Friday, April 15, 2005

Elon College on the A.T.

Elon College's web site carries a note from 14 April 2005 that "Elon Outdoors is taking a trip backpacking on the Appalachian Trail April 22nd through the 24th," 2005. Pretty much restricted to students (and faculty?), I'm sure.

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Big Mountain Shelter Dedicated

In the 13 April 2005 issue of the Fulton County News of McConnellsburg, PA there was an article by Barb Leese titled "Overnight Shelter for Hikers Dedicated Sunday" that told of the dedication of Big Mountain Shelter in Buchanan State Forest by members of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.

Hiking Against Hunger (the World Kind!)

At the web site www.noticias.info there's a story that looks like a press release from "Action Against Hunger" about a pair of Appalachian Trail hikers setting off to raise money for the organization.

It's dated 13 April 2005 and annouces that the "spirited pair" will set off on their hike (future tense) on 26 February 2005. At noon.

The pair is Erica Zelfand, 20, from Sharon, Massachusetts, and Timothy Crespi, from Pearl River, New York. She "grew up on the Appalachian Trail in Massachusetts and has wanted to make the hike since she was a girl." Talked her boyfriend into making the hike with her.

"To make their hike more than just symbolic, Zelfand and Crespi wanted to partner with an organization that focuses specifically on hunger and to raise funds for effective programs. After researching numerous relief organizations, they chose Action Against Hunger."

"For those interested in making a donation or learning more about the efforts of Erica Zelfand and Tim Crespi, please visit their website, hikeagainsthunger.blogspot.com."

[Their website is still up and running as of 6 February 2007! -- kind of surprising in the world of the disappearing web -- and the top entry, dated 1 August 2005, says "we have completed our hike." An earlier entry, dated 11 May 2005, includes this: "Because we have a deadline by which we must be done with our adventure (the third week of July), we have thus decided to drop the silly notion of hiking the whole trail by rushing through it. In short: we are skipping the Pennsylvania and New Jersey sections of the trail. We are now in New York, and plan to hike from here to the end of the trail in Maine without skipping a mile. Although we are no longer considered "thru-hikers" on the trail, we are nonetheless enthusiastic about hiking a really big section, and we’re just as excited about being able to hike at a comfortable pace. Our new plan not only allows us to enjoy the hike more, but also allots time for us to do a one-week work-for-stay at the Kripalu Yoga Center in Lenox, Massachusetts when we hike through the area."]

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

J.R."Model T." Tate Speaks

There's a note in the 11 April 2005 Arkansas Democrat Gazette, in the "Life Lines" column of the Health and Fitness section that mentions a talk being given by three time Appalachian Trail thru-hiker (and author) J.R. "Model T" Tate. He was speaking to the Ouachita Mountain Hikers.