may–june 2003 appalachian trailway news

32 Pages·2003·0.66 MB·English

MAY–JUNE 2003
AT N
APPALACHIAN TRAILWAY NEWS
2 MAY–JUNE 2003
MAY–JUNE 2003
ATN
APPALACHIAN TRAILWAY NEWS
ON THE COVER
Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)
in Shenandoah National Park. Male turtles can
be identifi ed by the colorful scales on their front
legs. Photo: Chris Brown. Inside: Wild cherries
along the Maine A.T. Photo: Samuel J. Gamble.
VIEWPOINTS
SHELTER REGISTER ♦ LETTERS 4
OVERLOOK ♦ BRIAN T. FITZGERALD
AND DAVE STARTZELL 5
REFLECTIONS ♦ THINGS THAT GO BUMP 28
MINISTRY OF FUNNY WALKS
♦ FELIX J. MCGILLICUDDY 31
WHITE BLAZES
PAPER TRAIL ♦ NEWS FROM
HARPERS FERRY 7
TREELINE ♦ NEWS FROM ALONG
THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL 10
SIDEHILL ♦ NEWS FROM CLUBS
AND GOV ERN MENT AGENCIES 20
GREENWAY ♦ LAND-PROTECTION
AND FUND-RAISING NEWS 26
BLUE BLAZES
BOB AND PAT PEOPLES
♦ MAKING A DIFFERENCE AT THE
KINCORA HOSTEL ♦ SANDRA FRIEND 22
TREADWAY
MEMORIAL GIFTS 26
NOTABLE GIFTS 26
TRAIL GIV ING 27
PUBLIC NOTICES 30
APPALACHIAN TRAILWAY NEWS 3
S R
HELTER EGISTER
Letters from our readers
Appalachian Trailway Dave Richie three things as we packed up that morn-
The chronicle of Dave Richie’s life [in ing: The weather was supposed to clear
News
the March–April ATN] made me feel off during the day, tonight we’d be at
VOLUME 64, NUMBER 2 • MAY–JUNE 2003 good about humanity. And, the story of Daicey Pond, and tomorrow we would
Appalachian Trailway News is published by the Ap pal ac hian the Pochuck Crossing in New Jersey ex- summit Katahdin in a clear blue sky.
Trail Conference, a non profi t educational organization rep res enti ng
the citizen interest in the Appalachian Trail and ded ic ate d to the emplifi ed Richie’s belief in partnerships, We hiked out at our own pace that gray
prese rv at ion, main ten ance, and enjoyment of the Ap pal ac hian trail-
way. Since 1925, the Appalachian Trail Con fer ence and its member volunteerism, and cooperative manage- morning, each of us walking solitary on
clubs have con ceived, built, and maintained the Ap pal ac hian Trail
in cooperation with federal and state agencies. The Conference also ment—it was one that works. this next-to-last day of our trek. Shortly
publ ish es guidebooks and other educational lit er at ure about the
Mari-Liis Smyth after entering Baxter Park, I stopped to fi x
Trail, the trailway, and its facilities. Annual in div idu a l memb ers hip
in the Ap pal ac hian Trail Conference is $30; life membership, $600; Charlotte, North Carolina lunch along the creek, and the weather
corporate membership, $500 minimum annual con tri but ion.
Volunteer and freelance con trib ut ions are welcome. Please in clude began to break. By the time I reached
!
a stamped, self-addressed en vel ope with your submission. Daicey Pond, the sun fi lled a sparkling
Observations, conclusions, opin ions, and product endorsements
expressed in Appalachian Trailway News are those of the authors My current issue of the ATN arrived robin’s-egg-blue sky with its soft, golden,
and do not nec ess ar il y refl ect those of mem bers of the board or staff
yesterday afternoon. When I saw Dave afternoon glow.
of the Appalachian Trail Con fere nce.
Richie’s photo on the cover, I immedi- I will never forget those next few steps.
