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Fall 2020
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contents / fall 2020
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Time spent on the Trail is just the beginning of a greater connection to the outdoors
All the latest dirt along the Trail
Postponing a dream
Eastern brook trout
An A.T.-inspired symphony

ON THE COVER
Janet Lake and her granddaughter
Josephine Decker enjoy the Trail at
Lovers Leap in Hot Springs, North
Carolina – By Sarah Jones Decker 


Above: A.T. – Pochuck Boardwalk,
New Jersey – By Raymond Salani III

Every A.T. volunteer creates their own meaningful experience
There is far more than one way to enjoy the Trail
Access to outdoor spaces like the Trail is essential
Inspiring the next generation to protect the natural world
The A.T.’s first impression has a positive ripple effect
The therapeutic effects of hiking
Inspired poetry and art
contents / fall 2020
Image o ftext
Time spent on the Trail is just the beginning of a greater connection to the outdoors

ON THE COVER
Janet Lake and her granddaughter
Josephine Decker enjoy the Trail at
Lovers Leap in Hot Springs, North
Carolina – By Sarah Jones Decker 


Above: A.T. – Pochuck Boardwalk,
New Jersey – By Raymond Salani III

All the latest dirt along the Trail
Postponing a dream
Eastern brook trout
An A.T.-inspired symphony
Every A.T. volunteer creates their own meaningful experience
There is far more than one way to enjoy the Trail
Access to outdoor spaces like the Trail is essential
Inspiring the next generation to protect the natural world
The A.T.’s first impression has a positive ripple effect
The therapeutic effects of hiking
Inspired poetry and art
AT Journey's Logo for Fall 2020
ATC Executive Leadership

Sandra Marra / President & CEO
Nicole Prorock / Chief Financial Officer
Shalin Desai / Vice President of Advancement
Laura Belleville / Vice President of Conservation & Trail Programs
Cherie A. Nikosey / Vice President of Administration
Brian B. King / Publisher & Archivist

A.T. Journeys

Wendy K. Probst / Editor in Chief
Traci Anfuso-Young / Art Director / Designer

Contributors

Jordan Bowman / Director of Communications
Laurie Potteiger / Information Services Manager
Brittany Jennings / Proofreader

MISSION
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s mission is to protect, manage, and advocate for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.
Board of Directors

Colin Beasley / Chair
Robert Hutchinson / Vice Chair
Edward R. Guyot / Secretary
Jim LaTorre / Treasurer
Daniel A. Howe / Stewardship Council Chair
Grant Davies
Norman P. Findley
Thomas L. Gregg
John Knapp, Jr.
Ann Heilman Murphy
Colleen Peterson
Eboni Preston
Nathan G. Rogers
Rubén Rosales
Patricia D. Shannon
Rajinder (Raj) Singh
Ambreen Tariq

PRESIDENT’S LEADERSHIP CIRCLE

Hon. Stephanie Martz
Diana Christopulos
Jim Fetig
Lisa Koteen Gerchick
Mark Kent
R. Michael Leonard
Robert Rich
Hon. C. Stewart Verdery, Jr.

© 2020 Appalachian Trail Conservancy. All rights reserved.
Membership

For membership questions or to become a member, call: (304) 885-0460

[email protected]

Advertising

A.T. Journeys is published four times per year. Advertising revenues directly support the publication and production of the magazine, and help meet Appalachian Trail Conservancy objectives. For more information and advertising rates, visit: appalachiantrail.org/atjadvertising

MISSION
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s mission is to protect, manage, and advocate for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

Board of Directors

Colin Beasley / Chair
Robert Hutchinson / Vice Chair
Edward R. Guyot / Secretary
Jim LaTorre / Treasurer
Daniel A. Howe / Stewardship Council Chair
Grant Davies
Norman P. Findley
Thomas L. Gregg
John Knapp, Jr.
Ann Heilman Murphy
Colleen Peterson
Eboni Preston
Nathan G. Rogers
Rubén Rosales
Patricia D. Shannon
Rajinder (Raj) Singh
Ambreen Tariq

PRESIDENT’S LEADERSHIP CIRCLE

Hon. Stephanie Martz
Diana Christopulos
Jim Fetig
Lisa Koteen Gerchick
Mark Kent
R. Michael Leonard
Robert Rich
Hon. C. Stewart Verdery, Jr.

