may–june 2005 appalachian trailway news

32 Pages·2005·1.36 MB·English

MAY–JUNE 2005
AT N
APPALACHIAN TRAILWAY NEWS
2 MAY–JUNE 2005
MAY–JUNE 2005
ATN
APPALACHIAN TRAILWAY NEWS
ON THE COVER
A feral goat awaits hikers on the Trail north
of the old Sarver Cabin, in the Sinking Creek
Mountain area of central Virginia. Photo
by Alexandra C. Daley-Clark. Inside: A hiker
coasts through the summer fog on the A.T. in
Connecticut north of the Silver Hill campsite.
Photo by C.W. Banfi eld.
VIEWPOINTS
SHELTER REGISTER ♦ LETTERS 4
OVERLOOK ♦ BRIAN T. FITZGERALD
AND DAVE STARTZELL 5
REFLECTIONS 26
WHITE BLAZES
PAPER TRAIL ♦ NEWS FROM
HARPERS FERRY 7
TREELINE ♦ NEWS FROM ALONG
THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL 10
SIDEHILL ♦ NEWS FROM CLUBS
AND GOV ERN MENT AGENCIES 11
GREENWAY ♦ LAND-PROTECTION
AND FUND-RAISING NEWS 13
BLUE BLAZES
A DAY IN THE LIFE
OF A RIDGERUNNER
♦ HEIDI L. WITMER 16
NEW 2,000-MILERS 19
NEW DOCUMENTARY MAKES
LASTING IMPRESSION
♦ BECKY BRUN 25
TREADWAY
MEMORIAL GIFTS 14
PUBLIC NOTICES 30
APPALACHIAN TRAILWAY NEWS 3
S R
HELTER EGISTER
Letters from our readers
Appalachian Trailway ‘Engaging Trail Towns’ that, among other goals, this will encour-
As a section-hiker who enjoys Trail age hikers to visit our community.
News
towns the way children enjoy Christ- Certainly, through the combined effort
VOLUME 66, NUMBER 3(cid:127) MAY–JUNE 2005 mas, I found the “Engaging Trail Towns” of local citizens and the ATC, Erwin can
Appalachian Trailway News is published by the App a la chian editorial in the November/December become even more hiker-friendly. I bet
Trail Conference, a nonp rofi t educational organization repr e sent ing
the citizen interest in the Appalachian Trail and dedi cat ed to the 2004 issue to be of special interest. Every that, when the ATC offi cially communi-
pres er va tion, maint e nance, and enjoyment of the App a la chian trail-
way. Since 1925, the Appalachian Trail Conf er ence and its member community on or near the Trail that I cates with other Trail towns, it will fi nd
clubs have conc eived, built, and maintained the App a la chian Trail
in cooperation with federal and state agencies. The Conference also have visited as a hiker had a unique en- that many of those communities already
pub lish es guidebooks and other educational lite r a ture about the
vironment and was a joy to visit. While are involved in numerous “hiker-friend-
Trail, the trailway, and its facilities. Annual ind i vidu al mem bers hip
in the App a la chian Trail Conference is $30; life membership, $600; all hikers who are walking the entire Trail ly” activities.
corporate membership, $500 minimum annual cont ri bu tion.
Volunteer and freelance cont ri bu tions are welcome. pass through those towns that are di- Lou Thornberry
Observations, conclusions, opini ons, and product endorsements rectly on the Trail, other communities Erwin, Tennessee
expressed in Appalachian Trailway News are those of the authors
and do not nece s sari ly refl ect those of memb ers of the board or staff that are off the Trail by varying distances
of the Appalachian Trail Conf er ence. are more diffi cult to reach for many. Things we don’t enjoy
I commend the ATC for directing at- looking at
BOARD OF MANAGERS
Chair tention to Trail towns. With such leader- Here is an excerpt from a journal entry
Brian T. Fitzgerald
ship, hopefully, Trail towns will continue I wrote on November 14, 2004, after
Vice Chairs to be a beacon of light for hikers. a short hike from New Jersey 94 in Ver-
Carl C. Demrow Thyra C. Sperry
But, I found the division of towns into non to Pinwheel’s Vista on the Trail, high
Marianne J. Skeen
“friendly” and “unaware” or “unfriendly” above the towns and fi elds.