DIRECTOR OF PUB LIC AFFAIRS
ately opened it to read the caption. When Sometimes they are clearer in my con-
Brian B. King
I read, “the late Dave Richie,” I was dum- sciousness than the last ones I would take
EDITOR
Robert A. Rubin founded. How could it be? I still fi nd it along the white-blazed path the next day.
unbelievable and incomprehensible. I climbed the short hill toward the
BOARD OF MANAGERS
Chair I can vividly recall when I fi rst met ranger office and the pond, and was
Brian T. Fitzgerald
Dave. It was at the third National Trails startled by the view across the water. My
Vice Chairs
Symposium at Land Between the Lakes, knees went weak, I leaned against my
Carl C. Demrow Thyra C. Sperry
Marianne J. Skeen Kentucky. I was still living in Charleston, staff for support, and tears welled up in
Treasurer West Virginia. Dave had just been ap- my eyes. A ranger came out of the cabin
Kennard R. Honick pointed to head the A.T. Project Offi ce and said something to me; if I replied, I
Secretary for the Park Service. He was so new to was speaking in tongues.
Parthena M. Martin
the trails movement that no one was sit- There was Katahdin, in all its majesty,
Assistant Secretary
Arthur P. Foley ting with him on the bus rides to the rising gloriously above Daicey Pond.
New England Region demonstration sites. I recognized his Spellbound, I have no recollection how
Pamela Ahlen Stephen L. Crowe photo and sat with him. We became ac- long I remained in that spot. I returned
Thomas O. Lewis Andrew L. Petersen
quainted during that meeting and, of to the view upon leaving the offi ce, later
Dennis Regan Ann H. Sherwood
course, renewed our acquaintance when that evening, and again in the morning.
Mid-Atlantic Region
Walter E. Daniels Charles A. Graf I joined the ATC Board of Managers in Today, as I write this, the ATC 75th-an-
Sandra Marra Eric C. Olson 1981. niversary poster of Katahdin above Da-
Glenn Scherer William Steinmetz
He was grand fellow and a great friend icey Pond hangs framed in my offi ce.
Southern Region
of the Trail and the Conference. Much of I understand change. Heck, walking
Bob Almand Phyllis Henry
Robert P. Kyle what ATC enjoys today in the area of ac-
William S. Rogers James M. Whitney, Jr.
tive management of federal lands can be
Steven A. Wilson
traced to Dave Richie’s support. The Trail Letters
Members at Large
Paul Burkholder Al Sochard community will always be indebted to
Dave Richie for his leadership and vision. Appalachian Trailway News
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
David N. Startzell We will miss him. welcomes your comments. Letters
World Wide Web: www.appalachiantrail.org Arthur Foley will be edited for clarity and length.
Colorado Springs, Colorado Please send them to:
Appalachian Trailway News (ISSN 0003-6641) is pub-
lished bimonthly, except for January/Feb ru ary, for $15 Letters to the Editor
a year by the Appalachian Trail Con fer ence, 799 Wash- Daicey Pond Appalachian Trailway News
ing ton Street, Harpe rs Ferry, WV 25425, [phone].
Bulk-rate postage paid at Harpers Ferry, WV, and other September 28, 2000, dawned dreary and P.O. Box 807
offi ces. Post mas ter: Send change-of-address Form 3597
to Appalachian Trailway News, P.O. Box 807, Harpers overcast at Hurd Brook shelter. We’d Harpers Ferry, WV 25425-0807
Ferry, WV 25425. had a smattering of rain the night before, E-Mail: <[email protected]>
Copyright © 2003, The App a la chian Trail Conference.
All rights res erved. but “Lichen Hiking,” “Atlas,” and I knew
4 MAY–JUNE 2003
Overlook
Brian T. Fitzgerald and Dave Startzell
R
the A.T. for me was a life-changing op- ecently, the federal departments of agriculture and the interior, parent
portunity. And, I understand Trail reloca- agencies of the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service, introduced
tions, although, as a thru-hiker, I was regulatory initiatives that appear to improve management of public lands
much puzzled by many of the places the by reducing “red tape,” thus allowing land managers to make sound
Trail went after it was moved. resource-management decisions more easily. But, in reality, those chang-
But, relocating the Trail to take away es create loopholes in requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act
the view of Katahdin above Daicey Pond (NEPA) that hit close to home (home being the Appalachian Trail).