© 2020 Appalachian Trail Conservancy. All rights reserved.
The staff of A.T. Journeys welcomes editorial inquiries, suggestions, and comments. Email: [email protected] Observations, conclusions, opinions, and product endorsements expressed in A.T. Journeys are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of members of the board or staff of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

A.T. Journeys is published on Somerset matte paper manufactured by Sappi North America mills and distributors that follow responsible forestry practices. It is printed with Soy Seal certified ink in the U.S.A. by Sheridan NH in Hanover, New Hampshire.

A.T. Journeys ( ISSN 1556-2751) is published quarterly for $15 a year by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, 799 Washington Street, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425, (304) 535-6331. Bulk-rate postage paid at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and other offices. Postmaster: Send change-of-address Form 3575 to A.T. Journeys, P.O. Box 807, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425.

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Contributors
Contributors

For as long as I can remember I have been captivated by flowing water; where it comes from, where it goes and all that happens along the way…Trails are like that too. And working where these two things constantly intersect is a great boon for me.

~Matt Stevens

Chloë de Camara headshot

Chloë de Camara
Chloë de Camara has spent most of her life in western North Carolina. Although she lived in Europe for a year during college, thru-hiked the A.T. in 2015, and lived inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for approximately two years, North Carolina has always called her back. Growing up the youngest of five kids made finding solitude in the outdoors a welcomed respite. “I love meeting new people and learning how they connect to the outdoors,” she says. Chloë has been working with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) since 2015, managing ridgerunners, educating novice hikers on how to hike the A.T., and working with professional educators and students finding creative ways to incorporate public lands into standardized curriculum. Her current role as the ATC’s Trail education specialist suits her perfectly. (Beyond Hiking page 28)

Carmen Kraus headshot

Carmen Kraus
Carmen Kraus is a scientist and artist from Athens, Georgia, a city that has the distinction of being a two-hour drive from Springer Mountain. After completing dual bachelor’s degrees in ecology and science illustration and a master’s in plant genetics, she hoped to finally hit the Trail. The pandemic ruined her plans of a 2020 thru-hike (Postponing a Dream page 44), but that setback has only increased her determination to complete the Trail someday. A clip of her story was recently included in “Where We Walk,” from the podcast She Explores. “I didn’t have the A.T. experience I wanted or planned for this year, so sharing my story with ‘Where We Walk’ and A.T. Journeys was very powerful for me,” she says. “It has honestly made me feel more a part of the Trail community — a community I was so devastated to leave in March.” Carmen’s chosen luxury items for backpacking are a sketchbook and her favorite brush tip pens.

Keane Southard headshot

Keane Southard
Keane Southard is a composer and pianist from New England. He hiked the New England portion of the A.T. in 2016 and then composed a symphony inspired by the experience, which was commissioned by a consortium of orchestras around New England and has been performed four times to date. Keane received his B.M. in music composition and theory from Baldwin Wallace University, his M.M. in composition from the University of Colorado-Boulder, and is currently a Ph.D. student in composition at the Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester). “I was interested in writing this article because my experience hiking the A.T. was life changing, and I was able to keep that experience alive and share it with others in a unique way,” says Keane. (Parting Thought page 54) He would love to hike the rest of the A.T. one day and perhaps compose another symphony or two inspired by it.

