bernie C. Klemanek 

and Pat Callahan, Leila B. Lange, Dell Loyless, Robert 

and Tobey Milne, Joe and Miriam Nokes 

RICHARD B. CLARK • By Marguerite T. Clark 

ART COMEY • By Bill and Iris Baird 

CHRIS DEFFLER • By Edwin and Margaret Deffler 

EDWARD B. GARVEY • By Jim Stoltz 

KENNETH E. HOPPEL • By Anonymous, Thomas and Carol 

Anderson, Bradley and Bonnie Awe, James and Ruby 

Barron, Sondra Bartley, Thomas and Anna Lois Beumel, 

Linda Clark, Ronald and Wanda Goodnight, Mr. and 

Mrs. Marvin Hartig, Hoosier Backpackers Indiana, 

Kevin and Darlene King, Robert and Gail Lehr, Louise 

Lutz, Elizabeth Lyon, Scott and Janet Mohler, Mohler 

Technology Inc., Clark and Laura Moranz, Neal Scruggs 

Family, Larry and Alice Wildeman 

CHARLES THOMAS JACKSON • By Bill and Iris Baird 

FRANK “SHADOW” LEMIEUX (’97) • By Cathie “Fruitcake” 

Cummins 

WILLIAM J. MILNE • By Paul Restuccia 

HAZEL MONROE • By Piedmont Appalachian Trail 

Hikers 

BETSY NOVICKI • By Piedmont Appalachian Trail Hikers 

ORION MEADE PAISLEY • By Ernest and Elizabeth Jones 

GEORGE SAYRE • By Loren and Betty Schroeder, “The 

Kansas Kids” 

PAUL S. SCHNARE • By Dorothy H. Schnare 

MARSHALL STONE • By Roy Anderson, Robert and 

Therese Chaisson 

GUY WATERMAN • Bill and Iris Baird 

CHARLES WELLS • By Piedmont Appalachian Trail 

Hikers 

GEORGE F. WERNER • By William and Elaine Herrmann, 

Paul and Joan Housworth 

named “Barra” after Water– 

man’s Scottish ancestral 

home. The couple cut by 

hand all their firewood, grew 

their own vegetables, and 

made maple sugar. At Barra, 

they wrote by kerosene lamp 

on an old typewriter. 

More than 200 friends 

and admirers attended his 

memorial service at the Congregational 

Church in East 

Corinth on February 17. Music 

included a medley of piano 

works that Mr. Water-man 

had performed and recorded to 

be played at his funeral. ♦ 


“2,000-Milers” for 2000 

The Appalachian Trail Conference has received 550 reports of complete hikes of 

the Trail—either by thru-hikes or in sections over a number of years—since a similar 

list was published in last May’s ATN. The reports from persons listed below are grouped 

by the year in which the hike was completed. 

The database and other records from which this list is derived were prepared by 

intern Matt Rice and volunteers Fred and Joanne Firman, with the assistance of Laurie 

Potteiger and Lauren Post of the ATC Information Services Office. 

1978 

J. Andrew Walsh, Scituate, Mass.; Christopher 

J. Yambor, Annandale, Va. 

1986 

Kent H. Kannegieter (O-D-Doe), Glen Allen, 

Va. 

1988 

George A. McDaniel III (Telephone Man), 

Independence, Va. 

1991 

Richard M. Callahan (Mike), Annapolis, Md.; 

David P. Ransom (Spoons), Waterville, Vt.; 

Louise S. Ransom (Spoons), Waterville, Vt.; 

Dana D. Thurston (Stryder), 

Yarmouth, Maine. 

1992 

Frederic L. O’Connor (Chooch), 

Moran, Wyo. 

1994 

Keith Kimball (Wolf), Clifton, 

Va.; John Robblee (Packrat), 

Salem, Mass. 

1996 

Zaz Brelsford (Sunbeam), 

Putney, Vt.; Bob L. Lively 

(Lively), Cary, N.C.; Matthew 

Sweeney (Aussie Crawl), Rose 

Bay, New South Wales, 

Australia. 

1997 

Jennifer E. Baehre (Hat Trick), 

Annandale, Va.; Michael D. 

Baehre (Dingleberry), Annandale, Va.; 

Jonathan E. Haas (Eagle), Philadelphia, Pa.; 

Michael W. Kemner (Wings of Desire), 

Lebanon, Ohio; Timothy S. Schoolcraft 

(Vermontster Green Bean), Randolph Center, 

Vt.; J. Harmon Steiner (Harmony), Atlanta, 

Ga.; Colin S. Thomas (Easy 8), Chapel Hill, 

N.C. 

1998 

Laurie M. Adkins (The Umbrella Lady), 

Catawba, Va.; Leonard M. Adkins (The 

Habitual Hiker), Catawba, Va.; Brendan O. 

Bogan (Brendan), Rolla, Mo.; Morgan Briggs 

(Old Smoky), Pigeon Forge, Tenn.; Eric 

Brunet (Eric the Red), Longueuil, Quebec, 

Canada; Kierstie Clark, Newport, R.I.; Jason 

Corry (Aeneas), Watertown, Mass.; Ryan A. 

Crawley (Crawl-dog), Roanoke, Va.; Janis H. 

Eisenberg (Swimmer), Woodbridge, Conn.; 

Howard W. Emerson (Assman of the 

Emerson Brothers), Great Bend, Pa.; Justin R. 

Gallagher (Muledozer), Vail, Colo.; Rich C. 

Gambale (Greenleaf), Tyngsboro, Mass.; 

Melissa S. Goehrig (The Hare), Flagstaff, 

Ariz.; John F. Golle (Longdrop), Palmers 

Green, England; Nat Greenspan (Polar Bear), 

Jamaica Plain, Mass.; Matthew C. Hasuly 

(Rimrunner), Greer, S.C.; Chris A. Ingraham 

(Free Spirit), Lawrenceville, Ga.; Brian Kelly 

(Too Obtuse), Sanbornville, N.H.; Aaron K. 

Kraft (Still Thinking), Minocqua, Wis.; 

Courtney L. Mann (Mogo), Round Hill, Va.; 

Jonathan R. McLamb (Woodpecker), 

Roseboro, N.C.; Jeff E. Murkett (Can-Do), 

Crested Butte, Colo. (completed twice); 

James R. Ohler (Jim), Severna Park, Md.; 

John L. Ohler (John), Queen Anne, Md.; 

Ronald L. Ott, Jr. (AT 2), Muncy, Pa.; Andrew 

L. Petersen (Alpo), West Fairlee, Vt.; Sharon 

L. Petersen (Quilter), West Fairlee, Vt.; April 

D. Peterson (Trail Gimp), Saratoga Springs, 

N.Y.; Philip W. Piaski (Gnatcatcher), 

Newton, N.C.; Jamie A. Rankin (Lemonhead), 

Epworth, Ga.; Warren P. Renninger 

(Lake), Muncy Valley, Pa.; John R. Rist 

(Patches), Fallston, Md.; Janet L. Roberts 

(Shutterbug), Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada; 

Gordon C. Rollins, Jr. (Gooner), Orlando, 

Fla.; Jordan T. Snow (Wandering Bear), 

Thomaston, Ga.; John Starr (Yo Yo), Minneapolis, 

Minn.; Robert E. Strootman (Silverfeet), 

Jackson, Wyo.; Junius R. Tate (Model 

T), Woodlawn, Tenn.; Claudia Tuor (Swiss 

Miss), Plons, Switzerland; Jerry I. Ziemer 

(Goat Legs), McHenry, Md. 

1999 

Michael R. Adamo (The Gambler), East 

Northport, N.Y.; Daniel R. Alexander 

(Butkus), Homewood, Ala.; William M. 

Alexander (Sticks), Atlanta, Ga.; Ben P. Allen 

(Uncle Ben), Sartell, Minn.; Mark R. Allen 

(YN0T2K), Sartell, Minn.; Matthew C. Allen 

(Caboose), Long Beach, Calif.; Huma 

Alvarado (Morning), Asheville, N.C.; 

Thomas W. Anderson (Tommy Sweats), 

Vienna, Va.; Christopher K. Andrews (Wood 

Doctor), Hixson, Tenn.; J. Blake Andrews 

(Spoonman), Alpharetta, Ga.; Bruce L. 

Andrus (Sidewinder), East Hampton, Conn.; 

Jeffrey J. Apolinario (Patches), Peekskill, 

N.Y.; Brian T. Arntz (Grubby), Greenville, 

Mich.; Heather Lynn Arsenault (Moglo), 

Townsend, Mass.; Richard N. Ashley (Zip 

Drive), Arlington, Va.; Jason S. Badders 

(Duke), Otsego, Mich.; Anonymous Badger 

(Anonymous Badger), Coudersport, Pa.; Chris 

Bagby (Spur of the Moment), 

Atlanta, Ga.; Carol D. Baker 

(Snowy Egret), Houston, 

Texas; Lissa C. Baker (Stowaway), 

Houston, Texas; Ronald 

B. Baker (Leafhopper), 

Houston, Texas; John H. 

Balentine (Zin Slojourner), 

Westerly, R.I.; Bill Bancroft 

(Gaseous), Bryan, Texas; Ted 

Barnette (Little John), 

Spartanburg, S.C.; Anthony J. 

Barrett (Only Tony), Hingham, 

Mass.; Shawn A. Basil 

(Bearpaw), Bowling Green, Ky.; 

Charles E. Baughman (Chief 

No Pecs), Hendersonville, 

N.C.; Linda M. Baughman 

(Mom), Hendersonville, N.C.; 

Sonia Beaudoin (Huayna),St-Christophe 

D’Arthabaska, Quebec, Canada; Leonard C. 

Bechler (Rhubarb), Oakland, Calif.; Monika 

Beckmann (Monika), Stockholm, N.J.; 

Stephen M. Beggs (Dr. A), Middleburg, Va.; 

Jean-Francois Belzile (KayBek), St-Augustin, 

Quebec, Canada; Omer Benayahv (Timeout), 

Bet-Yannay, Israel; Bryn A. Bender (Dragonfly), 

Perth, Australia; Gary M. Bissaillon (Mr. 

B), Skaneateles, N.Y.; Bryan W. Black (#1 

Gopher), Savannah, Tenn.; Andrew J. 

Blubaugh (Semper Fi), Wadsworth, Ohio; 

Alison D. Bochner (Bugbite), Deerfield, Ill.; 

Vincent C. Bochsler (High Country), Rock 

Springs, Wyo.; Brad K. Boehringer (Orion), 

Doylestown, Pa.; Gabriel R. Boisseau (Luna), 

St. Johnsbury Center, Vt.; Justin D. Bonnett 

(Ragweed), Forest Lake, Minn.; Molly A. 


Bonnett (Clover), Forest Lake, Minn.; 

Gregory M. Boone (Grizzly), Elizabethtown, 

Ky.; Bill L. Booz III (Orion), Voorhees, N.J.; 

Daniel Brent Borders (Double Barrel), 

Fayetteville, Ga.; Jennifer R. Bowden (Sky), 

Big Timber, Mont.; Keith Bown (Hedgehog), 

Rotherham, 

England; Kimberly 

B. Boyce, Houston, 

Texas; A. Hank 

Boyd (Easy Rider), 

Cleveland, Ala.; 

Brenda L. Braaten 

(Wilderness 

Woman), N. 

Weymouth, Mass.; 

Laurie J. Braaten 

(Holek), Weymouth, 

Mass.; Thomas F. 