[November–December ATN, page 30] is Since 1969, NEPA has directed how the federal government considers the en-
a move that rankles me. I can rationalize vironment in its decision-making. In our last column, we discussed some proposed
it, and look at the map, and nod with changes in other federal regulations that could lower protection standards for air
understanding—but my heart is scream- and water. Similarly, we think the proposed loopholes in NEPA will affect protec-
ing, “Noooooooo!” I sincerely hope that tion of the eight national forests through which the Trail passes.
there will be a side trail up to the pond The fi rst is part of the so-called “Healthy Forests Initiative,” fi rst proposed
so that, when I hike the Trail again, some- in August 2002. Devastating wildfi res in recent years provided the impetus for
day, I can revisit this most spectacular this initiative. Everyone recognizes the problem of wildfi res, particularly in the
and heart-stopping spot on the Trail. western United States, and how management poli-
Doug Corkhill (Diamond Doug) Loopholes cies that called for preventing fi res at all costs
Raleigh, North Carolina contributed to the buildup of undergrowth and
fallen timber that feeds them. However, under the
Trail Magic guise of “thinning” in order to reduce the fi re haz-
I read with great interest about the shoot- ard, the initiative expands logging on the national forests. Many of the decisions
ing of George Zigenfuss in the March– about what to “thin” are excluded from the normal NEPA environmental-review
April Trailway News. I am very glad that procedures required by federal law, and the public’s ability to contest those deci-
he is recovering. I spent a wonderful eve- sions is limited.
ning with George on June 25 during our In early January, the Forest Service proposed exempting from environmental
respective 1989 thru-hikes. We were at review all logging operations of less than 50 acres, operations of up to 250 acres
the Bake Oven Knob shelter in Pennsyl- in stands of dead or dying trees, and new temporary roads less than one-half-mile
vania. The date was more notable because long built to reach those sites. ATC’s position is that the new guidelines are too
Joe Bell, a Trail maintainer, stopped in, general, and we have encouraged the Forest Service to abandon its proposal. The
and we had a wonderful chat. Joe asked new guidelines would not take into account site-specifi c issues, such as protection
where we planned to hike on the twenty- of the A.T. viewshed or the impact of roads (and the inevitable ATV and other
sixth. I told him the LeRoy Smith Shelter. traffi c along them) on the Trail.
When I got there the next day, lo and And, fi nally, the Forest Service has proposed revisions to the regulations that
behold, here comes Joe Bell with a cold govern development of management plans for the national forests. Such plans
beer. George had stopped in Lehigh Gap. determine, among other things, standards for protection and management of the
Another miraculous “Trail angel”—one A.T. Under current regulations, the Forest Service must prepare an environmental-
of dozens I experienced on that wonderful impact statement that analyzes several management alternatives. Under the new
hike. regulations, the review could be postponed until projects begin and then only ad-
Dave Poulin (Brother Dave) dress the impacts of the specifi c project, overlooking the broader and cumulative
St. Petersburg, Florida impacts that would be addressed during forest planning.
There is a common theme to those proposals—reducing the level of environ-
Windmills mental analysis required before making decisions that affect public lands. We
In the March issue, William Ames states know that public-land managers often feel they have to analyze every project to
that he would like to see windmills! He death before making a decision (a decision that some interest group will then,
can just go to California and see the scars doubtless, appeal). We understand that it takes too long to revise a forest plan, and
that the ugly towers and the roads have we’re sympathetic. But, reducing the thought that goes into those decisions, and
left in the environment there. And, what limiting the public’s ability to challenge them, is not the solution.
about the wildlife (birds) that they have
killed and disrupted? Brian T. Fitzgerald is chair of ATC. Dave Startzell is executive director.
Want to save resources? How about
APPALACHIAN TRAILWAY NEWS 5
Shelter Register
everyone putting on a sweater and setting spirit of backpacking on the A.T. As long “Ach, Hans, der Kerl versteht Deutsch!”
the thermostat at 65 degrees? Maybe pas- as Cooper maintains his present disposi- (He knows German). “You must have
sive solar for your hot water? How about tion, I will not honor such a suggestion, grown up in Germany. Where?” Even
a national energy policy? just as I would never kick someone out more surprised were the Chinese and
Do you realize how many homes have of a shelter. Japanese when they found I had been in
inadequate insulation or none at all? Old, Jeffrey S. Haas their native countries and could under-
droopy windows? Got an SUV anyone? Wilmington, Delaware stand parts of what they said. Usually
Make some corrections, and then we’ll that led us into discussions about their
see if there is a need to litter the landscape The “International” A.T. homeland mountains. On one occasion,
with wind farms. One very satisfying aspect of my eleven I was gratifi ed to fi nd, when I called out
Bud Pratt years of ridgerunning and twenty ad- a warning about a cliff in Chinese, two
West Brookfi eld, Massachusetts ditional years of trailwork and hiking young men (probably fresh from the Chi-
along the A.T. has been to encounter hik- nese embassy in D.C.) heeded my warn-
Dogs at Shelters ers from other parts of the world. They ing without even turning to notice that I
Iw as recently reviewing some materials have come from South Africa, Taiwan, was not a fellow-countryman.