Matt Stevens headshot

Matt Stevens
Originally from central New York, Matt Stevens now lives in New Hampshire’s Connecticut River Valley where he serves as the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s (ATC) conservation resources manager for Vermont and New Hampshire. Matt came to the ATC after earning a Master’s degree in Resource Management in 2001. His first steps on the A.T. were at Vermont’s Clarendon Gorge while searching for Mill River brook trout in 1985. “It was unintentional,” he says. “I was looking for a way to get down to the water and this little trail with white blazes took me right where I wanted to be.” That experience eventually led to three seasons as a field staff member with the Green Mountain Club. “For as long as I can remember I have been captivated by flowing water; where it comes from, where it goes and all that happens along the way,” Matt says. “Trails are like that too. And working where these two things constantly intersect is a great boon for me.” (Indigenous: Eastern Brook Trout page 46)

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President’s Letter
President’s Letter
Sandra Marra hiking on the trail
Sandi on the section of Trail she and her husband Chris Brunton have been maintaining together for 25 years.
Recreation &
Responsibility
Sandi on the section of Trail she and her husband Chris Brunton have been maintaining together for 25 years.
THE VERY FIRST TIME I REMEMBER SETTING FOOT on the Appalachian Trail was in the pitch dark on a cold night. I was a new recruit to the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, and they had a work weekend scheduled at the Blackburn Trail Center. It was that kind of perfect crisp, fall weather and the cabin was rustic but welcoming with a lovely wood burning stove and warm cooked meal at the end of the day (I believe we were prefabbing privy boxes). After dinner (and a couple glasses of wine) the leader of the crew announced: “Time for a walk to the view” — after which the regulars quickly doffed coats and boots and hats and started out the door and up the path toward the outbuilding, called the Carriage House. The original trail from Blackburn to the A.T. was a quarter mile or so straight up, around rocks and trees, and not the easiest route for a total novice. But the biggest challenge wasn’t the trail up — it was the fact that Blackburn tradition dictated that the night hike to the view had to be done sans flashlights.
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Letters
Letters
The A.T. Experience Book Cover Image

IT’S GREAT THAT THE ATC IS TAKING a strong stand for racial justice. When I thru-hiked the A.T. in 1978, I took note of the paucity of people of color. While my memory is somewhat hazy of some 42 years ago, I remember seeing black and brown hikers only in the Bear Mountain State Park area in New York and within maybe one or two large church groups on the Trail for a day hike. Through issues of A.T. Journeys, I’ve also taken note of the increasing deliberate efforts of the ATC to reach out to communities of color to involve them in Trail activities, including Trail maintenance, history, and use. I greatly applaud these efforts of ATC staff and A.T. volunteers up and down the Trail. Keep it going. You have my support.

Robert Rosofsky
Milton, Massachusetts

SANDRA MARRA’S COMMENTS (President’s Letter: “Shifting Perspectives and Realities” Summer 2020) show true insight into the long view of what the Trail should be. Let it be accepting to all, let us find mechanisms to make it more accessible to those who cannot afford getting to it, and let it be appreciated as more than just a foot pathway.

Peter A. “Turtur” Farrell, PhD
Washington, North Carolina
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Recreation as a Gateway typography
By Sarah Jones Decker
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The author’s husband Morgan Decker with their daughter Josephine at Lover’s Leap along the Trail in Hot Springs, North Carolina – By Sarah Jones Decker
There are countless stories typography
that could fill these pages of how and why we recreate on the Appalachian Trail and the opportunities it can bring us. My story is just one of many connections to the Trail that is less about hiking and more about the A.T. doing what it does best: connecting people from all over the world to nature and allowing its visitors to reap its long list of mental, physical, and creative benefits. Beyond the fabled “walk in the woods,” the Trail has changed people’s lives long after they leave it. Being on the A.T. can be the spark that can ignite a lifetime love affair with the outdoors and become a gateway to endless opportunities.
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Enjoy the View
SINCE THE A.T. TRAVERSES SO MANY REGIONS, THE VIEWS ALONG ITS 2,193 MILES VARY SIGNIFICANTLY, SOMETIMES EVEN WITHIN A FEW MILES. From craggy mountains in North Georgia, to rolling farmlands in Pennsylvania, to the rugged Saddleback Range in Maine, the Trail provides visitors with a diversity of views to admire, each tied to the environments surrounding the footpath. And while each view may differ in scope and composition, all of them are important to preserving the irreplaceable A.T. experience, and all of them inspire us for a wide variety of reasons.
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Great American Outdoors Act
AMERICA’S PUBLIC LANDS RECEIVED ITS GREATEST BOOST IN DECADES THIS AUGUST WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMP SIGNED THE GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT INTO LAW. This historic Act will provide billions of dollars for public lands projects ranging from landscape preservation to infrastructure improvements.