Brady (Mr. Green 

Jeans), Barnardsville, 

N.C.; Thomas J. 

Brady (Speedyfeet), 

Barnardsville, N.C.; 

William L. Brady 

(Pigpen), Barnardsville, 

N.C.; Sean F. 

Brants (Ape), Royal 

Oak, Mich.; Krista 

A. Brewer (Krista), 

Phoenixville, Pa.; 

James A. Bright (Groove), York, Maine; Paul 

P. Brinson Sr. (Blue Ridge), Turtletown, 

Tenn.; Brigit E. Brown (Pigpen), Wisconsin 

Dells, Wis.; Edmund E. Brown (R.E.S.), Bryn 

Athyn, Pa.; Steven A. Brown (Bulletproof), 

Albuquerque, N.M.; Guenther K. Brucha 

(Moosburger), La Grange Park, Ill.; Nelson C. 

Bruni (Slow Buffalo), Stafford, Va.; Julian P. 

Bryant (Smokestack), Fitzgerald, Ga.; Troy J. 

Bryant (Chap), Madison, Ga.; Matthias Buhl 

(Fritz), Berlin, Germany; Jason N. Bulay 

(Pending), Old Town, Maine; Edward D. 

Burgess (Never Alone), Seville, Ohio; Parker 

D. Burgin (Picture This), Wimberley, Texas; 

Loy A. Burke (Bushrod), Clarkesville, Ga.; 

Steven D. Burrough (Dry Fly), Roswell, Ga.; 

Miller A. Bushong (Miller Time), Charleston, 

W.Va.; Joseph W. Cappel (Charlie Hustle), 

Cincinnati, Ohio; Daniel K. Capps (Dan), 

Downers Grove, Ill.; George Carleton (One 

Shot), Greensboro, Ga.; Andrew R. Carter 

(Pop), Yorktown, Va.; John M. Carter (Dark 

Star), La Grange, Ky.; Josh E. Carter (Launchpad), 

Canterbury, N.H.; Christian J. Caruso 

(Privey), Gahanna, Ohio; David L. Cassidy 

(Drum Stick), W. Peabody, Mass.; Reed D. 

Chambers (Blue Note), Pittsburgh, Pa.; Paul 

E. Chapman (Bandit), Signal Mountain., 

Tenn.; Alan W. Chase (Splinter), Little 

Meadows, Pa.; Loren Jay Chassels (Artic 

Sven), Kirksville, Mo.; Matt T. Chism (Old 

Crow), Louisville, Ky.; Dick Christian (Every 

Hikers Dream), Manchester, Conn.; Peter D. 

Christiana (Pete), Fayetteville, N.Y.; Dave N. 

Clark (Doctor Ragamuffin), Hendersonville, 

Tenn.; Jonathan D. Clark (Red), Yarmouth, 

Maine; Stacy W. Clark (Roseycheeks), 

Hendersonville, 

Tenn.; Elmer J. 

Clegg (The Jersey 

Four (two of)), 

Gibbstown, N.J.; 

Isabella M. Clegg 

(Bunny), Gibbstown, 

N.J.; Michael 

Clements (Wrangler), 

Spring, Texas; 

Laura S. Clinton 

(Stinkerbell), 

Daleville, Va.; 

Thomas K. Conover 

(Silver), Ruskin, 

Fla.; Elaine L. 

Contant (Elf), 

Lincoln, Mass.; 

Wilbur Cooley (PA 

Mule), Doylestown, 

Pa.; Scott J. Cooney 

(Blind Elf), Ft. 

Collins, Colo.; 

Johnny A. Cooper 

(Johnny Reb), Hazel 

Green, Ala.; Melvin 

P. Cooper (Lunch Time), Huntingdon, Pa.; 

Alex J. Coughlin (Cracker), Durham, N.C.; 

Michael C. Courtney 

(Courdog), Mt. 

Gilead, Ohio; Alison 

G. Coviello Ouimet 

(Cook from Cook n’ 

Clean), New York, 

N.Y.; Thomas L. 

Cronan III (TN- 

Tom), Knoxville, 

Tenn.; C. Mc Dowell 

Crook, Jr. (Movin’), 

Birmingham, Ala.; 

Kevin C. Cross 

(Chickpee), Tray, 

Mich.; Sylvia Strawn 

Crump (Orange 

Blossom/Mountain 

Marching Mama), 

De Leon Springs, 

Fla.; Ben A. Curtis 

(Cobweb), Waterbury, 

Vt.; Alton W. 

Dail III (Clothes 

Pin), Powhatan, Va.; 

Claude Dallaire 

(Machu Picchu), St- 

Christophe D’Arthabaska, Quebec, Canada; 

Edmund J. Danziger, Jr. (Fast Eddie), Bowling 

Green, Ohio; Oren Davidoff (Little D), Ariel, 

Israel; Charles W. Davidson (Chase), Axton, 

Va.; Heath C. Davidson (Crumbsnatcher), 

Lincoln, Neb.; John D. Davis (Single Malt), 

Annapolis, Md.; John C. De Mattei (Doughboy), 

Travelers Rest, S.C.; Robert D. de Vos 

(The Fox), Atlanta, Ga.; Ronald Dearlove, 

Inlet, N.Y.; Donald L. DeMeza (Empty Head), 

Frederick, Md.; Steven K. Dendle (Candleman 

UK), Newcastle Upon Tyne, England; 

Jon M. Dennis (Heyoka), Florida City, Fla.; 

Dan B. Denton (Go Back), Hesston, Pa.; 

Jamie A. Derrick (Sunshine/Awaking 

Dreams), Sierra Madre, Calif.; Will W. Dewey 

(Willie B Walkin), Hendersonville, N.C.; 

Brett R. Dixon (Brett), Seaford, N.Y.; Peter A. 

Dohrenwend (Yahtzee), Newton, Conn.; 

Chris Dooley (Dooley), Burlington, Vt.; 

Damion A. Dooros (Rambler), Cincinnati, 

Ohio; Casey Downs (Bones), Meredith, N.H.; 

David A. Drachenberg (Bugbait), Newington, 

Conn.; Richard Dreselly, Brunswick, Maine; 

Lionel Roscrow Dreyer (Klipspringer), Cape 

Town, South Africa; Audrey H. Duane 

(Audie Go Lightly), Dalton, N.H.; Emily R. 

Duhaime (Lu), Akron, Ohio; Ben R. Dulac 

(Grizzbee), Newmarket, N.H.; Adam M. 

Dulaski (Last Exit), Park Ridge, N.J.; Susan L. 

Durrence (Skydog), White, Ga.; Don E. 

DuRussel, Jr. (Potato Picker), Manchester, 

Mich.; Caitlin M. Dwyer-Huppert (Riverdance), 

Petersham, Mass.; W. Reed Dyer (The 

Peaceful Warrior), Winthrop, Maine; Charles 

S. Eckenroth (Funk That), New Holland, Pa.; 

Hanan A. Edery (Husband), Gaithersburg, 

Md.; Eric A. Eichler 

(Young Buck), 

Washington, D.C.; 

Ken R. Evans 

(Wadi), Wilmore, 

Ky.; Thomas K. 

Evans (Flatlander), 

Salisbury, Md.; 

Matthew H. 

Falkinburg (Falcon), 

North Jackson, 

Ohio; Conor D. 

Farley (Chocolate 

Thunder), Hummelstown, 

Pa.; 

Kenneth G. 

Felgenhour 

(Mousebuster), 

Woodstock, Ill.; 

Nancy B. Field (Just 

Nancy), East Lyme, 

Conn.; Andrew J. 

Fisher (Fish), 

Southminster, 

England; David 

Forbes (No Worries), 

Mosinee, Wis.; Roderick Forsman (Chronic 

Fatigue Syndrome), Intervale, N.H.; Holly 

Sue Forte (Holly), Raynham Center, Mass.; 

Anna Franke (Pokey), Weimar, Germany; 


Clinton E. Fuhr (Pale Rider), Pittsburgh, Pa.; 

Luther B. Fuqua III (Supafly), Lexington, Ky.; 

Matthew M. Furtney (Flash), Somerville, 

Mass.; Robert E. Furtney (Merritt), Rutland, 

Vt.; Scott D. Gaffney (Lord of the Flies), 

Tampa, Fla.; Mike Galyean (Koolade), Winter 

Park, Fla.; Joseph C. Gamble (Trout), 

Savannah, Ga.; Josh C. Gambrel (Rocketman), 

Johnson City, Tenn.; Kristen R. 

Gardella (Krispina), Voluntown, Conn.; Louis 

Gardella (Marco Polo), Voluntown, Conn.; 

Catherine A. Gawronski (Rocky), Niantic, 

Conn.; Glenn C. Gawronski (Bullwinkle), 

Niantic, Conn.; Randy S. Geary (Mr. 

Missouri), Desoto, Mo.; John D. Gillette 

(Jester), Enfield, Conn.; Robert J. Glynn 

(Muddy Creek Kid), Pearl River, N.Y.; Jeffrey 

E. Godby (Yogi), Columbia, S.C.; Alexandra 

M. Goncalves (Brooklyn), Waukegan, Ill.; 

Erin M. Gooch (Repartee), Plymouth, N.H.; 

Carl C. Goodman (Greybeard), Alexandria, 

Va.; Timothy C. Goodman (Duke), Richmond, 

Va.; Lizzie F. Goodrick (Paranoid), 

Merriam, Kan.; Eric J. Gott (Colby Jack), 

Shepherd, Mich.; Darren S. Gouran (Breakin’ 

Wind), State College, Pa.; Eric J. Green 

(Crusher), Richfield Springs, N.Y.; George E. 

Green (Greenfoot), Melrose, Mass.; Daniel P. 

Gregory (Just Dan), Cincinnati, Ohio; 

Lawton E. Grinter (Disco), Gaffney, S.C.; J.C. 

Grotz (JC/Skunkmonkey), Tampa, Fla.; Jason 

P. Grudell (1st Degree), Rhinebeck, N.Y.; 

Chris W. Habeck (Grover), Georgetown, 

Mass.; Nathan C. 

Hackett (Arrowhead), 

Yorktown, 

Va.; Petr Hajda, 

Ottawa, Ontario, 

Canada; Gayle C. 

Hall (Bluemoon), 

Bloomington, Ind.; 

Justin B. Hall 

(Jetson), Locust 

Grove, Va.; Wayne 

W. Hall (Finnegan), 

Nicholasville, Ky.; 

Chris M. Hallien 

(Woodchuck), 

Arlington, Texas; 

Jonathan W. 

Hamilton (That 

Guy), Snellville, 

Ga.; Ryan W. 

Hamler (Redneck 

Rye), Groveport, 

Ohio; Ernie 

Hansche (Stone 

Monkey), Manchester, 

N.H.; Erik S. 

Hansen (Raven), Billings, Mont.; George F. 

Harenberg (Geo), Denver, Colo.; James C. 

Harvey (Mountain Bear), Linden, Va.; Jason 

Hawkins (Catfish), Richmond, Ky.; Charles 

O. Hearon III (Buzzard Wing), Campobello, 

S.C.; Nathan L. Helminiak (Flounder), Jersey 

Shore, Pa.; D. Oliver Henderson, Lookout 

Mountain, Ga.; Hal K. Hess (Cross Country 

Wingnuts), Hurricane, 

Utah; Tim B. 

Hewitt (Paddler), 

Old Orchard Beach, 

Maine; Maureen J. 

