The Levines both grew up in New York City. Liz is from the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, near Ebbets Field, which was home to the Brooklyn Dodgers for more than forty years. Ron grew up in Jamaica, Queens, in an apartment looking out on the elevated train tracks. Every thirty or forty-five seconds, the trains’ ear-shattering clatter would shake the building. “It was really urban living,” Ron recalls.
Urban living may seem an unlikely start to a shared love of the outdoors and hiking, but Liz’s family had a country home that had introduced her to the pleasures of a retreat from the city. “I’m sure that country oasis had a lot to do with her willingness to let me encourage her to hike the Trail with me,” Ron says. “After a very short time, I didn’t need to encourage her anymore. She was enjoying the Trail very much.”
When Ron completed his two-year U.S. Public Health Service commitment, the state health department asked him to stay on, and he eventually became the State Health Director of North Carolina. Liz joined a dermatology practice where she enjoyed the challenge of treating local patients of all ages. She also dedicated her time to the state’s medical community as president of the North Carolina Medical Society and later as president of the Licensing Board for the state’s physicians.
Living in North Carolina was a big adjustment for them, but they knew that putting down roots in Raleigh offered career opportunities and a place to raise a family that a return to New York could not match. Another reason to settle in North Carolina was the easy access to the Appalachian Trail.
The Levines hiked the Trail in sections, focusing on the southern parts first, like the southern terminus at Springer Mountain in Georgia. Over time, they made it as far as New Hampshire, almost to the Trail’s northern terminus in Maine. “If we had gone north to south, I think we would have been better able to deal with the weather, rocks, and ice we encountered in the north,” Ron says. Tackling the Appalachian Trail inspired the Levines to hike in Greece, Iceland, South America, and the Swiss Alps.
Ron also volunteered with maintaining crews on the A.T. in North Carolina and Tennessee. It started when he ran into a crew on the Trail. “They told me they needed everyone they could get. So I volunteered several times. It was fun.”
The Levines recently made a gift to support future operations of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Like many other hikers, Liz and Ron first learned about the ATC through its plentiful trail maps and guides and became members. When they decided to support the ATC financially, they invested time thinking and speaking with ATC staff about the impact of a potential gift.
One point was constant: “We wanted the gift to support future generations of hikers,” Liz says.
In 2023, thirty Ridgerunners had nearly 68,000 hiker interactions along the Trail. The ATC hopes to expand the Ridgerunner Program’s success by scaling up the program to double its impact, adding positions and lengthening seasons where visitation trends and resource impacts highlight the need. This goal will require enhanced financial support for transportation, gear, training, and supervision.
“Given the length of the A.T., you don’t have the chance to always meet up with Trail staff, so supplementing the work with folks on the ground felt like a great way to educate and inspire hikers into the future,” says Liz. They are proud to support a program that will have a positive impact on the hiking experience for all and for the Trail itself.
The Levines note that their gift coincides with the ATC’s 100th anniversary. “It’s really meaningful for us because we’re turning 90 while they’re turning 100,” Ron points out. “They’re barely older than we are and look at how much they are doing!”