“This is a great day for our national parks, forests, and public lands, and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy sends its thanks for the overwhelming support the Great American Outdoors Act received from Congress, the President, and outdoor enthusiasts around the nation,” said Sandra Marra, president & CEO of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC). “The Act will help ensure irreplaceable national treasures like the Appalachian Trail are protected and have the funding they need to enhance safety and accessibility for future generations to enjoy and benefit from.”

trailhead


A.T. in Autumn near Delaware Water
Gap and Buttermilk Falls – New Jersey
– By Raymond Salani III
UPDATE

A.T. in Autumn near Delaware Water
Gap and Buttermilk Falls – New Jersey
– By Raymond Salani III
Cowpasture Supreme Court Decision
In June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court released its decision in the case of United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association, overturning the ruling made by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2019. This first-ever decision on the National Trails System Act is understood to keep in place the Cooperative Management System that tens of thousands of Appalachian Trail volunteers, professionals, and agency partners have collaborated under for decades.

“What will not change, no matter how this decision impacts pipeline permitting rights, is the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s [ATC]dedication to protecting, managing, and advocating for the A.T. in coordination with our federal, state, and regional partners,” says the ATC’s president and CEO Sandra Marra. “It is through this Cooperative Management System that we ensure the Trail has the resources and expertise required to protect the A.T. forever and for all to enjoy.”

trailhead

Deer Drawing
Hunting Season Safety
Hunting regulations vary widely along the Appalachian Trail. Although the A.T. is a unit of the National Park System, it traverses a patchwork quilt of public lands managed for many different purposes. Hunting is permitted within close proximity of some parts of the A.T. in every Trail state. Many segments of the A.T. in Pennsylvania, and a few other areas, are game lands managed primarily for hunting. Hikers are advised to wear fluorescent orange visible from 360 degrees and take other precautions. Both hikers and hunters are advised to “know before you go.”
For more information and to see ATC’s “2020-2021 Hunting Season Guide by State” visit: appalachiantrail.org/hunting
Annual Membership Meeting
Annual Membership Meeting
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) hosted its 2020 Annual Membership Meeting on September 12, 2020. During the meeting, updates were shared by the ATC’s president and CEO, Sandra Marra, chairman of the ATC Board, Colin Beasley, and ATC Board treasurer, Jim LaTorre.
The meeting included the following:

■ Jim LaTorre shared the key results of ATC’s 2019 finances and 2020 midyear financial highlights.

■ Sandra Marra shared the ATC’s 2021-2024 Strategic Plan. The objective of this plan is to strengthen the foundation of ATC, with a value on connection, as well as a focus on the upcoming 2025 centenary for the ATC.

■ A Q&A session, hosted by Sandra, Colin, and Jim, covered the topics of the ATC’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion work, the organization’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the value of ATC’s membership, among other topics.

Image of Leaf
Image of Why We Volunteer
By Leanna Joyner
The word “recreation” has its roots in the Latin word meaning “to create, to bring forth,” which is a fitting way to think about all the ways volunteers refuel themselves while benefiting something bigger. That they choose to spend their time in this way is not insignificant.
“Recreation and leisure are about recharging your batteries. Sometimes doing something useful and productive can be more battery-charging than watching TV,” says Roanoke A.T. Club volunteer Kathryn Herndon-Powell, who also works as the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s (ATC) education and outreach coordinator.