Treasurer
Kennard R. Honick an oversimplifi cation. Perhaps another “The descent was quick and easy.
classifi cation should be “improving.” While crossing the fl at fi elds just before
Secretary
Barbara L. Wiemann In recent years, Erwin, Tennessee, has arriving back at the Trailhead, I felt the
Assistant Secretary developed into a better Trail town. While warm air once again. It made me feel
Arthur P. Foley Erwin doesn’t have an established Trail peaceful. As I looked out over the expanse
New England Region festival, the community has become of tall grass scattered with small ever-
Pamela Ahlen Bruce Grant
“Trail friendly” and is aware of the ben- greens, I noticed a powerline running
Kevin “Hawk” Metheny William G. O’Brien
Stephen J. Paradis Ann H. Sherwood efi ts of being a few miles from the A.T. across the fi eld. My fi rst thoughts were
Two hostels now provide hikers with of how the powerlines had ruined the
Mid-Atlantic Region
Jane Daniels Walter E. Daniels Trail-town opportunities. view. But, reconsidering, I thought of
Charles A. Graf Sandra L. Marra If hiking supplies are needed, some where the electricity in those wires was
Michael D. Patch William Steinmetz
area retailers have provided free trans- fl owing.
Southern Region
portation to their stores. Various restau- “It was fl owing to homes where people
Bob Almand Phyllis Henry
Robert P. Kyle rants and motels cater to hikers through- were enjoying the warmth and comfort
William S. Rogers McKinney V. Taylor out the year. Other individuals offer re- the power provides for them. It was pow-
Steven A. Wilson
ligious or medical support. Many citizens ering their lamps, computers, TVs, mi-
Members at Large
often provide hikers with free rides into crowaves, and refrigerators, and it was
Goodloe E. Byron Richard Evans
town. Other folks offer more distant
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
David N. Startzell rides to Trailheads at reasonable costs.
Last spring, a hiking conference (again Letters
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Martin A. Bartels planned for 2005) at the Erwin Method-
ist Church attracted a large audience and Appalachian Trailway News
DIRECTOR OF PUB LIC AFFAIRS
Brian B. King offered experienced speakers from a va- welcomes your comments. Letters
Web site: www.appalachiantrail.org riety of fi elds. may be edited for clarity and length.
Appalachian Trailway News (ISSN 0003-6641) is pub- The town of Erwin is in the middle of Please send them to:
lished bimonthly for $15 a year by the Appalachian Trail a project to construct a linear park from Letters to the Editor
Con fer ence, 799 Wash ing ton Street, Harp ers Ferry, WV
25425, [phone]. Bulk-rate postage paid at Harpers Erwin to the Chestoa bridge (the A.T. loca- P.O. Box 807
Ferry, WV, and other offi ces. Postm as ter: Send change-of-
address Form 3575 to Appalachian Trailway News, P.O. tion). At this time, the trail extends about Harpers Ferry, WV 25425-0807
Box 807, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425. three miles south of town and is only one E-mail: <[email protected]>
Copyright 2005 The App a la chian Trail Conference. All
rights res erved. mile short of the A.T. Town offi cials hope
4 MAY–JUNE 2005
Overlook
Brian T. Fitzgerald
and Dave Startzell
fl owing to the businesses and factories
where they work. I thought of a life with-
out that electricity. It was not a pleasant
A
thought. s the changes called for in our strategic plan have been put in place, we
“I then took another look at the towers have heard one concern expressed over and over again: Don’t diminish the
and the wires and realized that they had role of volunteers in management of the Appalachian Trail. We have
to fi t into this landscape. While we would touched on this issue in previous columns, but it’s important enough to
like to enjoy our hikes without such expand on here.
