Trailspace Blog November 2009

It’s spring. So, here’s a spring book recommendation, whether you’re knee deep in mud season and can’t hit your favorite trails yet, or you need a good book for reading in the tent.

Walking with Spring by Earl Shaffer

Walking with Spring, Earl Shaffer’s memoir of completing the first continuous Appalachian Trail thru-hike in 1948, is a very enjoyable book. I’ve read a number of on-the-trail memoirs, but this is one of my favorites. Shaffer’s writing—like his hiking—is straightforward, unassuming, and evocative of why many of us hike in the first place—simplicity.

That’s not to say his trek was easy. Shaffer completed the hike solo over a trail that had been neglected during the WWII years, lacked a lot of signage, was partially rerouted in sections, and had had a large section lost to a New England hurricane. For some sections he only had a road map.

Shaffer and a close friend originally planned the hike as a way to help recover from their wartime service, but Shaffer ended up going solo after his hiking partner died in the war. And yet, his story avoids navel-gazing and he never seems to complain.

Reading Walking with Spring feels like following a good friend down the trail. Shaffer's story made me want to get down to Georgia and start hiking homeward today.

You can celebrate National Park Week April 18-26 at a national park, historic site, or monument across the country. Events include Junior Ranger Day activities for children and families, ranger-guided hikes and presentations, bird watching, history talks, trailside scavenger hunts, and trail work.

Visit the National Park Service’s Schedule of Events to learn more about what’s happening at a national park near you: www.nps.gov/npweek/sched.htm

It’s Tax Day. As members of 1% For the Planet since 2006, we donate at least one percent of annual sales to environmental organizations. From national organizations, like the American Hiking Society and Leave No Trace, to our local land trust and the Maine ATC, you can see which outdoor and environmental groups we supported in 2008.

Want to suggest a favorite environmental organization? Tell us about it and we’ll consider it for future 1% For the Planet contributions.

We think that along with gearing up and getting out, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of the wild places near and far that we enjoy.

For more info and to see who we’re currently supporting, visit Trailspace’s “Giving Back” section: www.trailspace.com/about/giving-back/

Hey, kids! The National Park Foundation is asking kids across the nation to share ideas on how to protect and preserve America's National Parks. Kids aged 9 to 12, with the help of a parent or guardian, have through May 1 to submit an essay of no more than 500 words answering this question: Why are our national parks important to you and what is your best idea to protect our parks for the future?

The first prize winner will receive a $1,000 Visa gift card and the opportunity to direct a $5,000 contribution from the National Park Foundation to his or her favorite national park. The funds will be used by the park to put into action big ideas like those included in the winning essay. The top three essays will be featured in the Junior Ranger Gazette and on the National Park Foundation website.

• To submit an entry online and view the official rules visit: www.nationalparks.org/get-involved/essay-contest/
• For info on the National Park Service's Junior Ranger program visit: www.nps.gov/learn/juniorranger.htm