A.T. visionary Benton MacKaye thought that the undeveloped power of people — if applied — could do great things, and he felt that it would be all the more meaningful if it were done of one’s own volition, which he described as leisure.

Image of Illustration
Image of Why We Volunteer
By Leanna Joyner
The word “recreation” has its roots in the Latin word meaning “to create, to bring forth,” which is a fitting way to think about all the ways volunteers refuel themselves while benefiting something bigger. That they choose to spend their time in this way is not insignificant.
“Recreation and leisure are about recharging your batteries. Sometimes doing something useful and productive can be more battery-charging than watching TV,” says Roanoke A.T. Club volunteer Kathryn Herndon-Powell, who also works as the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s (ATC) education and outreach coordinator.

A.T. visionary Benton MacKaye thought that the undeveloped power of people — if applied — could do great things, and he felt that it would be all the more meaningful if it were done of one’s own volition, which he described as leisure.

“One hundred percent leisure,” responded 2019 Konnarock volunteer Deborah Carter McCoy when asked if she considered finding, hauling, cutting, and stabilizing rock for stone steps was leisure. “The reason I say that is I enjoy being outside. I enjoy gardening; granted, it’s not gardening. I enjoy being close to the Earth. My Konnarock work was an interesting way to be in nature, and close to the Earth in a way I’ve never experienced before. It was relaxing. You could see your progress. You were physically moving and working, but it didn’t feel like work,” she says. “I have an office job as a writer and editor and my profession is how I frame ‘work,’ so for me to do something completely different was fun. I was away from my desk. I didn’t have to look at the computer screen. I was able to shut my brain off in much the same way as when I am on vacation.”

Beyond Text
Hiking Text
There is far more than one way to enjoy the Trail
Image of Flowers
Beyond Text
Hiking Text
There is far more than one way to enjoy the Trail
By Chloë de Camara 
Last Spring, I was scouting a route for a backpacking course in Grayson Highlands with my colleague, Kathryn. Kathryn and I are opposites when it comes to hiking styles. She packs heavy, I pack a little lighter, she takes note of her surroundings, I usually keep my head down and get lost in my thoughts. We had made it through most of the day without much excitement — that was until I heard a sudden gasp from Kathryn. I instinctively looked up expecting some sort of wildlife but didn’t see anything. I tracked her eyes toward the ground to realized that she was over-the-moon excited about a painted trillium flower. Her first trillium of the season, she declared. I didn’t even know trilliums were out, and, honestly, had never paid much attention to when they started appearing on the Appalachian Trail.
Image of Flowers
By Chloë de Camara 
Last Spring, I was scouting a route for a backpacking course in Grayson Highlands with my colleague, Kathryn. Kathryn and I are opposites when it comes to hiking styles. She packs heavy, I pack a little lighter, she takes note of her surroundings, I usually keep my head down and get lost in my thoughts. We had made it through most of the day without much excitement — that was until I heard a sudden gasp from Kathryn. I instinctively looked up expecting some sort of wildlife but didn’t see anything. I tracked her eyes toward the ground to realized that she was over-the-moon excited about a painted trillium flower. Her first trillium of the season, she declared. I didn’t even know trilliums were out, and, honestly, had never paid much attention to when they started appearing on the Appalachian Trail.
Text by Alivia Acosta; Photos by Julian Diamond text
Destination... the great outdoors title
Expanding Access / Outdoor Recreation: Train Ticket, Transit to Trails Act & Train 2 Trails ticket