unsightly obstructions, they are neces- The concept of volunteer management is embodied in our mission statement:
sary to support the way we have chosen “The Appalachian Trail Conference is a volunteer-based organization dedicated
to live. It would be nice if the wires didn’t to the preservation and management of the natural, scenic, historic, and cultural
have to run over or within sight of our resources associated with the Appalachian Trail … .” That statement emphasizes
trails, but, unfortunately, these two paths the two aspects of ATC—preserve the A.T., and do it with volunteers.
must cross from time to time. Electricity During the Strategic Planning Summit we held in 2003, which was attended
must be delivered from the power sta- by more than 100 volunteers from A.T.-maintaining clubs and affi liated groups,
tions to the cities and towns where the we were told that ATC should be an “enabler” of volunteers: Give them all they
power is needed.” need to do their chosen work. We took that
Three ways
The next time you are hiking and come advice to heart and have been mindful of
across those monsters in the wilderness, preserving the central role of volunteers
take a moment to refl ect on how you live throughout our planning process.
to reinforce
and what you will be doing when you In fact, one of our goals is to strengthen
complete your hike and return home. that role, rather than diminish it. We’re do-
Remember that you enjoy the comfort and ing that in several different ways. The fi rst
volunteer core
convenience electricity provides for you. is to create a governance structure that in-
Some of the electricity in those very wires cludes four regional partnership committees
may just be headed for your home. (with representatives from each Trail-main-
Frank Wassner taining club) and a Stewardship Council (which includes representatives from each
Westwood, New Jersey partnership committee) to address issues associated with protection and manage-
ment of the Trail and the Trail experience. The partnership committees will work
Praise for ‘Felix’ closely with the regional offi ce staffs to address protection and management issues
Sometimes, I realize I’ve been lazy. Two and develop regional priorities and budgets. Issues that have Trail-wide signifi cance
letters in the January/February Appala- will be elevated to the Stewardship Council. Its membership will include not only
chian Trailway News jolted me from my Trail-club volunteers but new volunteers from outside our traditional circle, who
sloth. James Bullard and Shane Steinkamp bring additional expertise that can help us address the challenges of modern A.T.
reminded me that, for some time, I haven’t protection and conservation.
been reading the “Ministry of Funny A second approach we are taking that will strengthen the volunteers’ role is
Walks” column in your publication. shifting decision-making authority and resources from headquarters to the re-
I have been reading your publication gional offi ces, closer to the Trail and the clubs. The idea is that, by building capac-
several years and often don’t read articles ity at the regional level, we will be able to better support the on-the-ground vol-
in their entirety nor letters from fellow unteer. Once we have built up our regional-offi ce capacity, we should be able to
readers when they regard such things as respond more quickly to volunteer inquiries and requests for technical and fi nan-
someone considering changing an initial cial assistance.
or the term for which an initial abbrevi- As we add staff capacity, both in the regions and at headquarters, the idea is
ates. I am no longer shocked that an or- that the staff will not supplant volunteer efforts but catalyze them. That underly-
ganization has meetings or that things are ing philosophy is demonstrated by the promotion of three experienced regional
discussed at meetings that have been representatives—Morgan Sommerville, Karen Lutz and J.T. Horn—to new posi-
discussed before and which I anticipate tions as regional directors. As a group, they have decades of experience working
will be discussed again. And again.
As a photograph is said to be worth continued on page 6
1,000 words, some concisely written
APPALACHIAN TRAILWAY NEWS 5
Shelter Register
York City, countless youngsters spray-
Three ways to reinforce volunteer core …
painted subway trains inside and outside.
