Appalachian Trail to be relocated near AT Museum

Appalachian Trail to be relocated near AT Museum

Sunday, March 13, 2011

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A section of the Appalachian Trail in Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Pennsylvania will soon be relocated so it passes by the front door of the Appalachian Trail Museum, which opened last year in the park.

"This is just one of many exciting changes that we are working on before we open the museum for its second season on Saturday, April 2," said Larry Luxenberg. president of the Appalachian Trail Museum Society. "Second phase development and new exhibits are being planned, and we have an extensive effort underway to offer programs on Sunday afternoons for all ages, especially children. Of course, all of this takes resources."

Luxenberg said the museum board of directors and others are actively seeking financial contributions in order to receive a $50,000 matching grant that has been offered to the museum. In order to receive the $50,000, a like amount needs to be raised from other sources. The Appalachian Trail Museum depends completely on private donations for operating funds.

Equally important is the need for volunteers to serve as museum docents, maintenance team members and program leaders. Luxenberg said program leaders will educate the public, inspire young people, entertain children, preserve the Appalachian Trail’s natural environment, spotlight the trail's rich history, acknowledge the trail's pioneer hikers, and in general celebrate all those who contribute to the Appalachian Trail community.

Gwen Loose, program chair for the museum, said preliminary plans for season two programs include:

* Story-telling, songs and activities for children
* Arts and crafts on the Appalachian Trail (photography, painting, handcrafts)
* Natural features of the Appalachian Trail
* Trail maintenance techniques
* Hiker skills and equipment - past and present
* Shelter building
* History of Appalachian Trail maintaining clubs
* Pioneer hiker profiles and why they are important
* First person hiking experiences and accomplishments

Other topics are invited, and they may be submitted to info@atmuseum.org for consideration. Anyone interested in being an Appalachian Trail Museum volunteer may respond to atmuseumgreeters@gmail.com or 717-486-4083.

Additionally, Loose said there probably will be hikes led by program leaders who will tie a hike to a specific topic, such as plants and other life along the Appalachian Trail.

Located in a 200-year-old, restored grist mill in historic Pine Grove Furnace State Park and at the midway point of the 2,181-mile-long Appalachian Trail, the museum is across from the Pine Grove General Store on Pennsylvania Route 233 in Cumberland County.




Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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Appalachian Trail Museum dedication hike

Appalachian Trail Museum dedication hike

Friday, April 9, 2010

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Midway along the 2,179-mile long Appalachian Trail between Maine and Georgia is a beautiful stone grist mill that is being restored. Once restoration is completed, it will be opened as the only museum devoted to the Trail — a tribute to the more than 11,000 hikers who have hiked the A.T. from end to end and millions of others who have enjoyed hiking portions of it. The museum opening will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 5, 2010, in Gardners, Pennsylvania, roughly 15 miles west of historic Gettysburg and eight miles from Interstate 81. Pine Grove Furnace State Park is the museum's neighbor. Both are on Pennsylvania Route 233, off U.S. 30 (Lincoln Highway). Other weekend events include work trips and hikes

As part of the A.T. Museum’s dedication, a hike-in will be offered beginning from the Buck Ridge trailhead (1,200 feet elevation) at the Kings Gap Environmental Education Center on South Mountain. The six-mile route to Pine Grove Furnace State Park tops off at 1,525 feet at the 1.75 mile mark before descending to reach the gentle, rolling terrain of the three-mile homestretch.

The hike will occur on Saturday, June 5, 2010 and there will be a staggered start from 7:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

There is a limit of 150 hikers. Registration will close once this limit is reached, or on May 28, 2010, whichever occurs first. There is a registration fee of $25 (by May 15) or $35 (by May 28) which includes light, cold breakfast treats and drinks at the check-in, preferred seating for the A.T. Museum’s dedication ceremony, and a special edition A.T. Museum commemorative patch. Proceeds will benefit the Appalachian Trail Museum.

Trail work trips are also scheduled for the day after the museum opening, Sunday, June 6, 2010.

The Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club (CVATC) and the Mountain Club of Maryland have scheduled a work trip on the Trail in the vicinity of South Mountain and the Alex Kennedy shelter on Sunday, June 6. Meet at Pine Grove Furnace State Park (home of the A.T. Museum) at 8:30 a.m., then carpool to South Mountain. Plan to work until around 3 p.m. and be back at the park around 4. Lunch and tools will be provided. Wear work clothes and boots. For more information, visit CVATC's website or e-mail cvatclub@gmail.com.

Also on Sunday, June 6, the York Hiking Club is planning a brush-clearing and trail clean-up trip on the A.T. on Peters Mountain. Meet at 8:30 a.m. in York at the York Hiking Club north meeting place or contact Jim Hooper (717-252-3784 or j.e.hooper@ieee.org) to arrange to meet at Peters Mountain.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

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Appalachian Trail Museum set to open next June

Appalachian Trail Museum set to open next June

Thursday, November 5, 2009

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Don't know if any of you have heard about this or not, but a new Appalachian Trail Museum will be opening next year, on National Trails Day, June 5, 2010. It will be located in a 200-year-old grist mill at Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Pennsylvania, roughly the mid-point along the 2175-mile, Maine-to-Georgia trail.

One of the really cool things about the new museum is that thru-hikers will become living history "interpreters". The museum will feature a "hikers' center," a lounge area of sorts, designed to promote interaction between visitors and hikers who stop in for breaks as they pass through the park.

The museum will also feature a hikers shelter built by Earl Shaffer, the first person to walk the entire trail in one season in 1948. The shelter, which stood atop Peters Mountain in Dauphin County, was painstakingly dismantled in order to to preserve it for the museum.

The museum will also have plenty of standard museum fare: artifacts and archives of Appalachian Trail records and photos. Other attractions will include a children's discovery area, where kids can play with camping equipment.

There will also be a video wall that will display the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's archive of more than 12,000 photographs of hikers taken as they passed through the trail's headquarters in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. Those photos will also will be available on the museum website.

Speaking of the website, it looks like you'll be able to spend many days surfing the site once it's complete. The site is in the process of collecting the best short stories from the trail. The site has categorized the stories into areas of interest such as; origins of trail names, shelter life, unexplained happenings, trail magic, weather stories, ranger encounters and many others.

To build an Appalachian Trail historical timeline, the site is also in the process of assembling trail journals that are categorized by year going back to 1927.

The grist mill building, which is just a few steps off the trail, is within two miles of the Appalachian Trail's midpoint. The building is next to the Pine Grove General Store, home of the Half Gallon Club, a favorite stop for long-distance hikers where they try to eat an entire half gallon of ice cream in a single sitting.

You can visit the museum's website by clicking here.





Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.

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