A.T. Pawling Boardwalk over the Great Swamp

When staring up at the constellations on the ceiling of Grand Central Station in New York City, it was almost impossible for me as a young person born and raised in Yonkers, New York, to imagine that within two hours I could be on the Appalachian Trail. It is, however, possible. In 1991, a small wooden platform was placed on the Metro North’s Harlem line just a few steps from where the A.T. crosses the railroad tracks, offering service on weekdays and holidays. The “Appalachian Trail Station” became —and remains — the only location other than Harpers Ferry, West Virginia to offer direct train access to the A.T. My first experience with this station came in 2017, when, as a member of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s (ATC) Next Generation Advisory Council (NextGen), I worked with the Harlem Valley Appalachian Trail Community, National Parks Conservation Association, and Groundwork Hudson Valley to bring a group of high school students from Yonkers, New York to the A.T. via the Metro North as a part of the Trains 2 Trails program.
The Future of Conservation typography
Red Square divider
Next
Generation
Forest
Ambassadors
Red Square divider
By Julie Judkins and Chloë de Camara

The phrase “love you” doesn’t exist in the Cherokee language. It must be claimed with the pronoun, GeGayYouAh, or I love you, to communicate its significance and meaning. Gil Jackson, of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, taught NextGen Forest Ambassadors words in his first language of Cherokee, along with other legends connected to lands that we now call our national forests and the Appalachian Trail.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) co-hosts NextGen Summits that strengthen community connection to the landscape and create conservation networks to expand employment and stewardship opportunities for young people. The Next Generation Forest Ambassador program is a four-day/three-night youth summit hosted by the Georgia Mountains Children’s Forest Network, a coalition of partners hosting programs to connect young people to the outdoors in Georgia. Approximately 25 teenage ambassadors come together annually to learn about public lands, leadership, careers, and how to be “change leaders” as stewards in their communities. Paired one to one with mentors in conservation careers and influencers, ambassadors complete stewardship projects and are awarded small stipends for successful completion.
Fred Tutman
Tysha Robinson
Eboni Preston
First Encounters of the Trail Kind typography
Fred Tutman hiking in the Trinity Alps in northern California
Fred Tutman hiking in the Trinity Alps in northern California
By Fred Tutman
Passion for Protection typography
uppercase letter My initial connections to the Appalachian Trail came about purely by fortunate accident. In the 1980s and 1990s, I spent lots of time backpacking and hiking as my primary reason for working — literally, in order to be able to afford to go hiking and exploring in as many spaces and places I could. In the process, I became very familiar with parts of the Appalachian Trail and I guided several hikes on sections familiar to me.
by Eliane Coates
By Eliane Coates
It was the summer of 2015 and I was living in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia working as the visitor service intern at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC). It was a summer filled with magic as I met thru-hikers and assisted them as they came through town, each on their own incredible journey. It didn’t take long before I became totally wrapped up in Trail culture. I was around hikers all day while at my internship, and then helped help them out with errands in my free time after the workday as well. The idea of doing my own thru-hike did cross my mind but seemed like a distant dream.

As this special summer came to a close, my life as I had known it came to what felt like a spinning halt. Within about a month, I found out that both of my parents were sick with cancer. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and my father with pancreatic cancer. I did not know what had hit me. Before I had even absorbed this new reality, my dad passed away in October 2015 and I put my life on pause to be with my mom as her primary caregiver. 

Those were the longest fall and winter months that I can remember, or not — because I was experiencing the shock that can often accompany grief. But during the sadness of the long winter, the glimmer of an idea started to take root. I realized that the time for my own thru-hike had come. To me, it seemed like the best way to get out and begin to process the loss of my dad. I decided I would embark on my thru-hike in March of 2016. I was 22 years old.

by Eliane Coates
By Eliane Coates
It was the summer of 2015 and I was living in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia working as the visitor service intern at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC). It was a summer filled with magic as I met thru-hikers and assisted them as they came through town, each on their own incredible journey. It didn’t take long before I became totally wrapped up in Trail culture. I was around hikers all day while at my internship, and then helped help them out with errands in my free time after the workday as well. The idea of doing my own thru-hike did cross my mind but seemed like a distant dream.