Hickey (Laughing 

Hyena), Elizabethtown, 

Ky.; Gregg R. 

Hilferding (Uncle 

Bearbait), Zephyrhills, 

Fla.; Dave L. 

Hill (Sorefoot), 

Norwich, United 

Kingdom; Michael 

C. Hillen (Spud), 

Jefferson City, Mo.; 

Bryce W. Hipp (The 

Combustible 

Postman), Montmagny, 

Quebec, 

Canada; Wally L. 

Hockly (Apteryx), 

Stewart Island, New 

Zealand; Walt L. 

Hodges (Walt), 

Irondale, Ala.; 

Benjamin B. Hodgins (Hopper), Vancouver, 

Wash.; Donna Holmes (Free Spirit), South 

Boundbrook, N.J.; Arno Holschuh (Frog), 

Bloomington, Ind.; 

Scot C. Holt (Celt), 

Lincoln, N.H.; 

Stephen C. 

Hotchkiss (Steve), 

Houston, Texas; 

Steven T. Howard 

(Snickers), Athens, 

Ga.; Jeffery A. Hoye 

(Chooch), Merrimack, 

N.H.; 

Wendell R. 

Hubbard (Grateful 

Grandpa), Collinsville, 

Va.; Brad 

Hubeny (The Great 

Hue-Beenie), 

Hingham, Mass.; 

William M. 

Hughes, Jr. 

(Einstein’s Human), 

Alexandria, Va.; 

Richard C. 

Humphrey (Posey 

Picker), Kansas 

City, Mo.; John G. 

Hunkele (Spiderbite), West Hollywood, 

Calif.; Richard A. Hurd, Jr. (Powdermanof 

Blind Mice Expedition), Alpharetta, Ga.; 

Lee A. Hurd (Mattressman), Bishop, Ga.; 

Stacy D. Huskins (Hutch), McDonald, Tenn.; 

Bradley W. Ivey (Carolina Kid), Asheboro, 

N.C.; Andrew L. Jagenow (Mardi Gras), 

Groton, Conn.; M. June James (Jilebi), 

Oakland, Calif.; 

Amanda K. Jaros 

(Tamarack), Long 

Valley, N.J.; Jack B. 

Jenkins (Kentuck 

Jack), Louisville, 

Ky.; Carl Jesionowski 

(Lightfoot), 

Plaistow, N.H.; 

Theresa Jesionowski 

(Mother 

Theresa), Plaistow, 

N.H.; Connie L. 

Jeska (Yellow Rose 

of Texas), Carrollton, 

Texas; Brian S. 

Johnson (Airlift), 

Elkin, N.C.; James 

G. Johnson 

(Tommy Bahama), 

Woodstown, N.J.; 

Michael D. Jones 

(Roanoke), Luray, 

Va.; Lloyd C. Joyce 

(Load), Lawrence, 

Pa.; Kevin J. 

Kalthoff (Oz), Topeka, Kan.; Jeffrey J. 

Kavanaugh (Second Wind), Indianapolis, Ind.; 

Dale R. Keirstead (Galahad), Alton, N.H.; 

Brooks Kelley (Mr. Boo), Jeffersonville, Vt.; 

Leo A. Kellogg (The Persistent), East 

Greenbush, N.Y.; Thomas A. Kennedy (The 

Lovely Overpacked), Lake Worth, Fla.; Jeff A. 

Killian (Twice), Knoxville, Tenn.; Ellen V. 

Kilpatrick (Mama Kazoo), Gainsville, Fla.; 

Richard S. Kimmel (Lucky), Nashville, 

Tenn.; Harry E. Kintzler (Uncas ‘73), Mt. 

Prospect, Ill.; Michael J. Kirby (Bipolar 

Disorder), Pensacola, Fla.; Mark W. Kittrell 

(Man-Who), Kissimmee, Fla.; E. Jolene Koby 

(Jojo Smiley), Hayfork, Calif.; Sasha M. Kodet 

(Honeydo), Tray, Mich.; Tom R. Kozlowski 

(Polish), Jersey Shore, Pa.; Daniel P. Krieger 

(Too Hot to Handle), Northfield, Ohio; Eric J. 

Kuzma (TH434N), Collingswood, N.J.; 

Curteis J. La Boy (The Corsican), Black 

Mountain, N.C.; Melody H. Lam (Yodi), 

Collinsville, Va.; Jennifer D. Lamb (Bear 

Bait), Los Altos, Calif.; Cory Lampert (Cross 

Country), Denver, Colo.; Anthony C. Lance 

(Glider), Springfield, Tenn.; John H. Lange III 

(The Georgia Crackers), Columbus, Ga.; J. 

Harry Lange, Jr. (Trail Dad of The Georgia 

Crackers), Cataula, Ga.; Patrick H. Lange 

(The Georgia Crackers), Cataula, Ga.; Ingrid 

K. Larsson (Sunshine), Campbellcroft, 

Ontario, Canada; Allison B. Lassiter 

(Hummingbird), Weston, Mass.; Eric E. 

Lawrence (Campbell’s Kid), Silver Spring, 


Md.; Joe Lawrence (Biohazard), Athens, Ga.; 

James F. LeCroy, Jr. (Papa Squat), Columbia, 

S.C.; J.D. Lee (Tellico Advocate), Knoxville, 

Tenn.; Susan E. Lee (Boo Boo), Columbia, 

S.C.; William E. Lesmerises, Jr. (Scooby), 

Laconia, N.H.; William E. Lesmerises 

(Crash), Laconia, N.H.; David J. Lewis 

(Chewy), Yarmouth, Maine; Lung Sang Li 

(Jersey George), Piscataway, N.J.; R. Laine 

Ligon (Grey Man), Columbia, S.C.; Lynn A. 

Lingenfelter (Team Myoplex), Winter Spring, 

Fla.; Robert E. Lloyd, Sr. (New Jersey Four), 

Woodbury, N.J.; Joyce M. Lloyd (New Jersey 

Four), Woodbury, N.J.; Robert A. Longmire 

(Chaco), Lexington, Ky.; Jeffrey L. Loso (The 

Vagabon’), Bloomington, Minn.; Michael E. 

Lowell (Plantar), Clovis, N.M.; Lyle E. 

Lumsden (Painted Turtle), Manchester, 

Mass.; Jason A. Lustig (Sage), Shingle Springs, 

Calif.; Luke C. Lydiard (Jedi), Chesterfield, 

Mass.; Loren P. Mach (Rhythm), Sun Prairie, 

Wis.; Sandy MacKay (Perma-Grin), Aspen, 

Colo.; Frederick E. Maerker (Magic 

Merk), Thornton, Pa.; Tommy E. 

Magrinat (Doc), Greensboro, N.C.; 

John K. Magullian (Archaeopterix), 

Kearny, N.J.; Marc D. Mainville 

(Rainbow Bright), Longueuil, Quebec, 

Canada; Tod E. Marks (Magnet), 

Greenville, S.C.; Winton T. Martin 

(Bronco), Casper, Wyo.; Martha 

Mathewson (Joyous Tears), Shady 

Side, Md.; Philip C. Mattson (D.O.C.), 

Clifton, Va.; Judson T. Maurer (Heavy 

Pack), Blythewood, S.C.; Scott A. 

McCammon (Animal Cracker), 

LaGrange, Ind.; Charles N. McComas 

III (Satori), Bel Air, Md.; Dennis L. 

McCrate (Buckeye), Barnesville, Ohio; 

Bryon K. McCune (Cune), Columbia, 

Mo.; Steve S. McDonald (Lank), 

Vancouver, Wash.; Jacqueline A. 

McDonnell (Yogi), Mission, Kan.; 

Matthew J. McFarland (Iceman), Cary, 

N.C.; Ryan J. McGhee (Ulysses), 

Boone, N.C.; Sarah L. McGinley 

(Firelily), Brookline, Mass.; Fran J. 

McGregor (Sparrow), Howell, N.J.; 

Owen McKinney (Tumbleweed), Middletown, 

Ohio; Timothy M. McLain (T-Bone), 

Franklin, Ind.; Monica McManus (Moonshine), 

Washington, D.C.; Richard J. McNelis 

(Rickrock), Pittsburgh, Pa.; Ryan J. McNulty 

(Tiger), Watertown, Mass.; Michael W. Mead 

(Ditka), Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.; Michael J. 

Menard (Pilgrim), Ferrum, Va.; Holly J. 

Messier (Barefoot), Essex Jct., Vt.; Joel A. 

Metcalfe (Bigfoot), Marietta, Ga.; William F. 

Miller (Hebgebs), Stafford, Va.; Robert D. 

Minton (Mitty), Jacksonville, N.C.; Seth H. 

Mitchell (Lone Star), Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas; 

Benjamin J. Molineaux (Chile), Santiago, 

Chile; Chris Monello (Walking Tree), 

Marietta, Ga.; Matthew J. Moore (Milo), 

Weymouth, Mass.; Stanley J. Moore 

(Bermuda Incher), Albany, N.Y.; Denis S. 

Moran (Sack), Newcastle, Maine; Rockett 

Morgan (Rockett), Hollis, Maine; Jackie L. 

Moulton (Mom), Bow, N.H.; Jen L. Moulton 

(Booboo), Bow, N.H.; Randolph H. Moulton 

(Gramps), Macon, Ga.; Andrew M. Mujica 

(Freebird), Stone Mountain, Ga.; Larry 

Mulder (Dutch Plodder), Holland, Mich.; 

William Fox Munroe (Red Fox), Reading, Pa.; 

Mike C. Navjoks (Wandering Taoist), Miami 

Beach, Fla.; Cara M. Nealon (Supergirl), 

Philadelphia, Pa.; Andrew T. Nelson 

(Smiley), Arnold, Md.; Jack E. Nelson (Yak), 

Charlotte, N.C.; Joanna Nelson (Yo), 

Charlotte, N.C.; John K. Nelson (Hercules), 

Smithville, Md.; Kathryn W. Nelson (Kaku), 

Maryville, Tenn.; Nancy Jo Nelson (FAL/Free 

At Last), Smithville, Mo.; Eric D. Neville 

(Tripper), North. Dighton, Mass.; William L. 

Newman (Circuit Rider), Alanson, Mich.; 

Joseph S. Newton (Ranger), St. Petersburg, 

Fla.; Chester Nicholson (Ice Falcon), Pass 

Christian, Miss.; Tony A. Nitz (Prehistoric 

Tony), Sparks, Nev.; Jacob W. O’Dell (Darth 

Moezass), Bluff City, Tenn.; Robert W. 

O’Hara (Dragline), Fairfield, Pa.; Patrick B. 

O’Keefe (Breakin’ II), Fort Ashby, W.Va.; 

Christina N. Olex (Red Stripe), South Boston, 

Mass.; Chase L. Orton (Casy), Center 

Sandwich, N.H.; George F. Otto (Tuesday 

Night Norm), Oreland, Pa.; Rick W. Ouimet 

(Clean from Cook n’ Clean), New York, N.Y.; 

Judy A. Owen (Gourmet Gert), Lupton, 

Mich.; Elise S. Owens (Trash Pocket), 

Bradenton, Fla.; Emma S. Owens (Kermita), 

Bradenton, Fla.; Peter R. Palmer (Cujo), 

Avon, Conn.; Jackie D. Parker (Mud Puppy), 

Clifton Park, N.Y.; Neil D. Parker (Woodcutter), 

Clifton Park, N.Y.; John L. Passman 

(Madhatter), Marietta, Ga.; Scott M. Payne 

(Doc Alley), Sycamore, Ga.; Garry Pelletier 

(Wounded Knee), Coventry, R.I.; Andrew M. 

