2011 Directory cover
honors Walkin’ Jim
... As of Feb. 4, the 2011 Directory was in the mail, so you should be receiving yours fairly soon. This year's cover honors Walkin' Jim Stoltz, who died of cancer last September, leaving us all too soon. The photo shows him traversing Gallatin Crest in Montana and was loaned to us for this purpose by Leslie Stoltz. (See more about Walkin' Jim at our tribute page.) Included on Page 4 of the Directory are the lyrics to a song Jim wrote in the mid-1990s. His poetic words sum up the feelings of loss we have experienced since his untimely passing.
... The Directory is put together in the winter, based on all the updated membership information culled from the annual weekend Gathering in October. The deadline is Dec. 31, but a few last-minute trail or address changes were able to get in this year's book just before it was sent to the printer.
... Our little book has come a long way over the past quarter century. The first Directory was printed in January 1985 and resembled those little blue books used in college testing — in other words, half the size of today's 8½ by 11 booklet. In 1985, there were 24 pages and it cost 56 cents to mail it first class. (A few years ago, it was inching close to $2 to mail each booklet first class so we switched to bulk rate mail to save money.) In the recent past, our larger format Directory had grown to 48 pages, but we have been trimming some of the features to pare it down to its present-day 36 pages, saving money on both printing and mailing. Even so, today's booklet contains more than twice the amount of information as that first Directory 26 years ago.
... The first Directory consisted of a main listing, state listing and trail abbreviations, but no trail name index. There were 43 trails listed. Today there are 162. (See the full list of trails hiked by ALDHA members here.) There were 522 people and organizations on our membership rolls, including such notables at the time as Steve Sherman and Julia Older, Steven Nuckolls, Clara Cassidy, Howard Bassett and Harry Train.
... For this year, we've restored some trails and hiking experiences that some members saw dropped a year or so ago, including the Great Smoky Mountains trail system. New this year is a listing of all the Triple Crowners who are members of ALHDA, and we have included a page featuring some of the new ALDHA merchandise that is now available for sale. There are also two pages highlighting the 30th annual Gathering this fall in North Adams, Mass., as well as key dates of trail events for the year and a list of various ways you can volunteer to help out ALDHA as a member.
... If you want to get your name in the Directory for next year — and get your own personal copy delivered to your home — you have to be a member. More than 1,000 people belong to ALDHA, making the membership Directory as valuable a hiking resource as trail maps and guidebooks. It includes not only the name, address, phone and e-mail of every member, but also their trail name and hiking resume. Plus, there are two “reverse indexes” so you can look up people by their trail name as well as by their hometown.
... And it's all free for members of ALHDA. If you didn't join ALDHA last year, you'll have to wait till next year to get one of these trail keepsakes. Just visit our MEMBERSHIP GATEWAY to get the ball rolling.
