Duncannon A.T. Community proclamation caught on Video!

Thanks to Rose Jenkins for video-taping the Duncannon Appalachian Trail Community proclamation read by ATC’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Director, Karen Lutz, and Mayor of Duncannon Borough, Kraig Nace.   Watch below on YouTube.

Also be sure to check out Brian "Nimble" McPherson's Katahdin Song!   A special Duncannon version was performed at the designation event on June 2nd.

Susquenita Middle School Post Card Art Contest Winners

Post Card Design Winners from each grade on display at ATC's Mid-Atlantic Regional Office!

This past Saturday the A.T. Community designation ceremony was kicked off by Susquenita Middle School and Trail to Every Classroom teacher Paul Marth awarding the winners of the Post Card Art Contest from each grade!

The winners are (clockwise from top left): 

• Michaela Todaro - Grade 5
• Hanna Luzier - Grade 8
• Danielle Bentley - Grade 7
• Cali Beasom - Grade 6

Congratulations!!  Many other Middle School students submitted awesome designs as well that were on display this past Saturday at event central.  These post cards are available in downtown businesses and the post office in Duncannon for hikers and visitors to mail home - and for residents to enjoy.

Special thanks to Paul Marth for coordinating, Susquenita Middle School art teacher Abby Fisher, the Duncannon Appalachian Trail Community Advisory Committee for funding printing, and of course to all the amazingly talented students that submitted their designs!  This will hopefully be the beginning of an annual tradition in Duncannon that will also spread to Appalachian Trail Communities from Georgia to Maine. 

Event Photos from Sedentary Steve

Thanks to Trailangel Mary and lead photographer Annie Leiby for planning to have photographers stationed at all of the day’s events!  Can't wait to see some of the photo booth shots.  Steve Fehr, or “Sedentary Steve,” as he’s known in the Trail community, sent over a set of photos from the day’s events.  A few are posted below or visit his Picasa web album for a whole gallery.  Be sure to check out Sedentary Steve's "Tales from the Trail", a series of thru-hiker interviews he did in 2002.  It's great stuff!

Hikers heading to Hawk Rock (Photo: Steve Fehr)

New Mural by Muralists Carol & Alston Boyd (Photo: Steve Fehr)

Steve Saffier of PA Audubon (Photo: Steve Fehr)

Cumberland Street (Photo: Steve Fehr)

Portrait Artist on Cumberland St. (Photo: Steve Fehr)

Hikers at the Mountain Club of MD Tent (Photo: Steve Fehr)

Randy "Windtalker" Motz performs (Photo: Steve Fehr)

Trailangel Mary reads excerpt from Nat Geo (Photo: Steve Fehr)

A.T. Community designation ceremony (Photo: Steve Fehr)

Inaugural Duncannon A.T. Community a SUCCESS!

Congratulations to the entire Duncannon Appalachian Trail Community advisory committee and Trailangel Mary for a successful event this past Saturday!  

Photo by Sean O'Shell of TrailVistas.com. (Click for larger view)

Trail and Duncannon-enthusiasts turned out in droves on the beautiful day for morning hikes sponsored by area Trail clubs, information & retail vendors, live entertainment, and Trail-related programs.  A designation ceremony capped things off at 2:45pm when the Susquenita Middle School Post-Card Art Contest winners were awarded and speakers from the National Park Service, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Appalachian Trail Museum Society, Perry County Commission, PA State House of Representatives, and PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Lancaster County Conservancy President & CEO, Ralph Goodno, informed attendees of the reasons we need to get our children and citizens out-of-doors and what we can do going forward to see this change.  Appalachian Trail Conservancy Mid-Atlantic Regional Director, Karen Lutz, and Duncannon Major, Kraig Nace followed with the reading of the A.T. Community Proclamation.  Thanks to Mayor Nace for serving as master of ceremonies.  Thanks again to ALL THE VOLUNTEERS that helped make this event a success.

A.T. Photo-Booth and Parking for Saturday's Event

See below map for available parking and shuttle stops on June 2^nd in Duncannon.  Street parking may be available as well. 

Click on image for larger view.

And Committee member Annie Leiby -- of A View of the Soul Photography -- will be hosting an Appalachian Trail photo-booth on Cumberland St. during the event!  See backdrop below.   Photos will be available for download for $5 after the event and proceeds will be donated to DATC.

Mountain Club of Maryland June 2nd Trail Maintenance Trip

Luke Johnson & Jerry Wright out on the Trail

The Mountain Club of Maryland (MCM) trail maintenance trip heading up Cove Mountain will meet at the Recycle Center on Saturday morning, June 2nd at 9:30am.  Join in to help out and learn about how the local clubs maintain the Appalachian Trail before the big event!  Contact Jerry Wright or Mike O'Connor with questions.

Susquenita High School sophomore, Luke Johnson, has been helping out with Duncannon Appalachian Trail Community efforts as part of his Senior Project since early 2012.  He spent a day out on the Trail helping out MCM Trail Maintainer Jerry Wright back in early May and has since been painting fresh blazes on the Cove Mountain section of the Trail.  Thanks to Luke and his mother Beth for all their help!  And to MCM for taking on such a worthy apprentice.