At that time, it was considered a rite of
continued from page 5 passage.
side-by-side with volunteers and are committed to the staff/volunteer partner- Truly, I am saddened by the prospect
ship that is one of our greatest strengths. of two (or three) young men wasting their
A third approach is to develop new ways to draw more volunteers to the Trail precious youth in jail, in the name of
project. In some cases, we also will be helping clubs build capacity through American justice, for painting a gray
enhanced recruitment and training. We also will be working to attract volunteers rock red.
to take on responsibilities in new aspects of such program areas as resource Nick Palky
management and environmental monitoring. Stoneham, Massachusetts
Again, key hallmarks of the strategic plan are creating more opportunities for
volunteers to care for their A.T. and attracting more of them. Beware Buck Mountain Road
While many things about ATC are changing, our commitment to the core I have been hiking the Appalachian Trail
tradition of volunteer leadership and effort remains a constant. in sections for the past ten years,from

Massachusetts to North Carolina. I have
Brian T. Fitzgerald is chair of ATC; Dave Startzell is executive director. walked more than 1,000 miles and always
had positive experiences in the small
communities I have depended on for
words are worth more than many others rock as if it were worthy of our worship. hospitality. The Trail itself is a national
combined. Some have been called poetry. Then came along two young brothers treasure, impeccably maintained by its
They need not rhyme to qualify. I always from West Virginia and painted that high- local clubs.
read the “M of FW,” and it has prompted profi le gray rock with some red paint for On a recent hike, two problems arose
the most introspection. some mischief during a holiday week. that I thought the Appalachian Trailway
Let’s face it, kids walk, and adults The citizens were outraged. The enforc- News should know about near the Walnut
drive. We are a collection of people, ers were sent out; they arrested the perpe- Road area in eastern Tennessee.
mainly adults, who still love to walk. We trators, pressed the charges, and prepared This March 25–26, I was hiking with a
haven’t gotten over it. We pretty much a case against them. The young men now friend from Dennis Cove Road near Hamp-
walk north and south, up hills and down face the prospect of spending fi ve to fi fteen ton to Bear Branch Road just east of the
hills: That is the perspective of nonhik- years of precious time in jail and the pos- town of Roan Mountain. The mountains
ers. Poets can explain our love. sibility of up to $500,000 in fi nes. in this area are beautiful, with many
Steve Adams West Virginia has a reputation of being stands of old rhododendrons amid rushing
Rixeyville, Virginia a poor state. It lacks good economic op- streams, and we gloried in the lovely
As in life, the features of magazines portunities for advancement. The average weather and the fi rst signs of spring.
change from time to time. As we bring worker earns about $10 to $15 per hour. On March 26, we left one of our cars
new ones into the magazine this year, we How do we expect those young men to at an A.T. access point on Buck Moun-
hope will you will fi nd them equally come up with $500,000? tain Road to hike about three miles on
intriguing and provocative and directly The Hopkins brothers did not steal any the Trail to where Bear Branch Road
refl ective of your Trail experiences. one’s property. They did not harm any one. meets U.S. 19E. We were in the woods
They did not kill any one. They painted two hours at the most. When we drove
Vandals’ fate decries an ordinary, large, fl at, gray rock red and back to Buck Mountain Road to pick up
common sense face the prospect of spending fi ve to fi fteen my friend’s car, we found that someone
I read the “Treeline–News from along years behind bars. This is nothing but had fl attened all four tires, probably with
the A.T.” (“Arrests made in Jefferson “cruel and unusual punishment.” an ice pick. It was late afternoon, and
Rock vandalism”) in the March/April We, as the rock worshippers, will now our cell phones didn’t work in that area,
2005 issue with great dismay. I am very spend thousands of dollars to clean up the but we managed to get a tow truck with
sad to see that, as a society, we have lost paint and send those boys to jail at even the help of the local gas station. The
common sense and proper perspective. larger expense to the taxpayers. A better tow-truck driver told us we were lucky
Once upon a time, a future president way to deal with it would be to compel only the tires had been ruined: Out-of-
of our country visited what is now a them (a) to clean up the paint at their own state cars parked along that road had
park. Then, a group of people named an expense and (b) to serve as volunteers to been broken into, the windshields
ordinary large shale rock after him and guard the park.