on your Web site when I saw the section Ceylon, Japan, from central European The foreign visitors usually handled
on “Trail Ethics for Dogs and Their Own- countries, from Australia, Micronesia, their English pretty well, though not all
ers.” The part that gravely concerned me Singapore, India, China, and, of course, of them spoke fl uently. Most had guide-
was your recommendation on shelters: from Canada (particularly from French- books and had briefed themselves rather
“Take special measures at shelters. speaking Canada). thoroughly with regard to essential Trail
Leash your dog in the shelter area, and Often our conversations started with navigation. Not one lacked a camera.
ask permission of other hikers before al- my asking them about their trail-related Different backgrounds, traditions,
lowing your dog in a shelter. Be prepared connections back home. How were you educational levels, religious dedications,
to ‘tent out’ when a shelter is crowded able to take time off for this? How could patterns of etiquette also appeared—and
and on rainy days.” you afford to do it? How different is this not just from abroad. I met Amish and
I have been section-hiking the A.T. for from your mountains back home? What Mennonites hiking parts of the Trail in
fi ve years now and have completed more problems or diffi culties have you encoun- Pennsylvania, leaving their buggies tied
than 1,200 miles. Along the course of my tered on the A.T. thus far? at Trailheads—women wearing lace caps,
journey, my yellow Lab, Cooper, has About half of those I have met are just clothes without buttons, males with
joined me for about 30 percent of these sampling the Trail, frequently as a side broad-brimmed hats. They all wanted to
miles. At the end of a hard day, I believe trip from D.C.; but, more often, and more visit and chat, especially the men, be-
we have the same rights to shelter space interestingly, I met long-distance back- cause the children’s English speech was
as any other hikers. Your suggestion that packers, half of whom were attempting sometimes weak, whereas the men had
we should be prepared to tent out because thru-hikes. Universally, they were having more reason to develop and use it in their
people may not be comfortable with a dog the time of their lives and were enchant- occasional contacts when away from the
in the shelter suggests a class structure ed with the experience—quickly picking community of Plain People. The women
on the Trail. up the knack of how to do it from other remained, well, just in their traditional
This Trail and its shelters belong to end-to-enders. role: affable but subservient. On one oc-
everyone without prejudices. Cooper does It was a particular pleasure to fi ll them casion, I helped an Orthodox Jewish man,
not beg for or steal food, nor does he step in with history of the Trail or with local distinctively garbed, get a fi re started for
on other backpackers’ sleeping bags. He information—about fl ora and fauna, geol- supper for himself and his young son. He
listens extremely well (better than your ogy, history, particularly regarding the was obviously out of his element and
average child) and generally sleeps on my Civil War—if they showed inclination to inexperienced. The solution was to give
bag until I occupy it. listen. Exposure to that local color him a lighted candle and to amass a little
If any shelter occupant steals food, seemed to enhance the depth of their pile of dead leaves and needles among
steps on others’ belongings, or is obnox- adventure. But, when language was a sticks he had gathered but couldn’t ignite
ious, I would agree with you that they do handicap, that aspect got cut short. with a match. It was clearly a unique
not belong in a shelter. This applies to I had particular diffi culty with some adventure for both father and son.
backpacker and dog. When Cooper and I of the French Canadians’ dialect. Of Truly, the A.T. is a phenomenon—one
have backpacked and stayed in a shelter, course I did not attempt to use Parisian of our most distinctive and accessible
we have never been asked to leave and French, lest I seem patronizing or hoity- national parks, well-known world-wide.
tent (even when the shelter got full). I feel toity. But, with central Europeans, I often Thurston Griggs
your suggestion does not honor the used German, which surprised them. Baltimore, Maryland
6 MAY–JUNE 2003
P T
APER RAIL
News from Harpers Ferry
Racetrack hearing set for June 2 after ATC debunks noise data
AP ennsylvania county he will allow time for their ment of Conservation and hired former Lt. Gov. Mark
judge has given the consultant to analyze any new Natural Resources in early Singel to help get more than
would-be developer of a test data. That will culminate April fi led a strong “friend-of- $2 million in state tax abate-
“country club” for drivers of in a twice-postponed heari ng the-court” brief backing op- ments, grants, and loans for
high-performance automo- June 2 on the laws uit that ponents of the resort. The the project.