Perdas (Icehouse), Shippensburg, Pa.; Paige 

Peters (Sunny P), Lebanon, Ohio; Robbie W. 

Peters (Shawnee), Effingham, Ill.; Mary L. 

Pfennig (Hoosier Mama), Rising Sun, Ind.; 

Matthew W. Pilachowski (Drive By), 

Baltimore, Md.; Joseph A. Platt (Patch), 

Cartersville, Ga.; Priscilla L. Potter (Toasted), 

North Berwick, Maine; Steven L. Prescott 

(Steve), Bainbridge, Pa.; Heidi Preuss (Hyper), 

Laconia, N.H.; Dick D. Proctor (The 

Diamond), Ottumwa, Iowa; Richard S. 

Provost (Pots), North Ferrisburg, Vt.; Bradley 

R. Quentin (Lao Hu), Perrysburg, Ohio; Todd 

V. Querry (Citrus), Mechanicsburg, Pa.; 

Hannah B. Quimby (Songbird), Portland, 

Maine; Daniel B. Raber (Jes’ Feeblin’ 

Along), Asheville, N.C.; Gregory C. 

Raber (The Other Feeblin’ Along 

Boys), Garrettsville, Ohio; Andrew 

M. Raby (Nets), Nashville, Tenn.; 

David W. Rainoshek (The Happy 

Hikers), Houston, Texas; Summer P. 

Rainoshek (The Happy Hikers), 

Houston, Texas; Parker Rajotte 

(Lobo), Plainville, Conn.; Davy G. 

Ray (Karma Suture), Eugene, Ore.; 

Jeremy Rayner (Creeper), Concord, 

N.H.; Sarah Rebick (Kamikaze), 

Annandale, N.J.; Mitchell T. Renville 

(Bud from Oregon), Portland, Ore.; 

David Reus (Nemo), Hillsborough, 

N.C.; David P. Richard (Shaft), Key 

West, Fla.; Denny R. Richard (Jam 

Bone), Moncton, New Brunswick, 

Canada; James H. Richards (Houdini), 

Jonesville, S.C.; Norm E. Richardson 

(Stormin’ Norman), Fairfax, Va.; 

Larry L. Ridenour (Pa. Pilgrim), 

Pittsburgh, Pa.; Anneliese Ring 

(Frische Luft), Castle Rock, Colo.; R. 

Quincy Robe (Bog), Groton, Conn.; 

Dolores Roberts (Downhill Hopeful), 

Thornton, Ky.; Donald R. Roberts (Sly Fox), 

Suffolk, Va.; Keel Robinson (Keel), Decatur, 

Ill.; Rodney S. Robinson (Sweet Blood), 

Hendersonville, N.C.; Larry J. Rod (Omar the 

Tent Maker), Winter Springs, Fla.; Emmett 

N. Roden (Logjumper), Chevy Chase, Md.; A. 

Wade Rogers (Grace’s Son), Florence, Ky.; 

Daniel L. Rogers (Sheltowee), Bloomingdale, 

Ohio; Jan E. Ronco (Gumby), Abbot, Maine; 

Tess Rowe (No Time), Silverthorne, Colo.; 

Andrew Ryan (Groovin’ Moose), North 

Providence, R.I.; Bill C. Ryan (7 Year Itch), 

Colorado Springs, Colo.; Richard J. Ryan 

(Lionheart), Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Jeremy P. 


Samford (Greenbean), Avondale, Ga.; Paul E. 

Sanford, Meadowbrook, Pa.; Ed D. Schernau 

(All Downhill From Here), Providence, R.I.; 

Mark E. Schieber (Gruff), Battle Creek, 

Mich.; Lenore G. Schneider (Mountain 

Marching Mamas/Mother Superior), 

Bradenton, Fla.; Matthew G. Schomburg 

(Coos), North Stratford, N.H.; James C. 

Schrock (Gentleman Jim), Eastham, Minn.; 

Russell T. Schundler (Cap’n Crusty), 

Westfield, N.J.; 

Chris A. Schwab 

(Hops), Decatur, 

Ga.; Ronald L. 

Schweller (McGiver), 

Wilmington, Ohio; 

Sarah G. Scott 

(Humboldt), 

Murphy, N.C.; 

Martin L. Seelig 

(Ironhorse), Granville, Mass.; Nancy B. 

Seymour (Mothergoose), Asheville, N.C.; 

Armen A. Shabazian (Smoky Jack), Gardnerville, 

Nev.; Brett N. Simmons (Hungry Brett), 

Manassas, Va.; Brian M. Simon (Kernel), 

Minneapolis, Minn.; George E. Sinkinson 

(Whitebark), Akron, Ohio; Michael J. 

Sisemore (Super Fly SY), Gainesville, Ga.; 

Daniel E. Smith (Bee), Brookline, Mass.; 

Robert B. Smith (Waterboy), Niceville, Fla.; 

Rachel P. Soifer (Wife), Gaithersburg, Md.; 

Edie C. Sonne (Speedy), Tuxedo Park, N.Y.; 

Josh C. Spalding (Joshua Tree), Southbury, 

Conn.; Rob A. Sparks (Sparks/Botany Boyz), 

Centerville, Ohio; Rick J. St. John (Log), 

Boulder, Colo.; Alexandra Staab (Silver 

Moon), Atlanta, Ga.; Joseph J. Staft (Old 

Blue), Cincinnati, Ohio; Mark A. Stanfill 

(Buford), Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Patrick B. 

Stanley (Daybreak), Nashua, N.H.; Matthew 

D. Stauffer (Heart Break), Myerstown, Pa.; 

Anthony M. Stillwell (Stilly), Huntington, 

W.Va.; John J. Stoddard (LJ), Enfield, Conn.; 

Adam M. Stolz (Jiffy), Preston, Conn.; Mary 

Sturtevant (Possum), Londonderry, N.H.; 

Megan A. Supple (Megan), Culver City, 

Calif.; Peter F. Swarce (Squanto), Bridgewater, 

Mass.; Dariusz A. Swiderek (Hiking Pole), 

Portland, Ore.; Mark A. Tai (Zaugau), 

Raleigh, N.C.; Nathan L. Tanner (The 

Captain), Seaford, Del.; Mark W. Taylor 

(Professor Booty), Montgomery, Ala.; Wido J. 

Teriet (Traveler), Freiburg, Germany; Sven 

Thesen (Culvert/Box Culvert), Berkeley, 

Calif.; Troy A. Thompson (Wide Brim), Tuart 

Hill, Australia; James F. Tidd (Gadgetman), 

Odessa, Fla.; Russell H. Tinkham (Serpico), 

Groton, Vt.; Marty P. Tipton (Bullfoon), 

Lexington, Ky.; Roger E. Tipton (Smoky), 

Knoxville, Tenn.; Brian Tourkin (Blisterbutt), 

Jacksonville, Fla.; Josee P. Trudeau (Mini- 

Me), Sudbury, Ontario, Canada; Carri Uranga 

(Pepper), Arlington, Texas; Michael B. 

VanReken (No Sub), Great Mills, Md.; Megan 

L. Varellas (Batgirl), Atlanta, Ga.; Bronald 

John Vasalle (4 X 4), Lebanon, Maine; Nathan 

C. Waggoner (Avlo), Tulsa, Okla.; Benjamin 

A. Wagner (Sundance), Exeter, N.H.; Jon S. 

Wakeman (Little Jon), Claremont, N.H.; 

Sharon L. Walker (Buzzard), Franklin, Ind.; 

David L. Walters (The Acrobat), Edinburg, 

Pa.; Joe D. Ward (Smoky Joe), Jacksonville, 

Ga.; Willard T. Ware (Poopa Jack), Limerick, 

After your re-entry, remember this moment, this and all other 

nights pitched out in the lofty stillness beneath the heavens. 

Remember it when tragedy befalls you or hardship comes 

knocking. You have hiked the Appalachian Trail, you have 

scaled the eastern peaks, and you have walked from Maine to 

Georgia. You can do anything. 

—Joseph Gamble, “Trout” (Maine–Georgia, 1999) 

Maine; Michael E. Watkins (Miracle Mike), 

Dacula, Ga.; Laura B. Wawierowski (Crazy 

Legs), Akron, Ohio; Ted J. Wawierowski 

(Teddy Bear), Akron, Ohio; Mary M. Webster 

(Swamp Yankee), Jamestown, R.I.; Elizabeth 

Wegmann (Flightless Towhee), Blowing 

Rock, N.C.; Matthew J. Wertman (Hoover), 

Rapid City, Mich.; Charles Justin West 

(ManGo), Somerville, N.J.; James L. Weston 

(Wing Man), Greene, Maine; Scott M. 

Wheaton (Red Wing), Traverse City, Mich.; 

Evelyn M. Wheeler (Team Myoplex), Winter 

Spring, Fla.; George A. Wheeler (Wideload), 

Cambria Heights, N.Y.; Eric S. White (White 

Notable Club, Organization, Corporate, 

and Foundation Gifts 

(since January 2000) 

Rabbit), Williamstown, Mass.; Johnny L. 

White (Whittler), Mayfield, Ky.; Marci L. 

White (Trail Trotter), Mayfield, Ky.; John 

Whiting (Graybeard), Somerset Center, 

Mich.; Eric Wiese, Hixson, Tenn.; Kristofor 

R. Wiley (Blisters), Springfield, Mo.; John D. 

Williams (Fairweather), Mc Cordsville, Ind.; 

Alistair G. Wilson (Dog Bone), Chapala, 

Mexico; Asher Wolf (Asher/Slugface), 

Knoxville, Md.; Emma M. Worst (LLama), 

Westmont, Ill.; Susanne 

Wright Ashland (Walking 

Home), Canaan, Maine; 

Matt J. Young (Spicoli), 

Happy Jack, Ariz.; Jenna 

M. Zampiello (Nipper), 

Boxboro, Mass.; Troy A. 

Zohner (Tomcat), 

Shoemakersville, Pa. 

2000 

Michael S. Kulik II (Wyoming Skateboarder), 

Jackson, Wyo. 

ATC also received the following corrections 

to the database of 2,000-milers: 

1936 

Max Gordon, Bronx, N.Y.; Seymour Dorfman, 

Bronx, N.Y.; Louis Zisk, Bronx, N.Y. 

1969 

Edwin Bock, Juneau, Alaska; Zillie Johnson, 

Juneau, Alaska. 

1998 

David Mastroianni (Lars ThunderFoot), 

Watertown, Mass.♦ 

$10,000 and above 

Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park—caretaker and ridgerunner 

programs 

$1,000 to $4,999 

Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club—Land Trust 

Dover Foundation—general support 

MBNA America—land acquisition fund 

New Hampshire Charitable Foundation—Upper Valley Trails Alliance 

New York–New Jersey Trail Club—mid-Atlantic Trail crew 

Piedmont Appalachian Trail Hikers—general support 

Spear, Leeds & Kellogg—Land Trust, South Egremont, Massachusetts 

Virginia Power—general support 

$500 to $999 

Atlantel—general support 

Bank of Charles Town, W.Va.—general support and National Trails Day 

Campmor—Land Trust 

Pennsylvania Power and Light Co.—general support 

Frank and Brinna Sands Foundation—Upper Valley Trails Alliance 


What is past, 

and passing, 

and to come 

Bit by bit, historians, 

anthropologists, and 

archaeologists are looking 

beneath the Trail’s duff and dirt 

to assemble a “cultural 

inventory” of the recent and 

ancient history that the 

Appalachian trailway 

encompasses. 

