Out on the Trail: Duncannon ready for big National Trails Day

Thanks to Rita Floriani, Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club member, for this awesome article in the Reading Eagle!  Only 2 days until the event!!  Visit www.duncannonappalachiantrailcommunity.com.

Source: ReadingEagle.com

Duncannon, PA -- All across America, a vast array of hikes and outdoor activities will be taking place this Saturday as the nation celebrates the American Hiking Society's 20th annual National Trails Day. The theme for this year's National Trails Day is "America's Largest Trailgating Party."

Perhaps one of the largest trail parties that will be held this day will be the one over in Duncannon, Perry County, as the borough residents join members of the Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club, the Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club, the Mountain Club of Maryland, long distance hikers and the hiking community at large, along with the members and staff of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, as they all come together to celebrate the borough of Duncannon being designated as an Appalachian Trail Community by the Conservancy.

Being designated an Appalachian Trail Community is an initiative by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to get communities located near the Appalachian Trail involved in helping to protect the trail for future generations.

Located 12 miles north of Harrisburg on the western edge of the Susquehanna River, this tiny town of 1,334 people is well acquainted with Appalachian Trail hikers; more than a mile of the Appalachian Trail runs straight through the main streets of Duncannon.

The Appalachian Trail enters the south side of town where the trail descends off of Cove Mountain and into the Susquehanna water gap. Hawk Rock, a lookout high over the town, offers a view of Duncannon, the Susquehanna River and on the northern end of the town, a view of the Juniata River as it flows into the Susquehanna.

Hikers follow the standard 2-by-6-inch white-painted blazes of the Appalachian Trail off the mountain and across Sherman's Creek and the Little Juniata Creek. After walking under the underpass of Routes 11 and 15, hikers enter Duncannon on Market Street and reach the town square.

Double white-painted blazes on a corner phone pole direct the hiker to make a left turn onto Cumberland Street and then a right hand turn onto High Street. The hiker will follow High Street north for more than a mile until double blazes indicate a right turn and then a left.

The white blazes lead the hiker across the Route 849 Bridge over the Juniata River and immediately over the Clarks Ferry Bridge, which crosses the great Susquehanna River before leaving the gap and climbing Peter's Mountain on the eastern shore.

Rarely does a hiker enter the town of Duncannon and not take a break from the trail. In the main square there is a well known hiker stop, the Doyle Hotel, where hikers can purchase beverages not found on the Appalachian Trail. Hikers have access to a grocery store, a laundromat, restaurants and a post office.

The streets of Duncannon will be blocked off this Saturday for the festivities. Planned events include the following:

Hikes will be led up to Hawk Rock by the Susquehanna Trail Club and the Mountain Club of Maryland.

There will be a trail maintenance hike with the Mountain Club of Maryland.

The PA Game Commission will be leading a guided bird hike on Haldeman Island, which is usually closed to the public. Registration is required for the bird walk.

The Susquehanna Rovers Volksmarch Club will be leading 5K and 10K walks.

Blue Mountain Outfitters will be holding trips on the Susquehanna River.

The Duncannon Fire Company will be having a chicken barbecue. There will be music, vendor tables and outdoor-related presentations. Speakers at the main ceremony will be from the National Park Service, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Appalachian Trail Museum and a Perry County commissioner.

With a full day of activities, it looks like it's going to be one very big day for the little trail town of Duncannon.

Email Rita Floriani: weekend@readingeagle.com.

Duncannon's June 2nd event, Trailangel Mary and The Doyle Hotel featured on WITF's SmartTalk

This morning’s Memorial Day Weekend episode of WITF’s Radio Smart Talk hosted by Scott LaMar featured Jim Foster, President of Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club and Curt Ashenfelter, Executive Director of Keystone Trails Association.   In addition to offering up a variety of information about hiking and local trails to explore, they mentioned exciting upcoming events on National Trails Day including Duncannon’s Appalachian Trail Community designation!

Follow the link below to hear Jim and Curt tell Smart Talk listeners about the upcoming event, the warm hospitality towards hikers in Duncannon and local Trail institutions in both Trailangel Mary and the famed Doyle Hotel.  

Hiking, barbeque tips, and Johnstown Flood novel author on Memorial Day Weekend Radio Smart Talk

Designation announced on Patriot News blog

Marcus Schneck of The Patriot News reports:  

Duncannon to be named an official Appalachian TrailCommunity

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy will designate Duncannon, Pennsylvania, as the newest Appalachian Trail Community on Saturday, June 2, in conjunction with National Trails Day.

The designation festival, which is titled "Saving Our Community from Nature Deficit Disorder, begins at noon.

It will include workshops, presentations, sponsored hikes with local trail groups, live music, vendors and a raffle and sponsored hikes with local trail groups, to be followed by a ceremony at 2:45 p.m.

According to ATC, the designation is coming to Duncannon because the community works collaboratively to bring awareness to the AT and to their respective community highlighting the trail as a national resource and international icon.  During the ceremony the ATC and town leaders will speak with a proclamation signing and an unveiling of new community signs.  

"Each year, municipal leaders, members of the Boy and Girl Scouts, Trail Angels, local citizens, and members of the school community take a great deal of pride in making Duncannon part of the trail by offering a unique experience for those passing through a community nestled along the sparkling Susquehanna River. It is indeed an honor to be one of a small number of towns through which the Trail directly passes," wrote Daniel Sheats, superintendent of schools, in his letter supporting the community designation.

The festival also will announce the winners of a fourth grade postcard art contest, which will be made available for sale at local businesses.

The Appalachian Trail Community designation is a new program of the ATC, the nonprofit responsible for management and protection of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. Launched in 2010, this program recognizes communities for their part in promoting awareness of the AT as an important local and national asset.

Designation as an Appalachian Trail Community is aimed to engage community residents, trail visitors and stewards; thank communities for their decades of service to hikers; aAct as a catalyst for sustainable economic development; aid municipalities and regional areas with conservation planning initiatives; and promote the trail as a community resource and asset

"The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is proud to celebrate communities that are helping to protect and promote the Appalachian Trail," said Julie Judkins, community program manager for the ATC. "These new partnerships will increase local stewardship of public lands, support community initiatives for sustainable economic development and conservation planning as well as support healthy lifestyles for community citizens."

A Duncannon Appalachian Trail Community Advisory Committee was formed to process the community's application, and will continue to work on behalf of the outdoor recreation and natural assets in the area.

The committee is also planning improved river access and downtown beautification through their support of Apple Tree Alley, a proposed site plan that would transform the underused old railroad right-of-way corridor into a new space for community use and serve as the route of the AT in Duncannon, guiding hikers through a town park to connect them with amenities, river access points and businesses.

"Each hiker experiences not only a piece of America as they stroll Duncannon's sidewalks, but also senses the welcoming atmosphere innate to the neighborhood," said Karen Balaban, president of the Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club.

The ATC was founded in 1925 by volunteers and federal officials working to build a continuous footpath along the Appalachian Mountains.

The AT runs about 2,180 miles from Maine to Georgia, making it one of the longest, continuously marked footpathes in the world.

Volunteers typically donate more than 220,000 hours each year on trail-related work and about 2 to 3 million visitors walk a portion of the AT each year.  This year also marks the 75th anniversary of the completion of the AT.