2016 Alabama Hiking Trail Society Hiking & Outdoor Conference March 11-13, 2016 * Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores, AL

Transcription

1 2016 Alabama Hiking Trail Society Hiking & Outdoor Conference March 11-13, 2016 * Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores, AL Don t miss the biggest hiking, backpacking, and outdoor conference in Alabama! A weekend full of informa ve speakers, demos, hikes, food, and FUN! Keynote Speaker Richard Judy Author of Thru: An Appalachian Trail Love Story In 1973 a er comple ng a southbound thru-hike of the A.T., Richard Judy dreamed of capturing the essence of this last great American adventure and he did in his outstanding novel, Thru. Richard Judy has captured the ela on, the blisters, the excrucia ng pain, and unimaginable thirst and hunger of hiking the 2,000+ mile long Appalachian Trail. The novel explores the sheer existen al conundrum of why anyone would spend months hiking Appalachian ridges and the human side of the wilderness trek. Richard will be our keynote speaker during the Saturday evening program and will have copies of his book for sale and to autograph. ALL proceeds go to benefit the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Special Presenta on by Filmmaker Peter Huston on his PBS Documentary Trail Magic Peter Huston is an award winning documentary filmmaker who has created such films as the 13 part PBS series Worldscape hosted by Walter Cronkite, The Visionaries with Sam Waterson, and his film on the War of 1812, the Emmy nominated Ba le of Lake Erie. Peter will be hold a special showing and discussion of his film, Trail Magic: The Grandma Gatewood Story that documents the tale of Emma Gatewood, a 67-year old grandmother from Ohio who one day decided to take a walk. Several months later, a er a ra lesnake bite, run in with hoodlums, and a hurricane, she arrived at Mt. Katahdin and became the first woman to solo hike the A.T. She went on to hike the trail several mes and her vocal and boisterous condemna on of the lousy, difficult stretches of the trail mo vated volunteers to reconsider the construc on of the trail, some saying her unwavering passion actually saved the A.T. Thank you to our sponsors at

2 Admission, Meals, and Lodging Fees: Conference Schedule Friday: 11:00 am: Registration Begins 01:00 pm: Hike: Bon Secour NWR (Alabama Trail) Hike led by USFWS Ranger Denise McInturff 02:00 pm: Bike Ride: Backcountry Trail led by Bruce Zimmerman 05:30 pm: Pot Luck Supper on the Beach! (Beach Pavilion) 06:00 pm: Story Telling / Entertainment Saturday: 08:00 am: Registration Opens 08:15 am: Opening Ceremonies 08:30 am: Skip Essman Leave No Trace Refresher 09:00 am: Melissa Constanzer (WKRG TV5) Outdoor Recreation & Severe Weather Tim Mullick Nighttime Sounds of Nature Fred Nation Native Plants with Short Hike 10:00 am: Jimmy Lanier Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail Association Lisa Laraway Alabama State Parks Tommy Smith Hands-On Gear Building Demo 11:00 am: Davis Helms Section Hiking the A.T. Roger Clay The Eastern Indigo Snake 11:55 am: Group Photo at Middle Lake 12:00 pm: Lunch 01:00 pm: John Richburg Fossils of Alabama Daniel Powell Alabama Black Bear Alliance Juli Day Backpack Cooking 02:00 pm: Sandra Friend Hiking Florida 03:00 pm: Peter Huston Showing/Discussion of the film Trail Magic 05:00 pm: AHTS Board / General Membership Meeting 06:00 pm: Break 06:30 pm: Dinner 07:00 pm: Keynote Speaker Richard Judy 07:45 pm: Award Ceremony 08:00 pm: Raffles 08:30 pm: Contest Winners, Contests, Auction 09:00 pm: Silent Auction, End of Day Sunday: 07:30 am: Chapel Service 08:30 am: Backcountry Trail Hike What to Bring Day Hiking Gear - If you plan on joining us for a hike, bring day hiking gear (pack, water, etc.) Lawn Chair Camera Camping Gear - If you are camping either at Gulf State Park or an outside the park campground Silent Auction - Have some gently used hiking and backpacking gear you want to part with? Here s a chance to clean the closet out (or pick up on some bargains for yourself) during our Silent Auction. The auction runs the entire weekend and ends during the Saturday Night program. Make some cash and help AHTS Admission: Prices are ALL three days of the conference! AHTS Members $35, with Saturday Dinner $57 Non-Members $45, with Saturday Dinner $62 Dining Options: Friday: Lunch: Dinner: Saturday: Breakfast: Lunch: Dinner: Sunday: Lodging: On your own Pot-Luck supper ON THE BEACH! Bring a dish and enjoy the fun and fellowship. Continental Breakfast courtesy of the AHTS Board of Directors On your own or visit the grill set up by local Boy Scouts (all proceeds go to support the troop.) Join us for a fantastic Country Low Boil Dinner prepared by Robbie s Catering! The low boil is a mix of seafood, corn, potatoes, all served up buffet style on a long newspaper covered table! For those with seafood or shell fish allergies or if you want something different there will also be grilled chicken with all the fixin s. Breakfast on your own. Gulf State Park Primitive Tent Camping: 5 Primitive tent campsites remain near the lake that are reserved for attendees. Sites are $50.40 for the weekend. HURRY! First come, first served and they will go FAST! Contact Joe Cuhaj at gulf@hikealabama.org for details or to make a reservation. Additional primitive tent camping (limited) is available at the new Outpost campsite along the Backcountry Trail. Call (251) for information and reservations. Gulf State Park RV / Improved Tent Camping: Gulf State Park tells us that ALL RV and improved tent camping sites have been reserved the weekend of the conference. The park does keep a few sites open on the weekends on a first-come, firstserved basis but there are no guarantees. Call the park for more info at (251) Also see ALTERNATE LODGING below for more options. Alternate Lodging: Please visit the Gulf Shores / Orange Beach Visitor s Bureau for information on addition lodging options: For RV and Tent Camping visit For Hotel accommodations visit For Hotel accommodations visit Alabama Hiking Trail Society, PO Box 235, Rockford, AL Questions? gulf@hikealabama.org or call Joe Cuhaj at

