Business has been booming. We have had quite a few visitors in our first month and a half of being open and the sales and donations have been very satisfying. The weather is (finally) getting Spring like and the people are heading to the parks to spend their leisure time. As this issue comes to publication, I'm hiking through the woods of Western PA in the Allegheny National Park on the North Country Trail. I'm able to do this due to the time you most generously donate as Docents and Volunteers. Thanks to you, I'm much obliged.
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| Spring is trying so hard to come to the Museum |
The Passing of One of Our Own
Katy Sexton - 1940-2014
It is with deepest sorrow and utmost sympathy that I must announce the passing of one of our Docents. Katy Sexton, wife of our Treasurer, Jay, passed away early on May 1st after a short, but grave illness. Katy was a common fixture at the Museum, usually serving as Greeter alongside Jay during the season. Jay and Katy also presented one of our Public Programs during past seasons. Drawing on their many years of leading children into the wilderness, Jay and Katy would provide a wealth of information and many stories of their adventures over the years about distance hiking with children and youth groups. She will be sorely missed and our sympathies go out to Jay and his family in this time of loss.
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Programs Page Added to Newsletter Site
You may notice a new link at the top of the page. This link will lead you to our Programs Page. Here you will find dates and descriptions of our Summer Public Programs which run between Memorial Day and Labor Day, (but can extend further into the season), usually on Sundays at 2:00pm. If you have something you would like to present, please let me know and we will get you on the schedule. If you have time on a Sunday afternoon, please consider coming by the Museum to learn something new about the trail, the park, or any manner of interesting things.
AT Museum Announces Hall of Fame Class of 2014
The fourth class of Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame honorees will be inducted on Friday, June 6, at the annual Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Banquet at the Allenberry Resort in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania.
Honorees in the 2014 Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame class are A. Rufus Morgan of Franklin, North Carolina; Charles R. Rinaldi of Boca Raton, Florida; Clarence S. Stein of New York City, New York; and Pamela A. Underhill of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
To read more about each of the honorees, check out this press release.
To get your tickets, go here.
____________________________________________To get your tickets, go here.
Hall of Fame Weekend Events
Saturday, June 7th will be our Hall of Fame Festival. Here are some of the things we have planned.
9:00am - Hikes to Sunset Rocks and Pole Steeple
We are looking for volunteers to lead these two hikes. If you are interested, let me know.
10:00am - Blazing the AT
Program includes a 1930s film featuring Myron Avery. Museum
1:00pm to 4:00pm - Meet the Honorees
2014 Hall of Fame honorees, their families or representatives give talks and answer questions at sessions devoted to each of the honorees. Furnace Pavilion
Thru Hiker Reunion Gathering
for the classes of 1989, 1984, 1979 and 1974. Museum and Group Camp area
Richard Judy
Author of the new novel THRU: An Appalachian Trail Love Story. Furnace Pavilion
Evening - Brats and Pot Luck Supper with Campfire
Bring a dish to share and trail memories to talk about. Everyone is welcome - Group Camp area.
____________________________________________9:00am - Hikes to Sunset Rocks and Pole Steeple
We are looking for volunteers to lead these two hikes. If you are interested, let me know.
10:00am - Blazing the AT
Program includes a 1930s film featuring Myron Avery. Museum
1:00pm to 4:00pm - Meet the Honorees
2014 Hall of Fame honorees, their families or representatives give talks and answer questions at sessions devoted to each of the honorees. Furnace Pavilion
Thru Hiker Reunion Gathering
for the classes of 1989, 1984, 1979 and 1974. Museum and Group Camp area
Richard Judy
Author of the new novel THRU: An Appalachian Trail Love Story. Furnace Pavilion
Evening - Brats and Pot Luck Supper with Campfire
Bring a dish to share and trail memories to talk about. Everyone is welcome - Group Camp area.
The Golden Ratio of the Trail
One of the things I love about working here at the AT Museum is I get to meet the most interesting individuals. This was the case last week when I was hanging out at the picnic tables by the General Store and two hikers came up. One was or very own Jack Harbaugh, aka Sequoia. The other was Rags to Riches (Rags for short) a Thru Hiker who had started sometime in February.
Once the conversation went through its usual check offs of gear, miles, start time, etc, the topic of the Halfway Point of the trail came up. It seems Rags has another goal in mind for his hiking accomplishments. That goal is the Golden Ration of the Trail. Now, not having a strong background in mathematics or art, I had no idea what the Golden Ratio was.
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When I asked Rags to explain a little more about the mystical point of the trail, he got a piece of paper out and started writing down all these formulas and calculations. For me, it was like he was speaking Klingon. I nodded my head a little and in my mind I started calling him Big Rags (like Big Bang, since his calculations started to remind me of Sheldon Cooper of that popular TV show) and once he left, I googled the topic and learned a little more about in the layman's terms I needed to understand.
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| Golden Ratio in Art |
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| Golden Ratio in Nature |
I put it all in the back of my mind over the next couple of days as I hiked the trail east of the Susquehanna, but it kept coming back to me. On my last day of the hike, I ran into Big Rags again. We once more talked about the Golden Ratio and after some quick calculator functions, figured that the Golden Ratio of the Trail is at Mile Marker 1350.5, which is in New Jersey somewhere near Glenwood, NJ.
So if a hiker has made the halfway point and needs a new goal to strive for, tell them about the Golden Ratio and when they get to New Jersey, they can celebrate another milestone of their hike.
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Things Coming Down the Trail
May 25th, 2014 - Public Program - Myron Avery, Celebrating an AT Veteran - 2pm
May 26th, 2014 - Road Scholars Hike - 9:30am-4pm
May 28th, 2014 - Big Spring Middle School Field Trip to Park
June 1st, 2014 - Public Program - Social Networking and the Hiker - 2pm
June 6th, 2014 - Hall of Fame Banquet - Allenberry Resort, Boiling Springs, PA. Tickets
June 7th, 2014 - AT Museum Festival
June 8th, 2014 - Public Program - Like Your Own Hike - 2pm
June 9th, 2014 - Road Scholars Hike - 9:30am-4pm
June 15th, 2014 - Warrior Hike (tentative) - Potluck dishes requested
June 23rd, 2014 - Road Scholars Hike - 9:20am-4pm
June 29th, 2014 - Public Program - Hiker Picnic - Potluck dishes requestedJune 30th, 2014 - Road Scholars Hike - 9:30am-4pm (tentative)
