November 2013
The Keystone Hiker
Preserving Pennsylvania's Footpaths since 1956
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HOW TO HELP
QUICK CLICKS
This edition was sponsored by:
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NEW MEMBER DRIVE STARTS TODAY!
JOIN KTA TODAY! KTA's 2013 New Member Drive runs from November 1, 2013 until December 31, 2013. An Introductory KTA Membership costs only $15!
WIN A TRIP TO THE SPROUL! Individuals and families that join KTA during our New Member Drive will be entered to win a complimentary KTA Prowl the Sproul Hiking Weekend Package for two adults, from July 18-20, 2014 (valued at $200). Along with 100 other KTA members, explore the Sproul State Forest, which contains some of the most rugged and remote forestland in Pennsylvania.
KTA CLUB BENEFITS! Do you belong to a KTA member club? Encourage your fellow club members to join KTA during the New Member Drive! In addition to individuals being entered to win the hiking weekend mentioned above, KTA will show its appreciation to the KTA Member Club that has highest number of members join KTA between November 1 and December 31, by providing all members of that hiking club with a 50% discount off of registration for the KTA Prowl the Sproul Hiking Weekend.
Click here to learn more!
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YOUR HIKING ADVOCATE
by Curt Ashenfelter, Executive Director
The Keystone Trails Association, working with a group of like-minded organizations, recently sought the release of a March 2012 proposal that would detail the plans for development of natural gas infrastructure near and on the Old Loggers Path. While the Office of Open Records ruled that the public has a right to review at least portions of the plan, the heavily redacted development plan revealed little new information. Learn more.
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"ADOPT A REGISTER" PROGRAM
Are you a member of one of KTA's local clubs? Do you help maintain another trail, or do you frequent one as a hiker? KTA is seeking volunteers (individuals and clubs) to help in a state-wide outreach effort this year. In just 15 minutes per month, you can help spread word of KTA's programs to all corners of the state! Learn how to help.
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INTRODUCING WANDA SHIRK, KTA PRESIDENT
Wanda Shirk was elected President of KTA's Board of Directors on October 12. Wanda is best known nationally for having been a castaway on the CBS-TV show Survivor 10: Palau. Her audition tape included her personal "backpacker rap," which concluded: "I can climb high mountains, and eat meager food, and when things look bleak, I'm still in a good mood! I'm a Pennsylvania hiker, and fully alive! I'll Outwit, Outlast, Outplay and Survive!" Click here to learn more.
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KIDS CORNER: FIND ME IN PENN'S WOODS
Children and youth, aged 4-17, can draw, paint, photograph, build, mold, or sketch their way toward a chance to win the 2013 KTA Kids' Art Contest: Find Me in Penn's Woods. Entrants must create a work of art that features them playing, learning, volunteering, hiking, camping, or otherwise exploring Penn's Woods. All types of media (paint, crayon, pencil, pen, chalk, digital artwork, photographs, diorama, paper machete, sculpture, etc.), and mixtures of media, are welcome. Entrants should use their imagination! No fee is required to enter this contest. The contest ends on December 1, 2013. Click here to learn more.
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2013 HIKING AWARDS
In 1961, the Keystone Trails Association (KTA) instituted an annual Hiking Awards Program to recognize those hikers whose enjoyment of Pennsylvania's trails might serve as an example and inspiration to their peers. Over the years, hundreds of individuals have demonstrated their dedication to hiking and, in no small part, to preservation of trails by applying for and receiving the various KTA awards.
Click here for the recipients of the 2013 KTA Hiking Awards!
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WINTER PHOTO CONTEST
KTA is now accepting submissions for our Winter Photo Contest. Please send us your favorite photo of a Pennsylvania hiking trail in winter by 8 AM on November 15, 2013. A maximum of ten photos will be included in the KTA Winter Photo Contest, which will take place from November 15-25, 2013 via KTA's Facebook page. Click here to learn more.
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MAINTAINER'S CORNER: BUCKTAIL PATH
by Ed Lawrence, Trail Care Chair
The Bucktail Path is a 34-mile designated state forest hiking trail, blazed orange, that runs north from the village of Sinnemahoning to its terminus in Sizerville State Park. It has been several years since the KTA Trail Care Program last worked on the Bucktail Path, and we were happy to return this year at the request of Elk's District Forester Jeanne Wambaugh.
