PRESENTER PROFILE:
Presenter: Laura Letton, Cathie Vickers, Barb Shanks
Presentation: Three Hikers First Trip on the Appalachian Trail
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Be inspired by three first time Appalachian Trail (AT) hikers as they share their personal stories about what they learned and experienced on an eight day adventure on the AT in October 2011.
The six person trip was organized and led by veteran AT hiker Andy Niekamp through daytonhikers.org. The six hikers prepared, planned, and trained for a 42 mile trip by taking various classes from Five Rivers Metroparks, including Backpacking Basics and Introduction to Backpacking. They also gained experience on several beginner backpacking trips to Germantown Metropark, Red River Gorge, KY, Zaleski State Forest, OH, and Big South Fork, TN.
Visit the beauty of fall on the Appalachian Trail through their pictures. Hear how they gained experience in backcountry camping, and built their stamina and strength in Grayson Highlands, VA, as well as hiking up Roan Mountain, TN, and Hump Mountain, TN. Enjoy their personal reflections about the challenges and the rewards of the trip, why they decided to make the journey, and the effect it had on them personally.
Laura Letton – has been an avid hiker for the last two years and is a beginning backpacker. She took her first backpacking trip with Dayton Hikers in August 2011 to Big South Fork, TN, and completed her third trip on the Appalachian Trail (AT) in VA, TN and NC in October 2011. Laura enjoys the incredible beauty of the trails, as well as the opportunity to grow and challenge herself with new experiences. The members of Dayton Hikers have inspired her to reach new goals and helped her realize a personal dream to hike on the AT; the members have also been her role models as Laura has trained to become a stronger hiker and backpacker. Laura’s numerous outings in the Dayton area Metroparks have expanded her love of hiking and brought many new people and experiences into her life. Laura hopes to return to the AT again within the next year to continue section hiking. She is a volunteer and active member of daytonhikers.org.
Barb Shanks – is an avid hiker who is fairly new to backpacking. Since joining the Dayton Hikers in 2010 she has hiked and backpacked with many wonderful people from the Dayton area. Her most recent adventure, Backpacking the Best of the Southern Appalachian Trail was rewarding beyond words. Barb says, “I will never again experience the beauty of autumn without remembering the eight days we spent backpacking fifty miles on the AT!”
Cathie Vickers – began her backpacking with a basic backpacking class offered by Five Rivers MetroParks a couple of years ago. Andy Niekamp was on that trip assisting beginners and sharing an invitation to become involved with the fairly newly formed daytonhikers.org. Cathie was alone in her endeavors to regain a life in the outdoors. Her husband and friends thought she was crazy (still do). Since then Cathie has become an avid hiker, backpacker, and is recently discovering a great love for biking and kayaking, all with great friends she's made through MetroParks and Daytonhikers.org. "I cannot begin to express my gratitude to MetroParks and Daytonhikers. Becoming involved with these groups has truly changed my life. My trip on the AT is one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and I'm 65 years old with many great experiences to call great. I don't think there is a day that goes by that that I don't recall a beautiful vista, a moment by the fire at night, a thrill from a difficult climb, or the companionship of great people. I'm definitely making plans for more experiences on the AT." |
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