Andy Falender Retiring at AMC

The Boston Globe Magazine for 8 January 2012 has an brief interview by Doug Most with the retiring head of the Appalachian Mountain Club headlined "Andy Falender steps down from Appalachian Mountain Club: After 23 years, he reflects on his proudest achievements, biggest regrets, and favorite hikes and huts."

One Q & A:

Have you ever hiked the entire Appalachian Trail? No. This is what happens when you grow up in Indiana; you don’t have the chance to check off these parcels. I’ve done lots of sections of it. I don’t think I saw a mountain till I was 18.

Yeah. I was in Indiana for a couple years. No mountains where I was.

AMC's A.T. Day in Connecticut

The Greenwich (CT) Time of 23 October 2008 carries an article by special correspondent Scott Gargan titled "Hike the Appalachian Trail - in Connecticut." It highlights the upcoming AMC Appalachian Trail Day on Saturday 25 October.

Gargan provides some description of various sections of the A.T. in Connecticut. He quotes a few of the Appalachian Mountain Club's guides, who will be leading hikes on AMC Appalachian Trail Day, which is itself described as

"not only a celebration of the 71-year-old national landmark, but a salute to the hundreds of volunteers from dozens of organizations that have worked to preserve it."

For a complete list of events, visit the AMC web site's page about it.

Peak-Bagging New Hampshire Family

The 19 October 2008 Boston Globe has an article titled "A family's peak portfolio" by Allan Fen that refers to the Appalachian Trail. Fen recounts his family's quest to climb all 48 of New Hampshire's 4,000-foot mountains over several years. And certain of those peaks are on the A.T. The story also quite naturally refers to the AMC huts, and to A.T. thru-hikers. Nice read. Great family activity!

ATC as Map Source

An article proclaiming the joys of bushwhacking -- "Fill in the blanks on hiking maps; Off trail, plenty of adventure" by Tim Jones in the Concord (NH) Monitor of 17 October 2008 -- mentions the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Appalachian Mountain Club as possible sources for "recreation maps" that one could use to locate "blank spaces" that could stand a little off-trail exploring.

White Mountain Hut System Described

The Boston Globe's Tim Wacker writes a long, lush article about the AMC huts in the White Mountains in their 14 October 2007 issue. It's titled "Hut, two, three ... and more; Appalachian Trail shelters in New Hampshire's mountains free you from carrying your room and board."

Which is all true, of course, but one has to be sure to read the article's sidebar to get to the cost of being freed.

Nice description, though.