By Glenn Scherer 

VISUALIZE FOR A 

moment a 

day in 1944, 

foggy February 

along New 

Jersey’s Kittatinny Ridge. Two 

farmers butchering hogs in the 

valley below hear something. A 

plane—the groan of a fourengine 

bomber circling low, lost 

in sleet and fog. Its anxious 

crew has no warning of the 

looming mountain. 

The farmers hear an earsplitting 

explosion. They break 

off their bloody work and run 

22 22 MAY–JUNE 2000

through freezing rain up the ridge, only 

to come upon a hellish scene. A twentyfive-ton 

B-17 “Flying Fortress” has 

slammed into the mountain. Its fuel tanks 

have exploded. Fire rages in the wreckage 

and the surrounding trees. The B-17’s 

hundred-foot wingspan has sheared off 

treetops along a quarter-mile swath. Bodies, 

thrown clear of the crash, lie amid 

debris. Only the fuselage is intact. The 

words painted on the nose cone declare 

the crew’s patriotic intentions: Up Der 

Fuehrer! This bomber will never see Europe 

or the mission for which it was built. 

A month later, in the farm 

country below the ridge, the boys 

of Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco (short for 

“North Bergen Boy Scout” Council) 

turn out to memorialize the 

airmen of Up Der Fuehrer. They 

gather around the tail-gunner’s 

section of the aircraft and light a 

council fire. 

“You could hear a pin drop, it 

was so quiet and solemn,” recalled 

scout John Hover. “It was a very 

moving service, as most of us had 

family members in World War II.” 

Half a century later, the forest 

has healed, hiding signs of fire 

and destruction. I’m hiking the 

A.T. along the ridge in October 

with historian Ron Dupont. Although 

birches have gone golden, 

we aren’t leaf-peeping. Dupont is 

hunting for something. We leave 

the Trail and enter a patch of blueberry 

bushes, their leaves scarlet. A gum 

wrapper and a tin can litter the ground. 

“People think of the Appalachian 

Trail as untrammeled wilderness,” 

Dupont muses, “but it’s been trammeled—trammeled 

big time.” 

Then, he bends over. “What the hell 

is this?” he asks. 

He holds up a foot-long chunk of 

metal. The jagged scrap is old. It’s 

Left: Farm water tower at Hurd’s Corner, 

New York. The 1920s landmark fell into 

disrepair in the 1960s. Volunteers from 

the New York–New Jersey Trail Conference 

and local civic groups restored it in 

1989. Photo: John Nelson. Above: Stone 

wall near Hosner Mountain, New York. 

Photo: Mike Warren. 

scorched black, twisted and fused, peppered 

with rivets and melted glass. It’s 

what Dupont has been looking for, and 

he turns solemn. 

“This is the place,” he says. 

The mountains (and maintainers) 

remember… 

For Dupont, and others like him, the 

Appalachian Trail pierces the sediment 

of history like a drill bit cutting 

through strata. Since the days of 

“It’s not until you actually go out there 

and pay close attention to the stone 

walls that you realize the startling 

extent to which these mountains were 

cultivated.” 

Myron Avery, Trail maintainers have 

cared passionately about the history 

they’ve found underfoot. Volunteers from 

Maine to Georgia have spent countless 

days scouring local newspapers (where the 

story of the B-17 crash turned up), visiting 

historical societies, tracing deeds, interviewing 

old-timers, walking the 

woods, and joining professional archaeological 

digs. 

In recent years, the process has become 

more formal. The Trail, as part of 

the national park system, is undergoing 

an official “inventory” that looks at its 

“cultural resources” (government jargon 

for what the rest of us might call “cool 

historical sites”). The idea is to perform 

a state-by-state systematic cataloguing of 

the historical landscape within the bor- 

ders of the Trail corridor. 

Even as the National Park Service’s 

Appalachian Trail Park Office begins the 

methodical inventory process, local volunteers 

continue to figuratively peel back 

the forest duff to uncover the history that 

lies along and beneath the A.T. 

While Dupont’s period of expertise 

begins after 1492, archaeologist Joe 

Baker’s is more remote. His special interest 

is in searching out prehistoric hearths 

and trash pits, and deciphering the Stone 

Age record. 

“We have the oldest radiocarbon 

dates in the East,” Baker observes, 

pleased by what he 

and fellow Pennsylvania archaeologists 

have found. Carbon 

dating is a technique for 

measuring the age of organic 

material, based on the decay 

rate of radioactive carbon. 

“People were living in Pennsylvania 

at least 14,000 years 

ago, maybe 20,000. At every 

little spring, tucked back into 

the folds of these mountains, 

you’ll find chert flakes.” The 

flakes are a byproduct of Indian 

tool-making. “In fact, 

we’ve probably damaged 

some encampments by unknowingly 

plopping Trail 

shelters on top of them.” 

Baker first volunteered 

his scientific skills as part of 

a 1988 historical study of the 

A.T. corridor where it crosses the Great 

Valley of the Appalachians in Cumberland 

County, Pennsylvania. Later, he 

took part in the 1999 Pennsylvania A.T. 

cultural resource survey, the first statewide 

inventory ever conducted by the 

National Park Service along the Trail. 

“There are a lot of things we found, 

but a lot we didn’t,” Baker says. “We only 

looked at the existing written record and 

never turned a shovel. We didn’t look on 

the ridges. The Catoctin greenstone up 

there was mined by Stone Age peoples for 

thousands of years. It was carried and 

traded as far away as Maine and the Mississippi 

River.” 

Baker immediately qualifies his 

statement, happily debunking the most 

persistent of A.T. historical myths. “But, 


you know, the Trail was never a native 

American path. Only modern idiots 

would think it’s fun to hike a high and 

dry ridgeline end-to-end!” 

By the 1700s, European 

immigrants had cleared away 

native American culture and, 

along with it, the Appalachian 

forests. “We know from land 

records that the A.T. passes 

through the remnants of collapsed 

18 th - and 19 th -century 

farms,” Ron Dupont explains, 

“but it’s not until you actually 

go out there and pay close attention 

to the stone walls that 

you realize the startling extent 

to which these mountains were 

cultivated.” 

Pay attention is just what 

Dupont did from 1991 to 1993, 

when he made a one-man historical 

study of New Jersey’s seventythree 

miles of Trail. “You find stone 

fences in the most wild, windswept, improbable 

places, which means someone 

was grazing animals or trying to grow hay 

up there,” he says. 

In the 19 th century, the mountain 

farms failed—bypassed by the canals and 

railroads that linked eastern cities with 

the rich midwestern agricultural breadbasket. 

Evidence of Appalachian farmsteads 

vanished nearly as quickly as the 

Indians had. Farm fields reverted to forest, 

and newly overgrown ridges became 

the ideal route for the Appalachian Trail. 

The A.T., Dupont points out, could 

never have been built if vanquished primitive 

cultures and failed pioneer economies 

had not first vacated the land. It is the 

artifacts and stories of those long-gone 

worlds, bounded by the Trail corridor, that 

attract historians and archaeologists to 

the cultural-inventory process, a process 

that remains far from complete. 

Baker argues that these inventories 

are both urgent and relevant. Discoveries 

about the past offer meaningful lessons 

for our future, he asserts. “The history of 

ecology in North America is preserved in 

its archaeological sites. Friends of mine 

digging in northern Pennsylvania recently 

found that, between the end of the Ice Age 

and the arrival of the Europeans (that’s 

Cultural legacy with cat? An old farm on a rainy day in 

Pennsylvania. (Photo: Chris Myers) 

Interpretive display, Harpers Ferry. 

(Photo: Frank Logue) 

10,000 years), only two-and-a-half feet of 

soil were deposited in a particular river 

floodplain. But, in the four hundred years 

since then, eight more feet of soil were 

dumped on top.” The soil had once covered 

lush mountainsides. When the ridges 

were clearcut, the soil washed away, leaving 

loggers, charcoal makers, and farmers 

without a livelihood. That tells you 

what happens when land is mismanaged, 

Baker says. When you lose fertile topsoil, 

you bankrupt your future. 

Saving the storied landscape 

“ 

Ilove protecting the best of what’s 

left in America,” declares 

Dave Sherman of the Forest 

Service’s Lands Office. Ironically, this particular 

Sherman began his career 

in public service by trying to preserve 

Georgia, rather than ransacking 

it, acting as the state’s 

historical preservation officer. 

Later, after the Park Service 

geared up to protect the A.T. 

corridor, it was Sherman who 

marched in to map out land that 

would eventually be acquired. 

“We reviewed three hundred-odd 

segment maps and had 

to decide what we should try to 

protect: scenic vistas, water 

sources, and, of course, cultural 

resources,” Sherman explains 

with undisguised enthusiasm. 

“You just knew when you walked out 

there and saw charcoal bottoms and cellar 

holes there was a story to be told. Often, 

we widened the corridor from 1,000 

to 1,500 feet just to preserve an interesting 

piece of the landscape.” 

One of the most important sites 

snatched up by Sherman was at Fox Gap 

on Maryland’s South Mountain. In 1862, 

outnumbered Confederate soldiers defended 

this natural mountain fortress 

against repeated Union bayonet charges, 

probably saving Lee’s army from disaster. 

“The battle of South Mountain, with 

its 5,000 casualties, is overshadowed by 

the battle of Antietam three days later, 

with its 27,000 dead and wounded,” says 

amateur historian Steve Stotelmyer. “But, 

to anyone who studies the Maryland campaign, 

it’s obvious that South Mountain 

was the more strategically important action.” 

Stotelmyer applauds the A.T.’s landacquisition 

efforts at Fox Gap. “If not for 

the Appalachian Trail, there’d be a house 

sitting right in the middle of the 17th 

Michigan field, scene of some of the fiercest 

fighting,” Stotelmyer says. His nonprofit 

Central Maryland Heritage League 

has united with the Potomac Appalachian 

Trail Club, the state of Maryland, and 

Park Service officials to design a management 

plan for the battlefield. 


“A.T. hikers now walk within thirty 

feet of a hand-dug well, down which fiftyeight 

Confederate dead were dumped, but 

don’t even know it,” Stotelmyer comments. 

He hopes to do archaeological 

work at the Gap, restore the battlefield 

to its 1862 appearance, install signs, and 

build a loop trail that will interpret this 

bloody page of history. 

Hidden treasures 

Serendipity sometimes rewards the 

volunteers who seek out cultural 

treasures. One spring morning in 

the mid-1980s, Rick Patterson took his 

golden retriever for a walk near the Trail 

(in a state that shall remain nameless). A 

flint outcropping caught his eye. As the 

self-trained archaeologist explored further, 

he knew he had made an important 

find. 

“Most native American quarries are 

little more than holes in the ground,” 

Patterson says, “but this site had oredressing 

stations, mill-processing sites, 

and open-air workshops for producing finished 

stone points. I realized this was a 

completely intact prehistoric mining district. 

Our town planners wanted to put a 

subdivision smack on top of the quarry. I 

tried to save it but couldn’t. The Park Service 

and ATC could. They acted and 

bought what may be the most important 

prehistoric site on the entire Appalachian 

Trail.” 

The quarry purchase didn’t come 

without controversy. Patterson argues 

that the site should be opened to the public 

for interpretation, while the National 

Park Service insists it be kept secret. 

