Letters
Letters
A.T. Journeys Winter 2020 Issue cover image

THE WINTER 2020 ISSUE OF A.T. Journeys is the best one I’ve seen.  I like the way the articles (a) consider the whole corridor and (b) refer positively to other cooperating organizations (and not take all the credit for ATC). Nice work.

Rupert Cutler
Roanoke, Virginia

JUST OPENED THE WINTER 2020 online version of A.T. Journeys and it looks great! This should be an enormous help in spreading the word about ATC and its priorities. I am teaching a class this semester on U.S. Environmental History and Public Policy and we are using Tangled Roots: The Appalachian Trail and American Environmental Politics by Sarah Mittlefehldt as major reading — with study of public/private partnerships for land acquisition as a major theme. It will be so great to be able to give the students access to “A Panoramic Purpose” — the article that explains a broader vision for landscape protection along the Trail — and hopefully get more of them involved in this kind of work. Well done.

Diana Christopulos
Salem, Virginia

I TRULY ENJOYED THE “SKY Begins at Your Feet” article in the Fall 2019 issue — and the entire fall publication. If we can at the very least get people to [install] motion sensors in the lighting of their homes and businesses, this would offer security for those of that mind set, but also offer darkness for nature and nature lovers. Keep up the good work.

Dennis Gerhart
Newark, Delaware

THE MOST IMPRESSIVE PART of my thru-hike [besides not experiencing any sickness or injury. Shoot, I didn’t even get a blister on my foot], was the countless encounters with wildlife. Most notable was while doing work-for-stay on Lake Onawa in Maine. While out in a canoe, I observed the most beautiful bald eagle courtship I had ever seen. After watching an eagle majestically swoop in and land on a tree top on an island in the lake, I listened as he made the most curious chatter. Not long after, he swooped off again, flying directly towards me. Soon after he took off, another eagle, the female he had been chatting with, followed off into the distance and they disappeared together over the mountains. Stunning!

Timothy “Grok” Lamley
New Haven, Indiana
REFLECTING BACK ON MY hike, my A.T. experience was more about gratitude and thanksgiving, than about accomplishment. So many people and events demonstrated the sheer goodness and kindness of this world as opposed to, often, the general consensus that the world is spinning out of control.
Robert “Highwayman” Gillespie
Kintnersville, Pennsylvania
A.T. Journeys welcomes your comments.
The editors are committed to providing balanced and objective perspectives. Not all letters received may be published. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.
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Letters to the Editor
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
P.O. Box 807
Harpers Ferry, WV 25425-0807

Trail Talk
Instagram Icon - Mention by @itsme.ruthie sjmaclellan
Thank you! You help to make the Trail the best experience for all of us hikers — appreciate all of the efforts!
Instagram Icon - Mention by @barefoothiker redebrasileiradetrilhas
Volunteer Trail crew! The best kind of people anywhere in the world. Building a world united by trails. Keep up the good work!
Facebook Icon - Mention by Lodge My husband and I went to Harpers Ferry on our 1st anniversary in 2016 and visited the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. We decided to buy a map and hike out to the Ed Garvey shelter and back. We instantly fell in love with the A.T. We came back to the ATC and bought an A.T. passport & got it stamped. Now we section hike every anniversary & get our passports stamped as a memento. This past anniversary we did Bennington VT to Manchester Center VT!
~ Brandy Polster
Facebook Icon - Mention by Lodge I finally convinced my kids that hiking was worth the work after a long hike on the A.T. to Charlies Bunion in the Smokies. They agreed that the views were worth the sore legs! My youngest is now my #1 hiking buddy and especially loves a good overlook!
~ Jackie McFarland
Facebook Icon - Mention by Lodge Nothing like the NY Section, particularly Bear Mountain! One of my favorite (and probably the most personally meaningful) stretches of the A.T. for me. You’ve all done some incredible work there, much appreciated!
~ Joseph Dell’Aquila
Facebook Icon - Mention by Lodge Trail maintenance — the best kind of Trail magic. It’s keeps on giving.
~ Michelle Moody
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