As this special summer came to a close, my life as I had known it came to what felt like a spinning halt. Within about a month, I found out that both of my parents were sick with cancer. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and my father with pancreatic cancer. I did not know what had hit me. Before I had even absorbed this new reality, my dad passed away in October 2015 and I put my life on pause to be with my mom as her primary caregiver.

Those were the longest fall and winter months that I can remember, or not — because I was experiencing the shock that can often accompany grief. But during the sadness of the long winter, the glimmer of an idea started to take root. I realized that the time for my own thru-hike had come. To me, it seemed like the best way to get out and begin to process the loss of my dad. I decided I would embark on my thru-hike in March of 2016. I was 22 years old.

Trail as Muse typography
poet
Ted Mathys
Ted Mathys headshot
The poem “Appalachian Trail” previously appeared in Null Set, Coffee House Press, 2015 – Photo by Virginia Harold
Appalachian Trail
I am in the
main on the

mend I am in
Maine on the

wagon on
Katahdin in

an animal
skin I am a

pencilmaker
breaking

a stolen mirror
metaphor over

the peak to
make Maine

lakes glint in
sun I broke

like a main
clause over

the forest of the
page and paused

to drink from a
literal canteen

trail stories
trail stories
Foggy view from Blood Mountain
Postponing a Dream
Text and photo by Carmen Kraus

I STUMBLED ON THE ROCKY Trail down from Blood Mountain, catching myself on my trekking poles. I could barely see. Rolling clouds of fog obscured the landscape, turning what I assume were stunning vistas into dense white walls. My eyes were clouded as well, but with brimming tears. I knew in my gut that I would have to leave the Appalachian Trail.

I dreamed of the A.T. for 10 years. I had hiked the A.T. Approach Trail in 2010 on a weekend trip with my parents. I vividly remember standing atop Springer Mountain and seeing the Trail continuing before us, twisting and turning and tempting me onward. That moment planted a seed in my soul, and I knew one day I would follow that enticing Trail along its entire length.

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Indigenous
Eastern
Brook
Trout
By Matt Stevens
Salvelinus fontinalis.

The name rolls off the tongue like cool water slides through mossy cobbles in a shaded mountain stream. And fitting that it should; it translates to little salmon of the fount, or spring. Eastern brook trout is a member of the salmonid family and shares many physical characteristics, but it is neither a salmon nor a trout. Fish in the Salvelinus genus are collectively called char and, along with the brook trout, include bull trout, lake trout, dolly varden, and Arctic char. Depending on who — or rather where — you ask, you’ll hear this native eastern fish called brook trout, brookie, squaretail, speckled trout, speck, coaster, salter, and other colorful names.

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Inspired Leadership
Inspired Leadership - Ambreen Tariq

As the founder of @BrownPeopleCamping — a social media platform dedicated to promoting greater diversity in our public lands through storytelling and the power of visual representation — Ambreen Tariq utilizes storytelling to share how her life experiences as a Muslim, and a South-Asian American immigrant female have shaped her love for the outdoors.

In her day job, Ambreen is a non-practicing attorney who works for the federal government in Washington, D.C. As an Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) Board member, she hopes to promote more diversity on the Trail. Through @BrownPeopleCamping, she has collaborated with various non-profit organizations and partners in the private sector to promote diversity in the outdoors. Her writing has been published in Outside magazine, and she has been profiled by the The New York TimesSELF magazine, CNN, Health, and Elite Daily among others. She is a brand ambassador for Merrell and formerly for Airstream and REI, and was celebrated as a BIPOC Outdoor Influencer by Matador Network. She is also the co-founder of Outdoor Muslims and sits on the advisory council for the Sierra Club.

Ambreen is featured in the book She ExploresStories of Life-Changing Adventures on the Road and in the Wild and profiled in Falcon Guide’s Women Who Hike – a book that inspired the new ATC podcast of the same name. She has an especially deep devotion to youth education and has recently written her first book for children: Fatima’s Great Outdoors, about an immigrant family that embarks on their first camping trip in the Midwest.

