Check out the Upcoming Activities section below for the*which highlights newly added events.
Coordinator's Corner October 2019
Welcome our New Coordinator, Ken Bunning!
To all ALDHA members, I am honored to have been elected as your new Coordinator. For those who were unable to attend the Gathering in Williamstown, you missed a superbly organized and executed event. Special recognition should be directed to Peter Passalacqua and Jim Niedbalski for their work as Gathering and Facilities Coordinator, respectively.
The new ALDHA Board is diligently working on developing our new Hiker Awareness, Safety, and Trail Education (HASTE) Program in addition to previously assigned responsibilities. Our goal is to increase support to hikers in keeping with our Statement of Purpose.
Next year we anticipate presenting HASTE lectures to dreamers, day hikers, section hikers, and of course, thru hikers. We look forward to expanding relationships with other trail-centric organizations, supporting the development of a New England ruck, and increasing interaction with long distance hikers.
As a reminder, the 39th Annual Gathering is going to be in Abingdon, VA, October 9 - 12, 2020. It’s not too early to mark the date on your calendar. The webpage will be regularly updated with pertinent information, https://aldha.org/gathering.
Happy trails,
Dr. Ken “Nimbus” Bunning ALDHA Coordinator
Final Update from ALDHA's 2019 Gathering Team!
The Gathering 2019
The 38th Gathering in Williamstown, MA is in the bag! A successful reunion of old and new!
I've attended many Gatherings in many places over the last 22 years of ALDHA membership but this Gathering was something special. Our camping location on Eric White's farm (thanks, again!!) is one of our most colorful and pleasant spots to which we return. If you haven't seen Massachusetts in the fall, well, imagine mountains stretching in front of you in a wild blaze of color; each day more beautiful as the sun rises atop Mt Greylock. The weather was predicted to be soggy but the weekend turned out to be perfect with sunny skies gracing us for nearly the entire weekend.
Peter Passalacqua and Jim Niedbalski and their team did a wonderful job of organizing this year's Gathering. The program list was packed with informational and interesting presentations. The Keynote speaker, Bart Smith, provided us with a presentation filled with stunning photos of all the national scenic and historic trails he has traversed. And yes, he has hiked all of them. Anne Van Curen or Grandma Gatewood, provided us with her memories of her hikes on the Appalachian Trail and then presented the first "Grandma Gatewood" award to Sue Spring.
Final statistics for the 38th Annual Gathering are as follows:
330 people attended from 33 states, from as far away as California and Oregon
Hikers from Switzerland and Canada attended
35 new members joined us
There were at least 7 attendees who were still actively hiking the AT, including Nobos, Sobos, Flip-floppers and Long Trail hikers.
The ALDHA board is happy to welcome some new faces to our ranks. Thanks to Penny Vann, Chris Vores, Mary Kate Stopa and Dennis Newton for stepping up and joining the board as At-Large board members.
Wayne Krevetski rejoins the board as Assistant Coordinator, as does Bill O'Brien as an At-Large member.
Ken Bunning, past Assistant Coordinator, stepped up to become our new Coordinator, as did Peter Passalaqua, past At-Large member who was elected as the Recording Secretary.
Remaining on the board as Treasurer is Jill Byrd and Membership Secretary, Robert Sylvester. Vera Hurst and Jim Niedbalsk will remain as At-Large members.
Many thanks to Ron Burger, Steve Toth and Mike Wingeart who did not return to the board for their service to ALDHA in the past years. Mike Wingeart will remain for the moment as our Merchandise coordinator . He is still looking for a replacement.
As we all return to real life after experiencing the fun and camaraderie of the Gathering, planning for the 39th Annual Gathering in Abingdon, VA begins. We would invite anyone interested in helping to plan this event to contact any Board member or email, blaze@aldha.orgfor more information.
The Overmountain Victory National Historic and Virginia Creeper Trails are leading us on Columbus Day Weekend to the 39thGATHERING
October 9-12, 2020 Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association (ALDHA)
Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, Abingdon, Virginia
Many thanks to these volunteers who stayed over until Monday to attend the two work trips.
Upcoming ActivitiesAre you looking for an activity to motivate you to stay in shape? Are you missing trail family? Would you like to give back to the trail? Here is the latest info on upcoming activities. * Indicates that this event is a new addition to calendar.ALDHA Work Trips - South Work Trip For information concerning additional work trips between Blaze emails see: https://aldha.org/ Mid-Atlantic Work Trips Nov 14 - 17, 2019 Boundary work and trail work in Virginia. Meet at Blackburn Trail Center on the eve of the 14th. More information to come or contact, Ron Bungay atronbungay@verizon.net or call 410-627-6367, https://aldha.org/news Northeast Work Trips For information concerning additional work trips between Blaze emails see: https://aldha.org/ and/or for more information contact: Tim Messerich at 845-401-8817 http://rphcabin.org