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YOUTH SPOTLIGHT: EVAN AVELAR
My name is Evan Avelar. I live in Trooper, PA. I have been hiking since I was three years old. I started backpacking this year when I turned eight. I carry all my own stuff and it is hard. My favorite part of backpacking is the camping and scary ghost stories. My favorite hiking trip was in June 2013 on the Appalachian Trail, Locust Gap and Hosack Run trails because in Dark Hollow we found a box buried in the dirt. It was creepy. That night we stayed in a tent at Quarry Gap and met Boo Boo, Shaman, T-Rex, and Chaos, A.T. thru-hikers and told them all the scary stories about Deep Hollow and finding the box. Read more.
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GLOBAL HIKES SUPPORT LOCAL TRAILS
Paul Shaw, KTA Vice-President and co-owner of Treks & Trails International, announces that Treks & Trails will donate $200 to KTA for every KTA member who registers for a Treks & Trails hiking trip for 2014. This is a unique opportunity to experience a hiking adventure of a lifetime and support KTA at the same time. Destinations include Scandinavia, the UK, the Pyrenees, Newfoundland, Morocco, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, and Chile. Learn more.
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TRAIL CARE VOLUNTEERS BLAZE THE WAY
by Ed Lawrence, Trail Care Chair
Volunteers fuel the Trail Care Program. This year, 130 individuals came out to the 16 events that the program coordinated. The five week-long Trail Crews reported a total of 1,957 hours of work, the seven Trail Care weekends logged 1,151 hours, and the four one-day Code Orange events added in 348, for a combined tally of the "magic" number 3,456. Read more.
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LOYALSOCK FROM THE SKY
by Peter Stern, Aerial Photographer
Flying allows us views of the Earth that are unavailable from the ground. It has always seemed to me that, especially in Pennsylvania, if there is an unspoiled place of natural value, someone will find a way to destroy it. Loyalsock is a natural treasure which must be protected, but from the growing abundance of fracking operations that can be witnessed from the air, it appears that saving this Forest is an enormous challenge. Read more.
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TRIBUTE TO THYRA SPERRY, OUTGOING KTA PRESIDENT
As a kid, in New York City's Long Island suburbs, Thyra Sperry walked all the time and rode a bike everywhere. Her summers were spent at her Grandpa's camp in south-eastern Connecticut, near West Rock. There, she hiked on cow paths and the low hills to get an ice cream.
Later, Thyra moved to a rural area in Central PA, with its downhill skiing and Penn's woods hiking. After reading a newspaper blurb about an "ice cream hike" led by the Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club, Thyra eagerly signed up for the hike - having no idea that this would lead to meeting many new friends and eventually hiking almost half of the Appalachian Trail. Read more.
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FOR HIKERS: BOOK OF THE MONTH
by Kaira Loving, KTA Intern
Appalachian Trail lovers: searching for a good read this fall as you drink your pumpkin-spice coffee and warm up next to the fire? Check out Stand Up That Mountain: The Battle to Save One Small Community in the Wilderness Along the Appalachian Trail, by Jay Erskine Leutze. Read more.
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DCNR NEWS
DCNR's Pennsylvania Trail Design & Development Principles: Guidelines for Sustainable, Non-Motorized Trails Manual has been completed. The manual addresses hiking, mountain-biking, equestrian, skiing, snow-shoeing, and disabled-person uses, and can be accessed online here.
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DOUBLING GAP WEEKEND
From October 10-12, 2013, over 100 hikers from across Pennsylvania and surrounding states were able to enjoy hiking, other activities, meals, meetings, and camaraderie at our annual Fall Meeting and Hiking Weekend at Doubling Gap Center in Newville, Cumberland County, PA. Doubling Gap Center, nestled in the Blue Mountain Ridge of the Appalachian Mountains and on the southern edge of the Tuscarora State Forest, was once a turn of the century luxurious resort. Read more.
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STEPPING BACKWARDS: THE KEYS TO KTA'S HISTORY
Although the organization that became KTA first emerged in Harrisburg in January of 1956, it had its initial conception a few months earlier in Catoctin, Maryland. Learn more.
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MEET THE BOARD: KATIE BARKER
Katie's love of the outdoors began with family trips to National Parks and continued at Girl Scout Camps in Wisconsin. Click here to learn more about KTA's newest Board Member.