biles alongside the Appala- seeks to reverse the township developer, meanwhile, has
chian Trail corridor in Eldred supervisors’
Location of planned Alpine
Township eight weeks to redo conditional
Rose driving course in Monroe
his studies of noise impact on December ap-
County, Pennsylvania. (Maps:
the town and Trail. proval of the
National Park Service, ATC
The eight-week exten- 360-acre resort
GIS department)
sion came after an acousti- near Smith Gap
cal consultant hired by the in the north-
Appa lachian Trail Confer- eastern part of
ence showed that the devel- the state.
oper’s 2002 noise studies Resort op-
were almost entirely inval- ponents argue
id. The developer’s lawyer that the supervisors violated
admitted in court that its the Pennsylvania Appalachian
engineers erred; the effect Trail Act, the state constitu-
on the town would have tion, and their own limited
been four times the noise land-use ordinances.
projected last fall. Plans for the 360-acre
The A.T. is about 2,000 feet Alpine Rose Resort, proposed
uphill from the proposed speed by Richard Muller, Jr., of
course. Berks County, feature a
Earlier this year, that judge three-mile-long, 40-foot-
gave ATC and the Blue Moun- wide track, a self-service gas
tain Preservation Association station and car wash, a ga-
time to subpoena and analyze rage, and recreation areas.
the suspect noise data; he said The Pennsylvania Depart-
ATC challenges new Forest Service planning rules
Some new rules governing projects as road-building and review. It argued that the happens to national forests,
national forests would be timber-cutting. large-scale plans need review- have become accustomed to
“counterproductive,” ATC Startzell’s letter singled out ing, not just specifi c projects using NEPA review as a way
Executive Director Dave Start- a provision of the proposed within them. And, he said, of infl uencing decisions. “By
zell said in the Conference’s changes that would allow the limiting reviews to specifi c eliminating that avenue for
formal comment on regula- local “responsible official,” sites “ignores the potential for public participation, the pro-
tions proposed recently by the such as a local forest supervi- significant cumulative im- posed rule change could have
USDA Forest Service. In par- sor, to categorically exclude pacts at a district or forest the effect of reducing mean-
ticular, ATC focused on rules revisions and amendments to level of many smaller, incre- ingful public input,” he said.
that would make it easier for the local forest plans from mental actions.” Many people The ATC letter also ob-
the government to skip public National Environmental Pol- and organizations such as jected to new rules that would
environmental review of such icy Act (NEPA) compliance ATC, with a stake in what limit public appeals related to
APPALACHIAN TRAILWAY NEWS 7
Paper Trail
forest plans, forest-plan revi- (such as Web-site updates and case in point. In the southern tional trails, national monu-
sions, and forest-plan amend- e-mail alerts), audience-spe- region, for example, the Ap- ments, and national recreation
ments on issues involving cifi c letters, or postcards to all palachian Trail passes through areas.” National scenic and
inconsistencies of law or pol- known forest stakeholders six national forests, each pos- historic trails were not directly
icy and provide for only thirty and public notifi cation in the sessing similar ecosystems recognized in earlier rules.
days to review them. “In our Federal Register.” and social and economic In general, the ATC letter
view, a thirty-day notifi cation ATC also said that deci- conditions. We believe the said, “we support a shift in
period is wholly inadequate,” sions about what to subject to regional forester should re- emphasis [in forest plans] to-
Startzell wrote. “We believe environmental compliance main the responsible offi cial ward desired future conditions
a minimum 90-day review should be made at a regional for all forest plans.” rather than detailed outcomes
period should be provided for or national level, as was done ATC also criticized the or implementation issues.
such objections. In addition, in the past, rather than at a proposed rule change for di- However, such a shift should
limiting public-notifi cation local level. “In our experience, minishing the importance of not come at the expense of
requirements related to such there are many issues involved inventory and monitoring pro- achieving ecological sustain-
objections to publication in in forest plans that transcend grams related to roadless areas ability, attracting scientific
a ‘newspaper of record’ is forest boundaries,” Startzell and ecological diversity. and interdisciplinary input, or
unreasonably narrow. We said. “Management practices Startzell’s letter commend- encouraging broad public
believe notification should and policies affecting the Ap- ed proposed rule changes that comment, nor should it reduce
include a full spectrum of palachian Trail, or other long- acknowledge special designa- or unreasonably limit neces-
notifi cation devices, includ- distance trails that cross sev- tions or management areas, sary inventory and monitoring
ing electronic notification eral [national] forests, are a “including wilderness, na- programs.”