raised its profi le. We began to guard the Twenty years ago, while I lived in New continued on page 15
6 MAY–JUNE 2005
P T
APER RAIL
News from Harpers Ferry
AOL CityGuide director named to communications post
Martin A. Bartels of Lees- year, moving to AOL’s Vir-
burg, Virginia, is the Ap- ginia headquarters.
palachian Trail Confer- Prior to that, Bartels
ence’s director of marketing worked for fi fteen years for
and communications, a new Pioneer Press Newspapers, a
position called for under the chain of more than fi fty week-
organizational restructuring ly newspapers in the Chicago
plan adopted by the Board of suburbs, concluding with a
Managers in November 2003. seven-year stint as entertain-
Bartels started work in early ment editor. He is a published
April, following the Easter songwriter, graduate of Chi-
weekend selection by Execu- cago’s famed Second City
tive Director Dave Startzell. school for improvisational
Until January, he had been acting, and author of Native’s
editorial director of AOL City- Guide to Chicago’s North-
Guide for America Online. He west Suburbs. formation services; and the identity in July to the A.T.
and his staff of multiple edi- He will manage the activi- archives. Conservancy.
tors and freelancers developed ties formerly known as “pub- He also will implement a “It is truly an exciting time
entertainment and nightlife lic affairs” at ATC: the for- vigorous marketing plan, de- to become part of the ATC
content for up to 317 markets sale-publications program; veloped by the staff and an team,” Bartels said. “I look
across the country. Bartels other print and electronic outside fi rm over the late fall forward to working with the
created the AOL CityGuide publications, including the and winter, to support all ac- many people who have made
hub in Chicago in 2000 and Appalachian Trailway News tivities of the Conference, the Trail such an incredible
was promoted to director in a and the Web sites; public-in- especially as it changes its national resource.”
ATC director honored by hiking society
Substitution for Board of Directors slate
The American Hiking So- The award is named for James E. Ditzel of Brunswick,
ciety (AHS) this year pre- Susan “Butch” Henley of Hay-
Maine, vice president for sourcing
sented David N. Startzell, market, Virginia, one of about
at L.L.Bean, Inc., has been substi-
executive director of the Ap- sixty 1978 A.T. thru-hikers.
tuted on the slate of nominees for the
palachian Trail Conference She was a longtime staff mem-
Appalachian Trail Conservancy Board
since November 1986, with its ber at ahs and now is acting
of Directors for Rol Fessenden, who
Butch Henley Award, “recog- executive director of the
withdrew in March because of newly
nizing an outstanding career American Discovery Trail.
arisen family commitments.
of a trail professional.” Among others with A.T.
Although this would be his fi rst
The Maryland-based orga- connections recognized in the
experience serving on a nonprofit
nization said Startzell’s “work annual awards program were
board, Ditzel said he has a lifelong
embodies not only a lifelong Sgt. Tammy McCorkle, ranger
passion for the outdoors—exemplifi ed by a 1994 voyage to
commitment to completing supervisor for Greenbrier
Antarctica and hiking all but three of New England’s 4,000-
and protecting the 2,175-mile State Park in Maryland, “for
footers—and would bring to ATC his extensive business
Appalachian Trail but to all her work over the past three
experience. He currently manages 130 people in seven coun-
national hiking trails.” He years to improve environmen-
tries who secure inventory for the retail outfi tter.
also is a member of the AHS tal problems at Annapolis
Ditzel is a graduate of St. John’s University.
board of directors and chairs Rock” [see November/Decem-
its conservation committee. ber 2004 ATN).