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TRAIL ALERT: POE PADDY TUNNEL
Jason Hall, DCNR-Bureau of Forestry
The Poe Paddy Tunnel is still closed and people are not permitted to walk through the tunnel. The Bureau is working with our engineers to finalize the plan to repair the tunnel. While reviewing the options to fix the tunnel, it was readily apparent that the trestle bridge over Penn's Creek, leading to the tunnel, has also become a hazard. Learn more.
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KTA CITATION AWARD: JOHN STEIN
by Thyra Sperry, Outgoing KTA President
The prestigious Keystone Trails Association "Citation Award" is presented to a person or persons who have made significant contributions to the preservation of hiking trails and promoting hiking in Pennsylvania. This year, KTA awarded this award to John Stein. Read more.
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FUNDAMENTALS OF FRACKING
by Kaira Loving, KTA Intern
On Saturday, October 12, I had the privilege of attending KTA's inaugural "Fundamentals of Fracking" workshop, at Doubling Gap Center in Newville, Cumberland County, along with over 20 other concerned Pennsylvania outdoors-men and women, as we explored the controversial topics surrounding the process of hydraulic fracturing in Pennsylvania, arguably one of the most high-impact issues of this decade.
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JEFF'S JAUNTS: FLAT TOP
After several weeks of not being able to hike, I was finally able to get out this weekend. Naturally, I ended up in State Game Lands 57. It hard to pass up this wonderland. Amazing place, amazing views: i saw caves, crevices, huge rock mazes, and forests. This is one of the best places in the state. Read more.
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TRAIL ETIQUETTE REMINDERS
Fall is a peak time for visitors to Pennsylvania's woods, as everyone tries their best to spend as much time as possible in Pennsylvania's beautiful wilderness before winter rolls around once again. Following a few basic rules of etiquette can help make a better trail experience for you and the other trail users - whether they are cross-country skiiers, birders, mountain bikers, or hunters. Please keep in mind these things when on the trails!
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PINCHOT CODE ORANGE TRAIL CARE
On Saturday, October 5, with the support of the Friends of Pinchot, the Mason-Dixon Trail Association, and Pinchot staff, KTA hosted a Code Orange Trail Care Day at Gifford Pinchot State Park. Twenty-three people contributed approximately 120 hours of volunteer effort to improve the trails.
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HIKER SAFETY DURING HUNTING SEASON
by Kaira Loving, KTA Intern
What do you need to know to keep yourself and your loved ones safe, while enjoying the great PA outdoors during hunting season? The first rule when stepping outdoors during this season of slightly increased risk is wearing bright orange: make yourself (and your pets) seen so you are not mistaken for that prized buck or Thanksgiving turkey! Click here to learn more about how to hike safely during hunting season!
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CLICK HERE for the complete 2013 Trail Care and Trail Crew schedule!
100 Mile Trail Challenge: September 1, 2013 - August 31, 2014. Ongoing registration.
KTA New Member Drive: November 1 - December 31, 2013. KTA Board Meeting: January 4, 2014, KTA Headquarters, Harrisburg, Dauphin County.
KTA Spring Meeting & Hiking Weekend: April 25-27, 2014, Wellsboro, Tioga County. Registration opens February 1, 2014. KTA Board Meeting: June 28, 2014, KTA Headquarters, Harrisburg, Dauphin County. 11th Annual Prowl the Sproul Hiking Weekend: July 18-20, 2014, Western Clinton County. Registration opens May 1, 2014. 6th Annual Susquehanna Super Hike & Ultra Trail Run: September 6, 2014, Lancaster/ York Counties. Registration opens February 1, 2014. KTA Fall Meeting & Hiking Weekend: October 10-12, 2014, Doubling Gap Center, Newville, Cumberland County, PA. Registration opens August 1, 2014.
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Newsletter Submissions
This newsletter is published monthly by Keystone Trails Association. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis. Opinions expressed are those of the listed authors. The Editor encourages submissions reflecting all viewpoints, but reserves the right to edit material. You are encouraged to submit your material to Program Administrator, Shanna Klucar, at [email protected]. Want to advertise in The Keystone Hiker? E-mail Curt Ashenfelter, Executive Director, at [email protected] for advertisement benefits and rates.
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