2005 Calendar Submission Deadline is May 30
The deadline for submissions of Please identify the scene’s location
slides and other transparencies as specifi cally as possible and the
for the 2005 Appalachian Trail month of shooting on the slide
Conference wall calendar is Friday, mount. Lack of suffi cient identifi ca-
May 30.The ATC calendar features tion could disqualify a submission
a mix of photographers, most of immediately, as would a submission
whom are Conference members and of a scene clearly outside the Trail
hikers who don’t make their livings corridor.
as professional photographers. The
A letter with the submissions
2004 calendar is available for sale
should state that they are for the
now. The rules are simple:
2005 calendar and provide the name,
• ATC will accept duplicate 35mm slides or other-sized address, and daytime telephone number of the photographer;
transparencies for the selection process but may need the the identities of any persons shown; and a detailed descrip-
original for reproduction. Color prints, however beautiful, tion of each scene submitted, including its location and the
cannot be used and will be returned immediately. month of the year it was taken.
The package should be sent to: Calendar Editor, Appala-
• Each photographer is limited to 36 submissions.
chian Trail Conference, P.O. Box 807 (799 Washington Street
• The image must be horizontal. for non-USPS submissions), Harpers Ferry, W.Va. 25425-
0807.
• The transparency must meet the technical production
Photographers whose slides are selected will be paid $200
standards of our copublisher, Graphic Arts Center in
per image—after signing release forms and obtaining re-
Portland, Oregon.
leases from any identifi able persons in the shots—and the
• The scene should show the footpath or be shot from the photographer of the cover picture will be paid an additional
footpath or, if taken from a distance, be of a recognizable $50. Selected slides will be held until the calendar is print-
landmark in the Trail corridor or management zone. ed in the spring of 2004.
8 MAY–JUNE 2003
Forest Service disabled-access guidelines will affect A.T.
For the past sixteen for applying existing laws, reation managers to provide governing recreation-related
months, the USDA Forest specifi cally the Architectural access for disabled persons for construction or alteration
Service has been develop- Barriers Act, to outdoor-rec- all outdoor-recreation facili- actions. A subcommittee of
ing new guidelines related reation facilities. The draft ties wherever feasible, unless the ATC Trail and Land
to access for persons with guidelines also build upon certain “exceptions” exist. Management Committee was
disabilities to outdoor recre- the work in 1997 and 1998 The draft Forest Service formed in December to re-
ation facilities and trails on by a group known as the guidelines incorporate a view the two documents and
National forest system lands. Regulatory Negotiation Com- similar exceptions-based ap- ATC has provided comments
The Forest Service has mittee on Outdoor Recrea proach and also emphasize to the Forest Service on sev-
posted the draft guidelines for tion Developed Areas that that modifi cations should be eral occasions.
public review and comment was formed by the Architec- consistent with, and not de- By summer 2003, the
on its Web site at <www.fs. tural and Transportation tract from, the recreational guidelines may be published
fed.us/recreation/programs/ Barriers Compliance Board setting. in the Federal Register for an
accessibility>, a link to which (Access Board) to develop The guidelines, if adopted, additional public comment
is on the ATC Web site, <www. similar recommendations for would affect new construc- period. Assumimg they sur-
appalachiantrail.org>. The nationwide application. ATC tion or alteration of existing vive the public-comment
guidelines are provided in was an active participant in trails that are managed for process, implementation of
two separate documents: “For- that regulatory-negotiation pedestrian use as well as all the new guidelines could
est Service Trails Accessibility process. facilities on lands adminis- begin before the end of the
Guidelines,” and “Forest Ser- The recommendations of tered by the Forest Service, year.
vice Outdoor Recreation Ac- that group, which were en- including more than 1,000
cessibility Guidelines.” dorsed by the Access Board in miles of the Appalachian
The guidelines have been 1999 but have not been re- Trail. Members of the University
under development since leased for public comment, Although still in draft of New Hampshire’s North -
December 2001 and represent advocated an “exceptions- form, the guidelines are being east Passage organization
an attempt by the Forest Ser- based” approach. The heart viewed within the Forest on Mt. Lafayette in 2002.