“My goal is to promote more passionately for everyone to experience and enjoy the outdoors in their own authentic ways, ”Ambreen says. “I strive to achieve these goals in order to help grow our community of people who, having developed personal connections to the environment, will feel invested in protecting it and advocating for its future wellbeing.”

Inspired Leadership - R. Michael Leonard

Mike Leonard’s first encounter with the Appalachian Trail happened when he was 16 years old during a camping trip with his older brother near Newfound Gap on the Tennessee/North Carolina border. “I saw the sign that gave the distance to Katahdin and it just fascinated me,” he says. “I told my brother I would like to hike at least part of that one day.” Sure enough, his first big adventure was later that year when he hiked with a couple of friends on the A.T. across the Smokies. “That trip had such a huge impact on me. We hiked up on Fontana Dam from Shuckstack and it struck me that working hard to get to that view added something that I had never experienced or could experience being in a car,” he says. “That hike was informative. Things that are hard to do are more rewarding than things that are easy to do. It became a mantra for me and changed the way I approached school and changed all kinds of things in my life. Doing it the hard way is the best.”

Mike is a partner at Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he specializes in multi-jurisdictional litigation. He has logged many pro bono hours assisting conservation organizations with large land acquisition projects and the use of conservation easements, including trail corridor projects along the Appalachian Trail. He received his J.D. from University of North Carolina School of Law and he is the former chair of The Conservation Fund’s (TCF) Board of Directors. As a member of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s President’s Leader Circle, Mike brings an intense devotion to land conservation along the Trail. “I’m just proud to have some kind of role at [the] ATC,” he says.

“Land conservation is incremental. If you work at something year in and out, then what you can achieve over a 20 to 25-year period is astounding,” Mike says. “What non-profits like the ATC and TCF do is they keep going back. I’ve been working on land conservation since Jimmy Carter was President. In the land conservation arena, I can’t think of one administration where we have not achieved something. You just keep going back and [keep everyone focused]. They come and go. We don’t. We are always there.”

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Trail Giving

Trail Giving
Transformational Giving
By Royce Gibson
Bill Farkas near his home in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania – photo by historian and author Peter Osborne
In Appreciation of William W. “Bill” Farkas 1938 — 2020 ~

As a former director of development at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), I am often amazed by the sheer number of individuals who have been involved with ATC’s work for years, even decades. Bill Farkas was one of those individuals. For over 30 years, he was a longtime donor, Life Member, Horizon Society Member, open space enthusiast, and generally great friend to the ATC. I had the honor of getting to know him personally and was very saddened by his passing earlier this year.

Having worked at the ATC for over a decade, I had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with many volunteers and donors. Every donor has their own story about why they give. A few years ago, I shared some of Bill’s story in A.T. Journeys. He was so excited to be profiled and I had a unique experience in writing the article.

Parting Thought
Parting Thought
Keane on the A.T. in the White Mountains

Growing up in Massachusetts, I learned about the Appalachian Trail during many family trips to Vermont and New Hampshire. I was fascinated by the idea of a path stretching over 2,000 miles and I dreamed of hiking it one day. Years later, after I started to compose music, my dream to hike became intermingled with the idea of composing a piece inspired by that hike. Armed with my hiking gear plus a small digital audio recorder and notebook of staff paper, I set off in the summer of 2016 with the Trail name “Mozart.” My plan was to hike the New England portion of the Trail and then compose an “Appalachian Trail Symphony.”

The symphony is divided into five movements — one for each state I hiked through — and each is roughly proportional to the length of Trail in each state: Connecticut’s 51 miles turns into two minutes of music while Maine’s 282 miles becomes about ten minutes. The symphony essentially compresses my two-month hike into a half hour of music. My hope is to transport listeners to the sites, sounds, and terrain as they move along with me on my journey.

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