IAT supports the Patriots at a Super Bowl Party

IAT Maine Chapter Board members; Walter Anderson, Thomas Urquhart and Dick Anderson share a laugh, and a beer, with IAT Maine benefactor Eddie Woodin.
The event was the SUPER BOWL party hosted by Eddie Woodin and Nancy Robinson at Eddie’s home in Scarborough, Maine. There was some good talk about the upcoming International meeting in Iceland and the Annual Meeting of the Maine Chapter, in June.
Unfortunately the Patriots lost the game, But IAT supporters had a wonderful time and took the opportunity to thank Eddie for his long-time and continuing support of the IAT.
Photos by Walter

Update on Ed Talone’s Progress

Saturday, April 16th, Eastern Continental Trail thru-hiker Ed Talone reached the southernmost mountain of the Appalachian Mountains in North America, Flag Mountain in Alabama. Departing mid-February, from Dr Tortugas National Park, some 60 miles off the coast of Florida, Ed took approximately 70 days to walk the 1400 mile length of Florida. After walking the Florida National Scenic Trail, Ed walked approximately 160 miles of roads through Alabama, to reach the beginning of the 335 mile Pinhoti Trail on Flag Mountain. Flagg Mountain is also the very southern end of the Appalachian Mountain chain in North America.
When he arrived at Flag Mountain, he was greeted by members of the Alabama Hiking Tail Society, who provided good fellowship, cold beverages, a well-maintained campsite and a warm fire to help Ed recuperate. In the images included, you can see Ed Arriving at the observation tower atop Flag Mountain, enjoying a frosty beverage, and a group picture of the Alabama Hiking Trail Society, who maintain the campsite and tread surface of the Pinhoti Trail.

fter ascending to Flag Mountains’ modest 1,148 feet (349.91 m) peak, Ed will walk through the southwest corner of Georgia on the Pinhoti Trail, do 20 miles on the Benton MacKaye Trail and join up with the Appalachian National Scenic Trail at Springer Mountain. Ed will hike north on the 2180-mile Appalachian Trail, through Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecuticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
In Maine, Ed will summit Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park. After walking north through Baxter State Park, Ed will join the route of the International Appalachian Trail Through Maine, to New Brunswick, Quebec, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

IAT named the 2012 Eco-charity of the Hiraeth Press of Hartford

On February 24th Hiraeth Press will be releasing its first title of 012, Border Crossings: Walking the Haiku Path on the International Appalachian Trail by Ian Marshall. This book follows Ian Marshall on this journey over the International Appalachian Trail, from Mt. Katahdin in Maine up through New Brunswick and out to the tip of Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula.
In addition, the Hiraeth Press has named the The International Appalachian Trail the 2012 Eco-charity of the Hiraeth Press of Danvers, Massachusetts! Don Hudson and Dick Anderson will attend the release in Hartford.
Countless books have been done to chronicle humanity’s communion with nature, from the classics written by naturalists such as Henry David Thoreau or John Muir, to the more contemporary offerings such as Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson; however Border Crossings stands out as unique among its fellows. Composed of Haiku and contemplative prose Border Crossings is book of braided styles: poetry, prose and travel writing. This style, as the author explains, is akin to that of haibun—a style of writing made popular by such Japanese poets as Matsuo Bash that merges poetic and meditative prose, literary criticism and cultural meditation.
Ian Marshall is a professor of English and Environmental Studies at Penn State Altoona and a former president of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment. Border Crossings is Mr. Marshall’s fourth book. He is the author of Story Line: Exploring the Literature of the Appalachian Trail published in 1998, Peak Experiences: Walking Meditations on Literature, Nature, and Need published in 2003, and Walden by Haiku published in 2009.
For more information on Border Crossings visit: www.hiraethpress.com
You can read the announcement on the Hiraeth Press website: http://hiraethpress.com/announcing-our-2012-eco-charity