“I’ve found shovels and a wheelbarrow 

out there,” Patterson says, lamenting 

the destructive work of looters. “The 

only way to really protect the place is to 

have a presence there, make it into a 

museum, and let people tour the site.” 

Don Owen, cultural resources manager 

for the Park Service’s A.T. office, sees 

things differently. He explains that ARPA, 

the federal Archaeological Resource Protection 

Act, mandates that the Park Service 

zealously protect historic cultural resources. 

The act makes it a crime to disturb 

such sites. 

“Historical resources, like old farms 

Original A.T. metal marker—some parts of 

the Trail itself now date back seventy-five 

years or more. (Photo: ATC Archives) 

or railroads with large immovable structures 

are much better suited for interpretation 

than prehistoric sites,” Owen contends. 

“Prehistoric sites contain small, 

potentially valuable artifacts that are 

critical to our understanding, but easily 

looted.” And so, the location of the A.T’s 

only prehistoric mining district remains 

hidden. 

Archaeologist Ed Lenik agrees with 

this practice. “The best protection for sensitive 

sites is anonymity,” he says. “Once 

you promote a site, the risk of vandalism 

goes way up.” 

Lenik implemented an innovative 

solution to the problem of looting at native 

American rock shelters in New 

York’s Bear Mountain–Harriman State 

Parks. He established a core group of volunteers 

from the Thendara Club (once 

part of the Green Mountain Club) who 

work as “heritage monitors.” 

“The members of the Thendara Club 

aren’t policemen,” says Lenik. “They are 

observers. They visit the rock shelters 

regularly and look for signs of disturbance. 

If they see any evidence of digging, they 

report it to park law enforcement.” 

“Volunteer heritage monitors are a 

way to preserve these sites until we can 

afford better protection.” That’s important, 

Lenik says, since “everything isn’t 

written down in books. Knowledge is still 

buried in the ground, awaiting our discov- 

ery and interpretation.” 

Bringing the dead to life 

Not everything is so safely buried. 

Some history is weathering 

away before our eyes, and 

land managers—strapped by tight budgets—are 

unable to take action. 

ATC’s chair and self-described Maine 

history buff, Dave Field, regrets the inability 

of Trail-maintaining clubs to aggressively 

protect historical sites. “I can 

show you old graves and logging camps 

and a big pile of crosscut saw blades just 

lying out there,” he says. “We know these 

things exist, we’ve recorded them, but 

they’re slowly sinking away into the soil.” 

Though frustrated by lack of time and 

money, Field is optimistic about the future 

of historical preservation. “It seems 

that the more you lose, the more people 

get excited about saving what’s left.” 

Increasingly, examples from Maine to 

Georgia seem to prove out Field’s optimism. 

At a handful of sites, volunteers 

are already working with federal and ATC 

staff members to stabilize cultural resources 

and bring them back to life. 

“When we first designed the Trail 

corridor, we included the old Groseclose 

farm with its intact house, barns, smokehouse, 

and corncrib,” says Mike Dawson, 

ATC’s regional representative for southwestern 

Virginia. “Then, we invited local 

people on board as our partners. They 

now manage the farm as the Settler’s Museum 

of Southwest Virginia.” 

On weekends, local residents don period 

costumes and offer living-history 

demonstrations at the farm, only a few 

steps from the footpath. They tend fields 

and orchards sown with heirloom seeds. 

They teach children and adults about the 

consequences of the leap from small-scale 

family farm to large-scale agribusiness. 

“Hikers who haven’t been to Groseclose 

have little idea of who settled Appalachian 

Virginia,” says Dawson. “But, 

Continued on page 28 


Shuttling 

101 

Car-hopping your way north (or south) along the A.T. 

Section-hikers, weekend backpackers, and dayhikers 

all encounter the problem of getting 

to and from the Trail. Though it’s not unheard-of 

for hik\ers to hitchhike, most of us, 

and even some end-to-enders, find it desirable 

to have a car waiting for us at times. I was made painfully 

aware of the shuttling problem when a friend and I 

1 

By Stephen H. Knox 

put three hundred miles on our cars just so I could finish a 

one-mile stretch of Trail that I had bypassed due to bad 

weather. 

Since we hikers have lots of time to think while cranking 

out miles on the Trail, and since I am not troubled by a 

great many stray thoughts, I composed several plans to help 

others in my situation. 

Two cars, two drivers 

2 

1. Park Car A at the southern end of the section, drive Car B north, 

hike back, and drive Car A back to where you’ve parked Car B. 

This option involves minimal driving, since you need drive only 

two legs for each leg walked, for a drive-to-hike ratio of 2:1. The 

disadvantage is that you are always walking southbound to make 

northbound progress. 

3 

DIRECTION OF PROGRESS 


2. You can hike northbound if you do the sections in reverse order 

and drive south. Again, you’re driving two legs for every leg walked. 

The problem here is that your over-all progress is southward. If you 

feel that working your way south while walking north seems sort 

of self-defeating, wait until you see Option 3. 

3. To progress and hike north, start by driving both cars to the northern 

end of the first section, so you can leave Car A there. Drive 

Car B back to the southern end, and then hike north to where Car 

A is parked. You will now have to drive Car A south in order to 

retrieve Car B.You have now driven four legs, and you are at the 

southern end of the first section with both cars. If this is the end 

of your hike, your final drive-to-hike ratio is 4:1. (Continued below.) 


(3. Continued.) But, if you’re continuing north, you’ll now have 

to drive both cars north again past the end of the first section 

(bringing your drive-to-hike ratio to 6:1), continue to the end of 

the second section, and repeat the process. Because you wouldn’t 

actually be stopping at the end of the first section as you move 

the cars to the second section, and may be able to bypass some 

back-road trailhead hunting, you may save a few road miles. 


For the sake of discussion, let’s assume you’re going south 

to north and that you plan to hike a long distance while shuttling 

a car or cars as you go through several sections. If you plan 

to go south, just reverse everything. 

If you’re hiking only one section, your plan will depend 

partly on where you live in relation to the section. You may 

find it convenient to meet at the northern end of your section 

instead of the southern end, as described here. 

Two cars and two drivers 

If you’re fortunate enough to have two cars and two drivers 

at your disposal, you have several options. These are illustrated 

in the box on the previous page. 

One car, two drivers 

When only one car is available, the logistics are simple, 

but hiking together is impossible. 

4 


4. Starting from the southern end, Hiker A starts northbound, while 

Hiker B drives north and then hikes south. The two hikers pass 

each other mid-way, and Hiker A returns to the southern end of 

the section to pick up Hiker B at day’s end, then the two drive 

together to the next section. The drive-to-hike ratio here is 1:1 

or 2:1 if you’re doing another section. 

One car and shuttle service 

When you have one car, and walking together is a priority, 

you will need to engage shuttle services. Costs go up quickly. 

It’s reasonable for the service to charge fifty cents to a dollar 

per mile, or more than twenty dollars per hour. Remember, 

though, that no shuttle driver ever made enough money to retire 

early, and the person providing the service has to drive both 

ways, whether she is dropping you off or picking you up. 

5. If you plan to have your car waiting for you at the end of the section, 

you’ll need to pay the shuttle service to follow you to the 

north end, where you drop off your car. Then he delivers both hikers 

to the south end. Your car is not actually useful for transportation 

in this situation, but it does provide several advantages: First, 

it will be there for you at the end of the section. Second, you have 

transportation into town when you finish the section. Third, you 

can carry clean clothes, back-up supplies, extra Trail food, and the 

proverbial kitchen sink, if you wish. If you choose this option, be 

sure you arrange to park your laden car somewhere safe, so it won’t 

be vandalized or broken into. Call ATC for suggestions. 

If none of the plans above suits you, consider hiring a Sherpa. 

Or try the final option: 

One car and one driver (who doesn’t hike) 

This is the best of all worlds, if the driver is willing to ac- 

company you but is not such a purist that he expects to actually 

hike. Just have him meet you at every road crossing and be 

sure he brings a cold drink and an ice-cream bar. When you use 

this technique, there is no need for you to be troubled by a 

backpack for shorter sections. You will want to treat this person 

very well. Just make sure he brings a trailer for the llama 

when you do the “Hundred Miles” in Maine. 

If your partner has the audacity to want to hike, too, you 

will have to do loops or backtrack in order to come out where 

you went in. Or you can enlist a shuttle service, as in Option 5. 

Cost 

Few people hike the entire A.T. accompanied by cars, but 

you can still use the 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, and 6:1 ratios for planning. 

The actual cost per mile varies a great deal. Somewhere 

between fifteen and thirty-five cents per mile is realistic, depending 

on gas prices and the fuel economy of the car you use. 

Also consider that road mileage usually exceeds Trail mileage. 

Assuming that road mileage is only twenty-five percent 

more, and assuming a modest cost of fifteen cents per mile, 

Options 1 and 2, with northbound progress and southbound 

hiking (or vice-versa), would permit you to hike the entire A.T., 

while driving five thousand miles at a cost of $750. You’d spend 

one hundred hours on the road. Surprisingly, using two cars in 

this way permits hiking together and is almost as cost-effective 

as the one-car system, if you don’t count the cost of getting 

both cars to the Trail and back in the first place. 

Option 3, with two cars and continuous northbound hiking 

and progress, costs $2,250 and involves three times as much 

driving—three hundred hours. And, this doesn’t include the cost 

of getting from home to the start of the first section and from 

the end of the last section to home. For section-hikers, this is a 

great deal of time and money. 

Keys 

A final word about keys. The two-driver system is often 

called “exchanging keys,” because the southbound hiker supposedly 

hands the keys to his partner in the middle. Bad idea. 

Each hiker should have keys to both cars. Ideally, there will 

never be an emergency, and both hikers will be able to do the 

walking as planned. But, if your original plans don’t work out, 

you may need access to your partner’s car. You wouldn’t want 

to “hike out” only to find you can’t get into the car. Guarantee 

access by each carrying a key, or hiding a key in a magnetic 

box, if the place you’ve parked is safe from vandals and thieves. 

The classic mistake when shuttling is to leave your keys 

locked in your partner’s car to avoid carrying them on the Trail. 

This, of course, means that you get to the northern end and the 

keys are at the southern end. 

The situation can test even the most solid partnership.♦ 

Stephen H. Knox lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and has been 

section-hiking the A.T. since 1983. He plans to complete it this 

year. 



Continued from page 7 

1946, I bought as surplus their two-part 

(inner mummy and outer rectangular) 

down bag for twenty-five dollars. 

Like others of that day, I often used 

public transportation to reach the Trail 

because it was much more available. The 

May 1945 issue of Appalachian Trailway 

News has my article, “Trail Trips Utilizing 

Public Transportation.” Among other 

items, it lists four bus lines that crossed 

the A.T. in Maine; today, there are none 

at all near. In North Carolina, there was 

even a line called “Appalachian Trail 

Bus.” 

It was a great time to be alive—but 

so is 2000. 

Oh, yes. There was Sanka. 

Henry V. Harman 

Richmond, Va. 

More Appalachian trails 

S MANY MID-ATLANTIC HIKERS KNOW, 

ALloyd MacAskill’s vision is even 

more complete than his article (“A second 

Appalachian trail?” ATN, March- 

April 2000) indicates! Here are some additional 

details about connecting trails. 