APPALACHIAN TRAILWAY NEWS 7
Paper Trail
In Memoriam immediately started working on a publications manual. As head
of the Board’s publications committee, he continued revamping
Raymond F. Hunt, 1923 – 2005
and perfecting the annual Data Book until 1983, when he was
elected to the fi rst of three terms as Conference chair.
A symphony of service A year later, in 1984, Mr. Hunt signed the historic document
that offi cially delegated management responsibility for A.T.
By Judy Jenner lands owned by the National Park Service to ATC. He called
the agreement “the most important document that I ever hope
The late Raymond F. Hunt undoubtedly is joking about to sign.” Years later, when reminded of the quote, he quipped,
being “the late Raymond F. Hunt.” That was his “I had overlooked my marriage license.”
way—to blend truth and humor succinctly, humbly, Throughout much of his tenure as chair, Mr. Hunt joined
and often a bit mischievously. other volunteers and staff members in urging Congress to
The former Appalachian Trail Conference chair from maintain Park Service and Forest Service appropriations each
Kingsport, Tennessee, died March 8 after a twenty-year year to purchase the remaining tracts of private lands along the
struggle with cancer. Martha, his wife of fi fty-eight years, A.T. After his fi rst such experience, he said, “We appeared as
died less than two months earlier, also from cancer. volunteers and amateurs, rather than skilled professionals, and
Mr. Hunt was active in Trail and Conference affairs right that was probably helpful.”
up until his fi nal illness, serving as a chair emeritus on the Mr. Hunt extensively reorganized Board committees and
Board of Managers. He was just as proud to be an 81-year-old championed the organization’s fi rst steps toward a more com-
maintainer with the Tennessee Eastman Hiking Club (TEHC) prehensive fund-raising program, including corporate member-
as he was when, at a much younger age, he led the club’s ships. Late in his administration, he addressed the need for a
relocation efforts of the Trail on and near the Roan High- resource-management policy to protect natural features along
lands. That turned out to be a three-year, sixty-fi ve mile the Trail. ATC needed to add a land ethic “that goes beyond
effort that Mr. Hunt once feared “would be the ruination of what is required by laws and regulations but is a direct descen-
the club.” dant of the values that inspired the Trail project in the fi rst
It wasn’t, and Mr. Hunt continued to serve TEHC in a place,” he said.
number of positions and, by the mid-1970s, was volunteer- Of his many accomplishments as chair, he cradled each, as
ing for ATC Board assignments. He was a strong advocate of
ATC’s publications program and edited two editions of the
Left: Hunt had no takers for the fi rst meeting of his Society of
Tennessee–North Carolina guide. In 1977, he created the
Those Whose Favorite Boots Wore Out. Below: Hunt prepares
fi rst Data Book. He was elected to the Board in 1979 and
to sign in January 1984 the fi rst agreement delegating A.T.
management responsibility to ATC, with Interior
Secretary William Clark (behind his right shoulder)
and ATC and Park Service offi cials looking on.
(ATC photos)
8 MAY–JUNE 2005
if its success were yet to be determined. He worried out loud to hike the entire Trail since it initially was completed in
that managing A.T. lands for the Park Service could get bogged 1937. Mr. Hunt recalled last year that what made the event
down by “the complications of bureaucracy.” In 1989, as he “truly historic” was that he was joined by Brian King, ATC
completed his third and fi nal term, Mr. Hunt wrote, “We are director of public affairs, for the last leg of the trip. (King is
not agents of government organizations but partners…. Gener- not noted for hiking.)
ally, we have achieved our desired results by being nonadver- Mr. Hunt said he never got used to hiking the Trail and
sarial and cooperative…[but] agreement should not be the objec- called it hard work: “When you’re hiking by yourself, it’s
tive in itself.” easy to give up. When you’re with a group, and the car is
“Greater Trail-management responsibilities have resulted in waiting 80 miles away, it’s a disgrace not to get there.”
more bureaucratic rules, regulations, and paperwork, mostly His frequent hiking companion was V. Collins Chew, a
originated outside our organization,” he wrote. “This trend close friend, member of TEHC, and former ATC board mem-
should be resisted, so that they…do not interfere with our do- ber, who Mr. Hunt often ribbed for his discourses on Trail
ing what is good for the A.T.” geology.
