What’s New
this site is often updated with new roads, walkways and paths.
Here’s what’s new:
Week ending March 15, 2008...
- Longtime recording secretary John O'Mahoney has passed away at age 61 after a short bout with cancer. We are compiling a tribute page to John and welcome all thoughts, condolences, memories, photographs, jokes, stories, etc., to share with everyone else and with the family members he was always proudly boasting about. E-mail your items to us at aldha@aldha.org.
- Our new directory should be arriving in mailboxes this week, if it hasn't arrived already. Find out more at the Directory page, including a look at this year's cover and a link to a color version of the 2008 calendar.
- The 2008 Companion, compiled and edited by ALDHA members, is now for sale through the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Find out more at the Companion page.
- HAPPY NEW YEAR! The new membership Directory is nearly done and should be delivered to the printers before the end of January. They promise to have it printed within about a week, and then it will get shipped off to all active members. It goes out via bulk rate mail, so it may take a while yet to reach you. But know that it was all finished in January. :-)
- As the end of 2007 arrives, we'd like to make special mention of the passing of Mary Wood, the mother of longtime ALDHA member Chuck Wood. (She had 8 sons -- God bless her!) "Woodchuck" (AT85), who has always been so gracious with his personal observances of the passing of other folks connected with ALDHA, was very close to his mom. We posted a copy of her obituary here, with details on memorial contributions. Chuck's Norristown, Pa., address is in the Directory if you'd like to send him a card.
- Trail pioneer Dorothy Laker has died in Florida at age 85. We have posted a short notice on the front page of the ALDHA Web site and hope to add more to it in the coming days.
- We have posted a new 2008 hiker calendar that you can print out or save on your computer. It's posted here. It includes key dates of hiker events like Trail Days and the Gathering.
- Want to download a copy of the GROUP PHOTO from this year's Gathering? Check it out on the Gathering 2007 page. Also, if you have any photos from the weekend you'd like to share online, by all means send them to us here at aldha@aldha.org.
- The program for the Gathering was received Thursday, Sept. 27, and was posted online later that night. You can check it out on the Gathering 2007 page, or download a PDF copy here. There are also lots more requests for either rides or riders to help folks get to Gettysburg.
- There are already a few posts on the ride board. So if you think you can help out or take advantage of what's offered, check it out. If you need a ride or a rider, send an e-mail with your info to aldha@aldha.org.
- Our tribute to "Gran-Ma Soule" can be found here. Remember, if you would like to add a comment or share a photo, send it to aldha@aldha.org.
- Verna Soule, a longtime ALDHA member and long-distance hiker who hiked under the trail name of "Gran-Ma Soule," has passed away. She died Wednesday of cancer in Michigan Center, Mich. We are composing a nice tribute to her, and if anyone would like to contribute their thoughts, please send them, along with any photos you wish to share, to aldha@aldha.org.
- Details about the Gathering can be found in an online copy of the Fall Newsletter, which hasn't arrived yet in most places but Sanne has sent a PDF version for posting here. It contains a lot of details about the Gathering and includes a map showing where registration is located and directions to the campground.
- Steven Duyser, whose trail name was "Never Through," has passed away quite unexpectedly. A copy of his obituary is posted here.
- Update on Gran-ma Soule: If you have ever met Verna Soule on the trail or at a Gathering, or if you have heard about her from other hikers, please take a moment to write to her. The address in Michigan is in the Directory. Her cancer has taken a turn for the worse and they have stopped treatments. She loves to listen to family members read her greetings from hikers.
- Colin Fletcher, whose book "The Complete Walker" threw traditional backpacking out the window, has died at age 85. We've posted one obituary and linked to several others in the Headlines section.
- A little bit of housecleaning here and there. Nothing overly noticeable or newsworthy, but just wanted to make sure folks knew we were checking in. Summer tends to be extra slow for all things ALDHA. When we get some good news we'll be posting it!
- ALDHA has launched an online blog where announcements will be made, issues can be discussed and anyone can post comments. You can check it out at www.ALDHAblog.blogspot.com/.
If you would like to actually make a post, e-mail your post to us at aldha [at] aol.com and we’ll put it up for you, then others can offer their comments.
- Join us for a walking tour of the Gettysburg College campus. We took some photos on a sunny day in March to give you a feel for the place. No leaves on trees in these photos, of course, so just imagine what it will look like in the early days of a colorful fall. (The Gathering is Oct. 5-7 at Gettysburg.)
- A memorial service will be held Saturday in Harpers Ferry to celebrate the life of ALDHA member and A.T. thru-hiker Dorlyn Williams, who passed away this month at age 60. If you cannot attend Saturday's service, you can still honor Dorlyn by wearing something yellow that day. See why by reading her beautiful obituary here.
Week ending March 24, 2007...
- The last four issues of the ALDHA newsletter have been posted here in PDF format, including the most recent issue, Spring 2007.
Week ending March 17, 2007...
- Imagine this nightmare scenario: You head out to your favorite stretch of trail, but when you get there, you find huge machinery parked where the trail crosses a road. As you walk in, you find the trail itself has been used as a highway by caterpillar machines, and then you see why: Companies that own mineral rights to the area have come in and started strip-mining valuable stone, in some cases right out from under the trail itself, hauling away 40 tons of rock a day. Think it's impossible? Just ask the folks who care for the Cumberland Trail in Tennessee. Read the story in the News Headlines section.
- All of the pages of the 2007 Companion are now posted online, in downloadable PDF format, on The Companion page. (The Introduction and the Georgia-North Carolina-Tennnessee section were added on March 20.)
- The new dues fees went into effect on Jan. 1. A one-year membership costs $10. A lifetime membership costs $200. For details, see a copy of the membership form. FYI: A notice about the impending dues change was posted here, on this page, in late October. (Scroll down to week ending Nov. 4.) And the 2007 ALDHA brochure, which was posted online here in late November, also included the new dues amounts.
- A color version of the 2007 ALDHA calendar is available online here. A black and white print version is part of this year's Directory.
Week ending Feb. 3, 2007...
- Remember, this year is the 36th ATC Biennial Conference, to be held at Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J., from July 13-20. A special effort is under way to attract many of this year's northbound thru-hikers, who will be passing through New Jersey and New York at the time of the conference. Also, ALDHA will once again host a free reception for all 2,000-milers, with refreshments provided by the kind folks from the International Appalachian Trail.
This will be the first time the Appalachian Trail Conservancy will meet at Ramapo College, which is a short distance from the Appalachian Trail. To find out more, visit the conference Web site at www.ramapo2007.org/. And for all those 1970s college-circuit music fans out there, you won't want to miss the musical group that is lined up for the Saturday evening entertainment, because you'll once again be reunited with the music and lyrics of Neal Shuman and Rex Fowler, better known as Aztec Two-Step.
He’s like the dancing gold prairies that will never be mowed
Or the wind in the sails that’s about to explode
He’s like fire and rain bringing pleasure and pain
And he’s learned all he knows from the ways of the road
"The Persecution & Restoration of Dean Moriarty (On the Road)"
Week ending Jan. 27, 2007...
- Ridgerunners and caretakers are being recruited for the Mid-Atlantic region. Check out the notice posted on the Bulletin Board!
Editor’s note: This site was launched on June 21, 1996, the first day of summer. Two years later, we registered the site under our own domain name. Just like the Appalachian Trail, it is maintained by volunteers and relies heavily on contributions from those who pass through. Thanks for checking in, and please don’t mind any delays in construction!
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