Pennsylvania’s longest, the Mid-State 

Trail, offers spectacular vistas (and plenty 

of rocks). Its orange blazes run basically 

north and south of State College, connecting 

the Mason-Dixon Line with Pennsylvania’s 

“Grand Canyon,” Pine Creek Gorge. 

The county-wide gap between Everett and 

Williamsburg is rapidly closing. 

Just one county north of the Pine 

Creek Gorge, the Finger Lakes Trail (here 

mostly combined with the North Country 

National Scenic Trail) winds along 

from the Allegheny River to New York’s 

Catskills so that the intrepid northbounder 

has two choices upon arriving at 

Hancock, Maryland, on the Tuscarora 

Trail: She can either continue into Pennsylvania 

on the Tuscarora to near Burnt 

Cabins, and diverge onto the wonderfully 

little-used Tuscarora-Mid State Link Trail 

to McAlevys Fort, or, walk west briefly 

on the C&O Towpath to the Green Ridge 

Trail, which leads up to the Mid-State on 

the border. 

Another county’s-worth of roadwalking 

takes our hiker from the north 

end of the Pine Creek Gorge to just past 

Corning, New York, and familiar white 

blazes—this time on the Finger Lakes 

Trail. The next choice awaits northeast 

of Cortland: Continue east on the existing 

Finger Lakes Trail to the Long Path in 

the Catskills, or proceed northeast on the 

Onondaga Trail, the Link Trail (another 

one), the Old Erie Canal towpath, and others 

to and through the Adirondacks. 

All of these offer wild or pastoral 

beauty, with more solitude than the A.T. 

Some key organizations involved in 

these trails are the Mid-State Trail Association, 

Keystone Trails Association (the 

first Link Trail), Finger Lakes Trail Conference, 

Central N.Y. Chapter of the 

North Country Trail Association (the second 

Link Trail), and various chapters of 

the Adirondack Mountain Club. All offer 

plenty of opportunity to work hard on 

trail crews, too. 

Perhaps visitors to the ATC’s 2001 

meeting in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, 

can sample some of the splendor of this 

“second” Appalachian trail! 

Peter Fleszar 

Hershey, Pa. 

Trail Difficulty in Maine 

ADLY, SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE WRITTEN TO 

Scomplain about the difficulty of the 

A.T. in Maine. Yes, parts are difficult. 

Other parts are flat; some of it lies on 

gentle hills, some follows beautiful 

lakesides. That is one of the beauties of 

Maine: It has great diversity. 

People’s experiences vary. I found the 

most difficult walking on the Trail to be 

in easternmost Pennsylvania. The most 

“pointless” ups and downs were in the 

“roller coaster” section several days south 

of Harpers Ferry. I liked them both (although 

I was glad to get to Blackburn and 

to New Jersey). The steepest part I recall 

was in New Hampshire (Kinsman Mountain) 

and the most difficult part of the 

whole hike was crossing the sod farm near 

the Wallkill River in New Jersey when it 

was 103 degrees, only to reach a shelter 

with no water. 

Dex Perkins 

Grand Forks, N.D. 

♦ 

What is past . . . 

Continued from page 25 

after a tour of the farm, they can hike on 

and see a ruined chimney, cellar hole, or 

hog pen and clearly visualize the past.” 

Another bonus is the tight bond formed 

between locals and Appalachian Trail 

maintainers. 

That bond is also being experienced 

far to the north. When Wallingford, Vermont, 

schoolteacher Debra Gardner 

learned about Aldrichville—a mill town 

turned ghost town in the Green Mountain 

National Forest—she became excited. 

Gardner and local historian Michael 

Barbieri approached David Lacy, a Forest 

Service archaeologist, with a plan to interpret 

Aldrichville for school children. At 

first, the scientist hesitated. 

“We were worried about the sensitivity 

of the location,” Lacy says. The Appalachian 

Trail runs right down the middle 

of the ruined town’s main street. “Then 

we concluded that an interpreted site 

would be less prone to vandalism than an 

abandoned site.” 

With that decision, Aldrichville became 

the focus of the award-winning 

“Relics to Ruins” program. For three summers, 

Vermont school children hiked the 

Appalachian Trail into the defunct hamlet 

and dug into its foundations, uncovering 

glass and ceramic fragments, nails, 

iron pipe, and burnt brick—items identified 

as the remains of a blacksmith shop, 

sawmill, and homes. 

“The children were most impressed 

when they found the broken pieces of a 

porcelain doll and a toy tea set,” Lacy says. 

“These items brought home the fact that 

kids their own age had lived a very different 

lifestyle here.” 

“Relics to Ruins” wasn’t just about 

getting kids’ hands dirty. It embraced oral 

history, art, and creative writing. Students 

built models of the town, painted pictures 

of it, and learned traditional dances and 

songs (mostly sung in French, since many 

of the 19 th -century village’s inhabitants 

were French Canadian). 

“We brought in biologists who helped 

the children imagine the effects of logging 

on the wild critters,” Lacy says. “We offered 

an empowering message: If you can 

understand the changes of the past, you 

can understand change in your own life. 


Then, maybe you can try to control it and 

make a difference.” 

Tomorrow’s Trail 

For every successful preservation 

project, dozens more are waiting 

in the underbrush. Iron mines in 

New Jersey, a Revolutionary War redoubt 

in New York, canals in Pennsylvania— 

all beg for preservation and interpretation. 

“I’d love to see us interpret Brown 

Mountain Creek, a post-Civil War black 

settlement,” says Mike Dawson, “but we 

have so much on our plate that its restoration 

has taken a pretty low priority.” 

Joe Baker cautions against a rush to 

disturb these sites: “Remember, good archaeology 

is expensive, especially in dense 

cover, miles from anywhere. When you 

painstakingly remove soils, record, measure 

and photograph, you can almost hear 

the cash register going ‘ching, ching.’” 

History moves on, however. Today, 

even the Appalachian Trail itself is considered 

an artifact by some, though few 

volunteers would have claimed they were 

making history when they first blazed it 

in the 1920s and 1930s. The Trail’s Depression-era 

Civilian Conservation Corps 

shelters, its bridges, and even the path itself 

tell a story of 20 th -century American 

idealism, volunteerism, and hard-won 

victories for the conservation movement. 

In a year marking the seventy-fifth anniversary 

of ATC, is the two-thousand-mile 

artifact built by the conference’s volunteers 

any less noteworthy than an ancient 

quarry or an old stone wall? 

Finally, consider that today’s mere 

curiosity may become tomorrow’s history. 

Just look at Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, the 

humble Scout camp near the A.T. that 

half a century ago bade a solemn farewell 

to the fliers of Up Der Fuehrer. In 1980, 

the camp served as backdrop to more 

ghoulish goings-on: the filming of Friday 

the 13 th , the first of a seemingly endless 

series of “slasher” movies that dominated 

American pop culture for a decade. Perhaps, 

in some remote future, New Jersey 

Trail managers will struggle to preserve 

and interpret this bit of our own era’s 

twisted social history. I wish them luck.♦ 

Glenn Scherer is a contributing editor of 

this magazine and a volunteer maintainer 

with the N.Y.–N.J. Trail Conference. 

Income for you 

. . . and the Trail 

TRAIL GIVING 

By Amy Owen 

Here at the Appalachian Trail Conference, we would like to propose a 

new investment partnership for the Trail community—a partnership 

between you and the Trail. 

If you manage your assets to secure your annual income, take a fresh look at the 

advantages offered by establishing a charitable gift annuity. These annuities provide 

a simple mechanism for you to receive a fixed-income payment for your lifetime and 

for the lifetime of a spouse or other beneficiary. Upon your death, and the death of 

any additional beneficiaries, the proceeds pass immediately to ATC—without any 

probate or tax consequences! 

So, with a charitable gift annuity, the ultimate beneficiary of your gift is the 

Appalachian Trail. Both parties in this partnership benefit. How, then, does it work? 

Consider the following two examples. 

Example 1: A gift of stock 

Mrs. Mohasco Brown, at age 70, establishes 

a charitable gift annuity with ATC 

by making a $10,000 stock donation with 

an adjusted cost basis of $4,000—an asset 

that has doubled in value since she bought it. The capital gains on that asset will be 

spread out over her lifetime payments, with an annual annuity rate of 7.5 percent: 

Year Total Annual Ordinary Tax-Exempt Long-Term 

Income Income Income Capital-Gains 

Income 

2000 $562.50 $295.04 $106.98 $160.48 

2001–2015 $750.00 $393.38 $142.65 $213.97 

2016 $750.00 $696.53 $21.36 $32.11 

2017– $750.00 $750.00 $0.00 $0.00 

Example 2: A gift of cash 

Nantahala and Prince O’Ryan, ages 67 and 68 respectively, reinvest a matured 

certificate of deposit by creating a $20,000 charitable gift annuity with the conference 

with an annual annuity rate of 6.7 percent: 

Year Total Annual Ordinary Tax-Exempt Long-Term 

Income Income Income Capital-Gains 

Income 

2000 $1,005.00 $579.43 $425.57 $0.00 

2001–2015 $1,340.00 $772.57 $567.43 $0.00 

2016 $1,340.00 $800.98 $539.02 $0.00 

2017– $1,340.00 $1,340.00 $0.00 $0.00 

Notice that, in each example, some of the income that returns to the donor is 

tax-exempt. A charitable gift annuity is an excellent tool to meet your current income 

objectives and invest in the Trail’s future. If you would like more information, 

ask for an illustration; no obligation or cost is involved. 

Amy E. Owen is the Appalachian Trail Conference’s director of development. She can be 

reached via e-mail at , by phone at (304) 535-6331, or by writing to 

her at the following address: Amy Owen, Director of Development, Appalachian Trail 

Conference, P.O. Box 807, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425 


PUBLIC NOTICES 

Lost and Found 

Ring, lost October 9 while 

hiking Connecticut Section 4. 

Simple ring, great sentimental 

value. Gift to my daughter when 

she first got pregnant (six months 

into her pregnancy, she died without 

warning; my grandson died 

days later). Had planned to wear 

the ring in memory of my “little 

ones.” Fit very tightly, so unlikely 

it slipped off. Most likely broke in 

two during steep descent down 

north side of St. Johns Ledges or 

steep ascent of the south side of 

Silver Hill. Would mean a great 

deal to me to get it back, even in 

two pieces. Chuck Warfield, 16565 

Snyder Road, Chagrin Falls, OH 

44023. 

Camera, lost at Dartmouth 

Outing Club, in the yard, on September 

8. Small silver camera 

with zoom that uses Advantix 

film. Double the shipping for your 

trouble. Tommy Edwards, 10571 

Bluefield Rd., Okeechobee, FL 

34972; . 

Partners Wanted 

Section-hiker, 68, seeking 

partner(s) from Manchester Center, 

Vt., northward during August. 

Averaging 10-12 miles/day, less in 

the Whites. Call before July 4. 

Emily Kimball (Tooth), 3220A 

West Grace St., Richmond, VA 

23221; (804) 358-4959; . 

Section-hiker, 44, seeks 

partner(s) from Monson, Maine, to 

the “Big K.” August-September. 

Would prefer to do day hikes over 

an 8–10-day period with car 

shuttles or key swap. John J. Hunt, 

1219 Oak Grove Rd., Kings Mtn., 

NC 28086-8517. 

Section-hiker, looking for a 

hiking partner to complete hike 

from the Berkshires to Katahdin. 

Preferably starting in May, but 

will consider later start for this 

two-month adventure. Pamela 

Morehouse, 65 Gamwell Ave., 

Pittsfield, MA 01201; (413) 496- 

9763. 