He implored ATC members to keep focused on the target, “Whenever we were going uphill, Collins would do all
which he identifi ed as “the welfare of the Trail” and “avoid the talking; I’d save my breath and answer his questions
being diverted by alternative objec- when we started coming down a
tives,” such as putting ATC, other hill,” Mr. Hunt recalled.
causes, or relationships with other After serving him for a thousand
organizations ahead of the Trail. This miles, Mr. Hunt was forced to re-
“mantra” became the “Ray Hunt tire his worn-out hiking boots, but
Rule”—“The business of the Appala- not without a fi tting eulogy. “I felt
chian Trail Conference is the Appala- like an old man who had lost his
chian Trail.” That business must in- pet dog. I knew I could get new
clude protecting the volunteer role in boots, but it would never be the
the project, he often would add. same,” he said. He launched the
Mr. Hunt quipped that his parting “Society of Those Whose Favorite
comments as chair sounded “as if I Boots Wore Out,” a short-lived,
were expecting to go to another world tongue-in-cheek organization of
and never be heard from again. I hope one.
this is not true, because I have other Mr. Hunt’s love of the outdoors
plans.” was honed as a child. Although
Earlier in that same decade, Mr. raised in Pittsburgh, he once said
Ray Hunt fi nishes his hike of the A.T. in April
Hunt had survived two life-threaten- he always felt at home in the
1988 near Thornton Gap in Shenandoah National
ing illnesses, one almost on top of the woods. He was a boy when he met
Park. (ATC photo)
other. architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who
“Either illness could have taken me away in a fl ash…and designed the Fallingwater masterpiece southeast of Pitts-
that would have disappointed me, not being able to fi nish [hik- burgh for Edgar J. Kaufmann, Ray’s uncle. Many of his child-
ing] the Trail,” he said in 1988. hood memories were of staying at the house (now operated
Over the years of his involvement with the Trail, Mr. Hunt as a museum) and playing with his brothers and cousins in
began keeping a log of his section hikes. As they strayed farther the woods amid the river and falls, all of which are inte-
from the southern region, he believed that, if he persisted, he grated parts of the house. There were also family ties and
might well hike all of the A.T. The fact that it took him thirty- visits to remote areas of Georgian Bay, north of Toronto, that
eight years to become a 2,000-miler made the experience even remained throughout his life.
more bittersweet as he covered the fi nal miles in Shenandoah Soon after graduating with a degree in chemical engineer-
National Park on April 3, 1988. ing from Yale University in 1944, Ray Hunt began a 40-year
“I was never obsessed with it at all, although I was pretty career with Eastman companies, fi rst in Oak Ridge, Tennes-
determined to fi nish,” he refl ected on the experience, adding, see, moving later to what is now Eastman Chemical Com-
“I think that doing [the Trail] in pieces provides time to refl ect pany in Kingsport. He joined the hiking club in the 1950s.
on the memories of each particular trip.” It was at Eastman he met Martha Helen Morrow, a na-
The section hikes, accomplished mostly in the company of
friends, brought him recognition as the fi rst Conference chair continued on page 15
APPALACHIAN TRAILWAY NEWS 9
T
REELINE
News from along the Appalachian Trail
Smokies rescue prompts preparation messages
A spring-break hike for four March 8, realized one needed The rescue story prompted because he showed signs of
nineteen-year-old college serious medical help (he was area outfi tters and some trails hypothermia. He was soon
students started at the convulsing and vomiting), and groups to raise the attention listed in stable condition.