vice to develop its own rules of that approach directs rec- Service as interim policy (Photo: Northeast Passage)
APPALACHIAN TRAILWAY NEWS 9
T
REELINE
News from along the Appalachian Trail
Prosecutors can seek death penalty in Shenandoah murders
The man charged in two that the brutal nature of the who was charged in 2001 with investigators surmised. Al-
1996 murders in Shen- slayings of Julianne Marie Wil- killing the two women. though no indications were
andoah National Park liams and Laura “Lollie” Wi- Williams, 24, of St. Cloud, given by investigators of a
could face the death penalty nans prompted them to seek Minn., and Winans, 26, of Trail connection at the time,
after a ruling in March by the attorney general’s permis- Unity, Maine, were found Appalachian Trail Conference
U.S. Attorney General John sion to pursue the death pen- about a week after they set staff members and ridgerun-
Ashcroft. alty against Darrell David out on a side-trail camping ners were heavily involved in
Federal prosecutors said Rice of Columbia, Maryland, trip in May 1996. Their bodies interviewing hikers north and
were discovered in a wooded south of the site.
area about a quarter-mile Federal prosecutors said
Hunting on Trail costs man $345, rifl e
from where Skyline Drive that they would present a
and the Appalachian Trail grand jury with “aggravating
AH arpers Ferry, W.Va., man (W.Va. 9)—on a forested ridge intersect outside Skyland factors” that, if added to the
was fi ned $345 and had above a residential subdivi- Lodge. Their throats were slit, indictment, would allow a
his rifl e confi scated after sion—to intercept hunters. their mouths gagged, and trial jury to consider the death
he pleaded guilty in U.S. Dis- Hunting and trapping are their hands bound. Authori- penalty, should Rice be con-
trict Court to possession of a illegal on Trail lands adminis- ties charged that Rice singled victed.
fi rearm and illegal hunting on tered by the National Park them out because they were Rice already was serving
the Appalachian Trail about Service, but more than half of homosexual. an 11-year sentence for as-
10 miles south of Harpers the A.T. is on national forest The slayings were widely saulting a female bicyclist in
Ferry last November. or state gamelands where reported as “Appalachian the park in 1997 when au-
Four park rangers had been those sports are allowed, sub- Trail murders.” The hikers thorities charged him with the
staked out along that section ject to state and local regula- had not been on the Trail 1996 murders. His trial is
of the Trail south of Keys Gap tions. (west of the roadway) except scheduled to begin July 24 in
to walk from their vehicle to Charlottesville, Virginia.
the next side-trail junction,
Plane crash in Smokies kills pilot
Sleeping-bag fi re, hypothermia fatal
AT ennessee man died in emergency beacon shortly af-
early April when the ter midnight the next day.
to camper near A.T.
plane he was flying Woodson was dead at the
crashed on the Appalachian scene. His fl ight plan listed an
Trail in Great Smoky Moun- itinerary that took him from A man whose body was burned clothing at a campsite
tains National Park, park of- Knoxville to a South Carolina found near the Appala- near the body.
fi cials reported. airport and back. The Na- chian Trail in Norwich, Police said that they think
Chuck Woodson, 42, of tional Transportation Safety Vermont, in early April appar- Zion was sleeping in his sleep-
Seymour, Tennessee, died af- Board is investigating the ently died of exposure after his ing bag and got too close to a
ter the Cessna 172 he was crash. sleeping bag caught fi re, au- campfi re. His body was found
fl ying went down a mile east Park offi cials said that 45 thorities said. downhill from the campsite,
of Clingmans Dome. Park aircraft have crashed in the According to newspaper and police speculated that he
authorities began searching park since 1928, when record- reports, the dead man was collapsed after trying to escape
for the plane after it was re- keeping began. Woodson’s Richard J. Zion, 28, of Wake- his burning sleeping bag and
ported overdue by the Federal crash is the fi rst since 1999, fi eld, Mass. Police said that clothes, then succumbed to
Aviation Administration in when another Cessna 172 Zion’s death was due to hypo- hypothermia. A local resident
Knoxville, Tennessee, April 2. went down about two miles thermia. The body had suf- found the body about a week
Searchers soon homed in on a from the Appalachian Trail fered burns, and police found after Zion’s death, police
signal from the airplane’s near Spence Field. a burned sleeping bag and said.
10 MAY–JUNE 2003