3 HIKES, RAFFLES, AUCTIONS, and MORE!! Hikes: We have some great hikes planned this year. On Friday Ranger Denise McInturff with the US Fish and Wildlife Service will take us down the trails of the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge which is part of the Alabama Trail. This will be a 5 mile point-to-point with a shuttle OR if you re ambitious a 10 mile out-and-back. We will also do a short hike Sunday morning on the Backcountry Trail. Auction: Once again, AHTS is lining up great prizes for our annual Auction Saturday evening. All proceeds help AHTS continue our mission so plan on bidding! Silent Auction: Have some gently used hiking and backpacking gear you want to part with? Here s a chance to clean the closet out (or pick up on some bargains for yourself) during our Silent Auction. The auction runs the entire weekend and ends during the Saturday Night program. Make some cash and help AHTS continue our mission! 20% of sales go to help AHTS. Raffle: We have some AMAZING prizes lined up for our raffle! You can buy tickets throughout the weekend ($1 each, 6 for $5.) We ll draw for prizes during the Saturday Evening program. All proceeds to benefit AHTS. AHTS General Membership and Board Meeting: Attendees are invited to join AHTS for our annual General Membership and Board Meeting Saturday afternoon at 5pm. AHTS leadership will discuss with members the latest projects and issues facing AHTS. We will also vote on new officers for the Board. Plus Contests, food, and more! Registration Form Alabama Hiking Trail Society Annual State Hiking Conference - March 20-22, 2015 Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores, AL Registration Options: Register either online at complete and mail-in this registration form with fees, or register the day of the event. What your registration includes/admission Prices: Welcome bag stuffed with all sorts of goodies, admission to the ENTIRE weekend with all presentations and hikes. AHTS MEMBERS SPECIAL: $5 off the price of admission! Name(s) of people attending: Address: City: State: Zip: Telephone: Affiliation (if any): First Time Attendee? Yes No If FIRST TIME, how did you learn of the conference? Conference Registration: # of Non Member Admissions Conference Only ($40/pp): # of Member Admissions Conference Only ($35/pp): # of Non-Member Admissions WITH Saturday Dinner ($62/pp): # of Member Admissions WITH Saturday Dinner ($57/pp): If you are having Saturday dinner with us please enter the number of people ordering from each menu: Low Boil Chicken Total Amount Enclosed (# of admissions x admission price): Mail your registration and fees to: Alabama Hiking Trail Society, PO Box 235, Rockford, AL 35136

4 Alabama Hiking Trail Society PO Box 235, Rockford, AL It s Conference Time Again! Join us for the 2016 Alabama Hiking Trail Society Hiking & Outdoor Conference March 11-13, 2016 * Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores, AL Don t Miss Our Special Keynote Speaker Richard Judy Author of the book Thru: An Appalachian Trail Love Story All proceeds from Richard s book sales to go support the Appalachian Trail Conservancy!

5