Section-hiker, 21, female, 

graduating Boston U., looking for 

mixed (M/F) hiking group to hike 

from Mass. to Maine, from May- 

August. Flexible on starting, 

ending dates. Willing to hike at 

strenuous pace. Brianne Keith, 

(617) 352-6900; . 

Section-hiker, 51, female, 

looking for a partner/partners to 

hike this summer, starting in 

Georgia at the beginning of the 

Trail. No set time; schedule depends 

on when I could find 

others to go with. Judy Lassiter; 

. 

Thru-hiker, 49, seeks partners 

for possible “flip-flop” 

starting northbound in Va. in May. 

At first, 7-12 miles per day. Tom 

Ruetenik, P.O. Box 186, Delhi, NY 

13753; (607) 746-6693. 

Hiker seeks partner, Davenport 

Gap to Sams Gap, June 7-13. 

Prefer partner with vehicle so 

we can shuttle each other. Ron 

Grubb, 3123 Maryland Road, 

Rockford, IL 61108-5917; 

(815) 399-0106; . 

Hiker, 59, seeks partner(s) for 

day hikes or overnighters on the 

A.T., around 15 miles/day. Retired, 

flexible schedule. Phelps 

Gates, 160 Windsor Circle, Chapel 

Hill, N.C. 27516; (919) 967-5193; 

. 

Hiker (slow—10 miles/day), 

has done 1,200 miles of A.T., seeks 

companions for sections of the 

southern half: Catawba, Va., to 

Daleville (June 5-7), Daleville to 

Glasgow (June 8-13), Glasgow to 

Tyro (June 14-18), Tyro to Rockfish 

Gap (June 19-21), Franklin, 

N.C., to Nantahala River (June 27- 

30), Nantahala to Fontana (July 

1-3), Fontana to Davenport Gap 

(July 4-11), Davenport Gap to 

Allen Gap (July 12-16), Springer 

Mtn., Ga., to Hiawassee (Aug. 2- 

9), Hiawassee to Franklin, N.C. 

(Aug. 10-14), Allen Gap to Erwin, 

Tenn. (Aug. 15-20), Erwin to El 

Park (Aug. 21-24), Elk Park to 

Damascus, Va. (Aug. 25-31), 

Public notices 

Damascus to Troutdale (Sept. 

11-15), Troutdale to Atkins (Sept. 

16-17), Atkins to Bland (Sept. 18- 

22), Bland to Pearisburg (Sept. 

23-26), Pearisburg to Catawba 

(Sept. 27- Oct 3), Rockfish Gap to 

Front Royal (Oct. 4-14). George 

Meek (Poet); 703-875-3021; 

. 

American Discovery Trail— 

Experienced long-distance hiker 

seeks partners for thru-hike or 

sections of 4,900-mile ADT, beginning 

on West Coast, May 11, 

2001, finishing about December 

18. Age, gender don’t matter, only 

strong heart and desire to walk 22- 

30 miles/day. No smokers, heavy 

drinkers. Join me or help out with 

lodging, rides, or a friendly face. 

Bob Wirth, 2040 Marathon Ave., 

Apt. 1, Neenah, WI 54956. 

For Sale 

Free (you pay shipping), 

complete set of Appalachian 

Trailway News from September 

1967 through November/December 

1999. Richard Buralli, 161 

Lincoln Rd., Phillipsburg, NJ 

08865-1523. 

Sierra Zip Ztove, $15. Z- 

Rest Mat, $10. Stuff sacks. Alice 

Mackenzie, 1775 Hollywood Avenue, 

Winter Park, FL 32789; (407) 

645-2039. 

Boots, heavy backpacking 

model by Limmer, women’s size 

6 1/2 , like new—great, sturdy boots, 

don’t fit my feet. Cost $275, will 

sell for $150 or best offer. Leave 

message for JoAnne (724) 327- 

2197; . 

Boots, Men’s Vasque Skywalkers, 

12W, new condition—$90 

or best offer, including shipping. 

Bruce Eure, P.O. Box 2112, Cumming, 

GA 30028; (770) 781-9346. 

are published free for members of the Appalachian Trail 

Conference. We cannot vouch for any of the advertised items. 

Ads must pertain to the A.T. or related hiking/conservation 

matters. For complete guidelines, send SASE to ATC. Send ads 

to PUBLIC NOTICES, Appalachian Trail Conference, P.O. Box 

807, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425. Deadline for the July-August 

2000 issue is May 10; deadline for the September–October 

issue is July 7. 

For Your Information 

Hike Mt. Rainier National 

Park this summer with the Appalachian 

Mountain Club’s August 

Camp. Choose Session One (July 

15-29) or Session Two (July 29- 

Aug. 12). Four hikes offered by 

experienced leaders, campfire, 

three meals a day, tents, cots supplied. 

Call registrar, Trish Niece, 

(203) 265-9584. 

Workshop, “Long-Distance 

Hiking,” at Bear’s Den Hostel. 

Join Bears Den hostel manager and 

1996 Appalachian Trail thruhiker, 

Melody Blaney, on October 

15–16, 2000, for an informative 

weekend discussing and demonstrating 

skills required for a 

long-distance hike. Designed for 

beginners and experienced backpackers 

planning a long hike. 

Cost: $40. Overnight lodging at 

the hostel is available for an additional 

cost ($12 for members, $15 

for nonmembers, plus tax) per 

night. For reservations or information, 

contact: Bear’s Den Hostel, 

18393 Blueridge Mountain Road, 

Bluemont, VA 20135; (540) 554- 

8708; bearden@crosslink.net. 

Wanted 

Safe parking. “Trail Snail” 

and “Tumbleweed” need parking 

in Va. between Damascus and 

Troutville for about 4 weeks while 

we hike the section. Kim and Tom 

Lyons, RR 1, Box 3342, Carmel, 

Maine 04419; (207) 848-3729. 

Help Wanted 

Volunteers. Have fun building 

the Appalachian Trail for the next 

millennium as a volunteer for 2000 

seasonal Trail crews. No experience 

required. Five different crews operate 

along the A.T. during the summer 

and fall months and are jointly sponsored 

by A.T. maintaining clubs, 

agency partners, and ATC. Special 

women-only and over-50 crews will 

continue to be offered this year. 

Write to: Crews, ATC, ATN-00B/C, 

P.O. Box 807, Harpers Ferry, WV 

25425; call 304-353-6331; or e-mail 

and ask for a 

crew brochure. 


MINISTRY OF FUNNY WALKS 

Felix J. McGillicuddy 

She had never heard of the Appalachian Trail, let alone 

hiked it. That didn’t stop Lizzie from taking to the footpath 

like a child to a swing set. She set out on her first 

section-hike with her eyes wide open and her ears 

pinned back. There was no stopping her. 

“Hold on, Lizzie,” I yelled. She looked back briefly, then 

continued up the Trail. She paused idly to pick some bark from 

a tree trunk. When she heard me getting close, she turned and 

ignored me. It was obvious that she intended to stay in front of 

me this afternoon. 

The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. We were 

making pretty good time this way. Plus, I didn’t have to be involved 

in one of the countless one-sided conversations that had 

Lizzie 

become a major part of our relationship. 

She hurried along in front of me, sometimes wandering 

several feet off the Trail, and, as I followed, I couldn’t help but 

notice how beautiful she was. Every trailside noise caught her 

attention, and she investigated it eagerly. As soon as she heard 

my footsteps, though, it was back to the Trail and staying in 

front of me. 

You see, I had angered Lizzie. Actually, I had angered her 

twice. During lunch, before we had even hit the Trail, two things 

happened that more or less ensured that I’d be watching Lizzie 

from a distance. They may sound trivial now. But, at the time, 

to Lizzie, they were pretty important. 

First, while filling our water bottles, I had turned the spigot 

on too suddenly. Water spurted out with such force that it 

knocked the bottle from my hand and soaked Lizzie. Then, while 

eating, I didn’t offer to share my food, figuring she had enough 

of her own. For crimes as minor as spraying a little water and 

not sharing a can of tuna, I was condemned to an afternoon of 

hiking alone—an afternoon of being forced to watch my sexy 

hiking partner from behind. She played the game pretty well. 

I knew, however, that, within a few tenths of a mile, we 

would be at Pine Swamp Branch Shelter, one of the mousiest 

lean-tos along the A.T. This, I figured, would be my chance to 

gain her favor again. This would be where she would forget about 

tuna fish and remember me as the guy who is always looking 

out for her. A true friend. 

The only time she would let me near her was when her 

attention was captured by a pileated woodpecker. I don’t think 

she’d ever seen a bird that large from so close. The woodpecker 

looked like a chicken dancing on the side of a poplar tree. She 

was first startled by it, and then by me. When she realized I was 

standing next to her she flinched and hurried off again. 

Her pace picked up once she saw the shelter. I stopped to 

watch her enter the structure, making sure everything was okay. 

I could see her looking our night’s resting-place over with a 

keen eye. Every corner, every cranny, was checked. 

“How’s it look?” I asked as I walked in. 

She glowered at me and walked around the corner to the 

woods behind the shelter. Clearly, she didn’t feel like talking, 

so I got our bedding ready for the night. I could hear her walking 

around in the leaves. I wondered what she was looking for 

and if she’d find it. I gathered firewood from the woods around 

the shelter. I would occasionally see her walking around, looking 

under the bunks, or in the cracks of the rocks, checking for 

mice or anything else. She didn’t know I was watching her, but 

she still made me smile. 

As darkness settled in, so did paranoia. Every noise got a 

wide-eyed look. She was still pacing around, silent as ever, as I 

lit the fire. The flames turned the shelter walls orange, with 

warm light dancing around. 

She sat on the bottom bunk on the opposite side of the 

shelter. We both watched the fire flicker and pop. I watched the 

reflection of the flame in her eyes. She was so beautiful. 

“Well, I’m going to bed,” I said as I put the last of the wood 

on the fire. I got into my sleeping bag and got comfortable. I lay 

and considered her for a while. Her eyes moved back and forth 

like a kid watching fireworks on the Fourth of July. She looked 

at every movement, stared at every shadow, noticed every noise. 

I was just dozing off when she got into bed. It seemed like 

it took her forever to get situated. But, then, it always does. 

Finally, she snuggled up against me. She started purring when I 

reached out and scratched her head. She touched my lips with 

her paw. 

I knew she couldn’t stay mad. ♦ 

Felix J. McGillicuddy is a 1999 thru-hiker from the wilds of 

southern Indiana. His columns appear here regularly, when he is 

not out hiking. 


Katahdin, by J. Andrew Walsh. This photograph of Maine’s “greatest mountain,” the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, 

is available as a limited-edition 29” by 24” poster, commemorating the 75 th anniversary of the Appalachian Trail Conference. It 

may be purchased for $10.00 ($8.50 to ATC members), plus $2 shipping and handling. To order and pay by credit card, please call 

toll-free to 888-AT-STORE (888-287-8673), or visit us at . Please specify item #316. 

APPALACHIAN TRAIL 

MAINE 

TO 

GEORGIA 

Appalachian Trail 

Conference 

P.O. Box 807 

Harpers Ferry WV 25425-0807 

Address Service Requested 

Nonprofit Organization 

U.S. POSTAGE 

PAID 

Appalachian Trail 

Conference

atn mayâjune 2000 appalachian trailway news

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?

atn mayâjune 2000 appalachian trailway news