Month: March 2012

On March 18-20, 2012, Walter Anderson, IAT Chief Geologist and Board Member, attended the 47th Annual meeting of the Northeast Section of the Geological Society of America (NEGSA) convened at the Marriot Hartford, Hartford Conn. Walter, an NEGSA member, also represented an IAT sponsor, Poland Spring Waters/ Nestle Waters of North America. He set up and managed a Poland Spring exhibitors booth on water at the meeting, and included IAT poster displays of the “Appalachian Terranes” and the “Origin of the Appalachians”. There were well over a thousand registrants in attendance. A total of 488 oral and poster sessions were presented covering geological Symposia, Theme sessions, Discipline Sessions, Workshops and Field Trips. There was much interest in IAT and numerous informational IAT bookmarks were dispensed.

Respectfully submitted,

Walter Anderson

Alabama State Flag

Alabama Hiking Trails Society (AHTS)

At the invitation of the Alabama Hiking Trails Society (AHTS), representatives of the International Appalachian Trail(IAT) delivered a presentation on the history and development of the IAT at the annual meeting of AHTS. The meeting was held in Columbiana, Alabama on March 9 and 10. Don Hudson, Maine IAT Chapter President and Dick Anderson, Maine Chapter Treasurer, represented the IAT and gave the presentation on Saturday morning.

Dick Anderson and Don Hudson at Flagg Mountain Summit

Don Hudson, Maine IAT Chapter, President with famous long-distance

hiker, and IAT thru-hiker~"Mother Nature’s Son", John Calhoun at the

summit of Flagg Mountain–the south end of the Appalachian Mountains

in North America. John was our host at the meeting.

The AHTS~trail register at Flag Mountain; note ECT hiker Sterling

Coleman signed just before Don and Dick.

The presentation was well received and there was great interest in the continuing development of the IAT. The AHTS trails include many miles of trail through the southern Appalachian Mountains in Alabama, south of the end of the Appalachian Trail at Springer Mountain, Georgia. Dick and Don asked~members of AHTS to consider becoming a Chapter of the IAT.

John Calhoun "Mother Nature’s Son" a thru hiker of the~IAT—Crow~Head to Katahdin 2007—and a member of AHTS, guided Don and Dick on a trip to the summit of Flagg Mountain, the~southernmost one thousand foot mountain in the Appalachian Mountain chain in North America. Don was thrilled to get to~Flagg Mountain, having been~hearing about that mountain for many years.

Both Dick and Don had a wonderful time and thanked the folks at AHTS~for their great "southern hospitality"

For more information about AHTS please visit their web site at www.hikealabama.org~~~

The pictures, accompanying this story, were taken by Don and John.

Distant View of Flagg Mountain (Photo taken by Mike Kennedy, President of AHTS)

Andrew Graves Speaks to Maine Chapter Representatives

The Management Officer of the American Embassy in Reykjavik, Iceland has decided to plant some roots in Maine, and the Maine Chapter organized a special dinner recently to welcome Andrew and Kristin Graves to Portland. The dinner served a second important purpose, as several board members in attendance will attend the first international meeting of all of the chapters of the International Appalachian Trail scheduled for June 15th in Reykjavik. The Maine delegation will be lead by IAT founder Dick Anderson, and will also include geologists Walter Anderson and Robert Marvinney, as well as Will Richard, Earl Raymond and Maine Chapter President Don Hudson. In addition to the board members, Cheryl Marvinney, Lindsay Dorney, Phine Ewing and Maureen Ellerton will complete the Maine delegation. Though Earl and Maureen were unable to attend the dinner, Thomas Urquhart and Amy MacDonald, Herb Hartman and Lucy Martin, Anne Anderson, Geraldine Wolf, Bob Lemieux, and Seth Levy completed the party.

Andrew and Kristin Graves

An important and symbolic event will be held at the American Embassy on June 15th for the representatives of all of the chapters as well as the Ambassadors of a number of embassies and consulates that represent IAT member countries in Iceland. Although originally planned for just over 20 people, the reception will likely include over 50 people once all of the chapters make their final plans for travel. Andy Graves spoke to the group about how he landed the job of running the embassy in Reykjavik, and he painted a wonderful picture about what to anticipate and expect from a visit to Iceland in June. He looks forward to welcoming the group to the American Embassy on June 15th.

Dick Anderson with Andrew Graves

The gathering and dinner at the Sebago Brewing Company pub was a great success, and served to introduce one of Maine’s newest couples to an important slice of the greater Portland and Maine communities. The Maine delegation traveling to Iceland looks forward to seeing Andy and Kristin in their work environment in mid-June.

Take a good look at the photograph above. Do you recognize the location? Can you make out the fire ring in the left foreground? It may be slightly difficult to identify, but this is the Wassataquoik lean-to under a blanket of 34” of powdery snow at Katahdin Brook on the IAT just west of Katahdin Lake. The lean-to is located on land owned by Elliotsville Plantation, Inc. (EPI) and I had the opportunity to visit the site on February 29th during routine biological monitoring work.

As a biologist at Sewall, the winter months are a great time of year for me to document the presence of a variety of wildlife on EPI lands without ever seeing the animal. When I stopped at the lean-to that day, I was conducting a snow-track survey for Canada lynx, listed as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. In order to efficiently cover many miles in a single day, we use snowmobiles to traverse the property. On the day I took this photo, I documented tracks made by lynx, moose, coyote, mice, ermine, snowshoe hare, red squirrel, fisher, river otter, and ruffed grouse. So the next time you’re recreating in the snow, or even walking to your car on the way to work, think twice about that track you see in the snow, however small or large it may be. Then ask yourself what made the track, when was it made, and why was it made, and think about the adaptations and preparations that allow wildlife to spend their winters in such harsh climates.

If you’re curious about how to identify animals based on their tracks, check out your local land trust, refuge, or conservation organization, which often offer programs to the public for little or no cost to participants.

Sarah Spencer

The Management Officer of the American Embassy in Reykjavik, Iceland has decided to plant some roots in Maine, and the Maine Chapter organized a special dinner recently to welcome Andrew and Kristin Graves to Portland. The dinner served a second important purpose, as several board members in attendance will attend the first international meeting of all of the chapters of the International Appalachian Trail scheduled for June 15th in Reykjavik. The Maine delegation will be lead by IAT founder Dick Anderson, and will also include geologists Walter Anderson and Robert Marvinney, as well as Will Richard, Earl Raymond and Maine Chapter President Don Hudson. In addition to the board members, Cheryl Marvinney, Lindsay Dorney, Phine Ewing and Maureen Ellerton will complete the Maine delegation. Though Earl and Maureen were unable to attend the dinner, Thomas Urquhart and Amy MacDonald, Herb Hartman and Lucy Martin, Ann Anderson, Geraldine Wolf, Bob Lemieux, and Seth Levy completed the party.

An important and symbolic event will be held at the American Embassy on June 15th for the representatives of all of the chapters as well as the Ambassadors of a number of embassies and consulates that represent IAT member countries in Iceland. Although originally planned for just over 20 people, the reception will likely include over 50 people once all of the chapters make their final plans for travel. Andy Graves spoke to the group about how he landed the job of running the embassy in Reykjavik, and he painted a wonderful picture about what to anticipate and expect from a visit to Iceland in June. He looks forward to welcoming the group to the American Embassy on June 15th.

The gathering and dinner at the Sebago Brewing Company pub was a great success, and served to introduce one of Maine’s newest couples to an important slice of the greater Portland and Maine communities. The Maine delegation traveling to Iceland looks forward to seeing Andy and Kristin in their work environment in mid-June.