Fontana Dam, North Carolina, arranged for a rescue by park they had been giving to hypo- The Pennsylvania students
entrance to Great Smoky personnel and the Georgia thermia as a highly possible had wrapped Schultz in a plas-
Mountains National Park Army Air National Guard. outcome of spring hikes in the tic sheet and fed him hot liq-
under warm, sunny Sunday- Sunny Sunday had turned southern Appalachians, al- uids while the resident direc-
morning skies but ended that into rain and cold through ways subject in the season to tors walked out to fi nd help
Wednesday afternoon with a Monday and then eight inches ice storms, snow, and low twelve miles away at a ranger
helicopter medical airlift and of snow on the Trail by Tues- temperatures. station. “Everyone coopera-
their names in newspapers day morning. The group did McCall, Ivan Saldarriaga of ting the way they did saved
across the nation. not have foul-weather gear and Graham, Virginia, and Bryan the Schultz boy,” said ranger
A better-prepared group of was soaked. Their cotton Hendricks of Palmyra, Virginia, Chuck Hester.
four juniors and seniors from clothing froze overnight Mon- hiked out of the park with The yong man’s mother
Messiah College in Grantham, day. “Basically, we weren’t rangers. Matthew Schultz of said, “You’re 19. You fi gure you
Pennsylvania, accompanied by prepared enough. We didn’t do Raleigh, North Carolina, was are invincible, right? I think
two resident directors, walked our homework,” said Ryne taken by military helicopter to they realize now just how close
in on them at Derrick Knob McCall of Asheville, North the University of Tennessee to the edge they came,” The
Shelter at midday Tuesday, Carolina. Medical Center in Knoxville Associated Press reported.
“Red-handed” Jefferson Rock ATC drops Alpine Rose appeal
defendants plead guilty
The Appalachian Trail mates of sound impacts from
Sentencing is expected in late spring for three Jefferson Conference will not seek the high-performance-car re-
County, West Virginia, men who pleaded guilty in March to overturn an intermedi- sort were at the heart of the
in U.S. District Court to involvement in a Christmas ate Pennsylvania appellate ATC case, but the appellate
Week spray-painting of Jefferson Rock—a landmark on the court’s decision upholding court upheld the common
Appalachian Trail inside Harpers Ferry National Historical preliminary plans for a $25- pleas court in saying that, if
Park, overlooking the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers. (See million drivers’ club and road the Alpine Rose operations
March/April ATN.) course adjacent to the Trail in actually violate noise limits,
Local police said that Robert O. Hopkins, 20, his brother, rural Eldred Township, near the township can enforce
Steven, 18, and a juvenile had been detained initially for Smith Gap. That ends a three- them.
apparent speeding in Harpers Ferry between the rock and year, $136,000 battle (see The Trail winds above the
ATC headquarters, after midnight December 22. All three March/April ATN). planned resort property, slight-
gave different reasons for having red paint on their hands Contrary to an opinion fi led ly below the ridgeline and out
and clothes, the Martinsburg Journal reported. by the state earlier in the case, of sight of it.
The brothers could be sentenced in June to up to 10 years the three-judge panel of the ATC and the Blue Moun-
in prison with $250,000 fi nes. Nicholas B. Vlachos, 22, Commonwealth Court ruled tain Preservation Association
faces up to fi ve years and $125,000 in fi nes after pleading that the act and state constitu- had argued that approval of the
guilty to helping the three others hinder the federal inves- tion do not impose on the development plan, even with
tigation. National Park Service curators had been stymied township “an affirmative conditions, was contrary to a
by uncooperative winter weather in trying to remove the duty…to enact legislation township’s affi rmative duty to
last remnants of the paint from the rock’s many pores and providing for noise regulation protect the Appalachian Trail’s
crevices. in or near the trail.” “natural, scenic, historic, and
The developer’s faulty esti- esthetic values.”
10 MAY–JUNE 2005