Hardy Appalachian Trail hikers converged on Hanover this weekend as the College hosted the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association's 16th Annual Gathering.
Approximately 400 of the 700 members of ALDHA attended the event, which Assistant Coordinator Bill O'Brien said attempted to "foster camaraderie and enlighten hikers" about the ins and outs of trekking long distances.
Workshop leaders offered tips on hiking specific routes. Many non-members attended the event to plan long distance hikes, O'Brien said.
Other events included a discussion of naturalist author Henry David Thoreau's novel "Walden," contra dance lessons, and Trail Jeopardy.
Appropriately enough, most of the participants stayed at one of two campsites located on an open field off of Grasse Road and at the Storrs Pond campground on Reservoir Road.
According to hiker Jack Tarlin, Hanover's hospitality to thru-hikers has made it a natural choice to host the gathering. With the Appalachian Trail passing through the center of town and a reputation as "one of the three or four most hiker-friendly towns on the trail," Hanover has hosted the gathering four times in the last seven years.
O'Brien said the Dartmouth Outing Club was "extremely helpful" with facilitating the gathering, and Dartmouth allowed ALDHA to hold activities in buildings including Collis, Silsby and Steele.
While the event served as an information clearinghouse, it also served as a reunion for the quirky fraternity of hikers who trek the Appalachian Trail.
Tarlin, known on the trail as 'Baltimore Jack,' said, "It's a great time to get together with people from your latest adventures and a great place to get information on your next one."
Tarlin said while most people hike the Appalachian Trail alone, the hikers form strong ties, because they meet along the way, travel sections of the trail together, and converge at shelters and campsites.
"Out on the trail, you have so many close friends, but when you say good-bye, you never know when you're going to see them again," Tarlin said. "This is a way to see people that mean the world to you."
ALDHA is "the only user organization in terms of the Appalachian Trail," according to O'Brien. He said it functions as the largest organization of long distance hikers in the United States.
The group releases a quarterly newsletter and annually publishes "The Thru-Hiker's Companion," an up-to-date guidebook for Appalachian Trail hikers. ALDHA also helps maintain the trail, concentrating on a minimum of one hiker hostel per year.
During the weekend, they also discussed issues relating to the trail, such as user fees, permits and regulations.
One focus of this year's discussions was Saddleback Mountain in Maine, the last unprotected summit along the Appalachian Trail. "There has been a movement during the course of the weekend to do what we can to voice our views that it should be protected," O'Brien said.
They plan to write letters to the National Park Service urging it to acquire the land in order to prevent a local ski resort from expanding on the mountain.
Participants at the gathering ranged in age from 16 to 70 years old. At least 10 had hiked the Appalachian Trail this year, while one had accomplished it as far back as 1970.
Hikers displayed their close bonds though out the weekend. One stranger walked up to Tarlin and offered him his lunch, simply because, as Tarlin said, "A hiker will do anything for another hiker."
In another incident, Laura and Andrew Sam of North Carolina approached O'Brien, who comes from Connecticut, to say good-bye.
"Let us know when you're coming. Bring whomever you want, and we'll set up," Laura said.
O'Brien met the Sams on the trail in 1990 and hiked the entire Appalachian Trail with them in 1992.
Laura said, "This is the hardest part -- saying good-bye."
