October 7, 2024
Fall Hiking, Corridor Monitoring, End of Year Activities
by Paula Urhin

Hunting season is already upon us in Pennsylvania and this is a good time to prepare before venturing outdoors.

Specific dates for hunting seasons from vary year to year. Before you go, learn the regulations and hunting seasons for the areas where you will be hiking. Note that the Pennsylvania Game Commission announced three Sunday hunting dates for 2024: November 17, 24, and December 1. For more details on the hunting seasons in Pennsylvania you can reference the Pennsylvania Game Commission website.

Be sure to wear a brightly colored clothing. Colors such as blaze orange or neon green or yellow are recommended. Basically, the brighter the better. (Orange safety vests and hats from Walmart work fine and are inexpensive.) On State Game Lands in Pennsylvania, all hunters and non-hunters are required to wear a minimum 250 square inches of daylight fluorescent orange material on the head, chest and back combined and it must be visible from 360 degrees. An orange hat and vest satisfies this requirement. Many hiking paths including parts of the Appalachian Trail use state game lands, and even if you are not hiking on State Game Lands it is a good practice to adopt during hunting season. If you hike with a pet, it should also wear a blaze orange vest, collar, leash or bandana so it is visible from all sides. The AT recommends that pets be leashed at all times while hiking.

Avoid wearing colors that could be mistaken for game animals. Avoid any brown, tan, earth tones and especially white - you do not want to look like the flash of deer's tail. During turkey season avoid red, blue, purple, black and white. These are the head colors of a male wild turkey. Use extra caution particularly at dawn and dusk. Hunting activity typically increases during those times as that is when animals are feeding and visibility is poor. Hike during broad daylight when hunters can more easily identify you. Be especially cautious close to road crossings, trailheads, and in valley areas. Utilizing a flashlight or headlamp will help with visibility and identify you as a human and not a critter. Avoid the most popular hunting days, like opening weekend. In Pennsylvania that would be the Sunday after Thanksgiving and extending into the first two weekends of December. When you do go, choose trails that are off-limits to or unpopular with hunters. In this area there are several preserves that do not participate in hunting activities. Stick to established, marked trails. Skip the bushwhacking during hunting season as hunters are more likely to expect hikers on trails.

This is also the time of year that the Club performs our annual Corridor Monitoring. Basically we don't hike the Appalachian Trail (AT) itself but the boundaries that parallel it to ensure that there is no encroachment or other activities occurring that would endanger the AT. If you are interested in helping with the monitoring or just want to go along and find out what is involved, keep your eye on the forum (the AHC’s emails) or contact Lucy Cantwell. Additional information regarding Corridor Monitoring can be found on the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s (ATC’s) website.

Lastly, there are lots of events on our third quarter calendar and that includes some of my favorites. December starts out with our Annual Holiday Feast, a pot luck where club members bring in their favorite dishes to share, both sweet and savory ... and I always say that hikers know how to eat and also how to cook, so there are always lots of great treats to try. If you have never attended an Allentown Hiking Club meeting, this is a good one to attend. There are also Holiday-related events such as a walk through the Allentown Lights in the Parkway and a Bethlehem Holiday Hike ... both festive ways to get outdoors. Finally, close out the year with our Annual New Year’s Eve Hike to the Allentown Shelter, with two distance options. This event has been taking place since 1976 and is a great way to close out a year of hiking while sharing good fellowship with other hikers. I hope to see you on one of these fun events!

Happy Fall and Happy Trails!

Paula Uhrin
President, Allentown Hiking Club

October 4, 2024
Hurricane Helene and the Appalachian Trail
by Hal Wright

The magnitude and scope of tragedy in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene continues to unfold.

Pearisburg and Damascus, VA. Erwin, TN. Asheville and Hot Springs, NC. These are just some of the iconic towns along the southern Appalachian Trail decimated by Hurricane Helene.

Those of us who have completed the southern AT have visited all of these towns and enjoyed the hospitality of their residents. Our hearts break with the realization of what they have lost. You may be inclined to help with a donation and even volunteer work. We at Allentown Hiking Club are not positioned to offer advice on the best charities and organizations to pick; we urge you to research options carefully. We can direct you to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's webpage which describes the damage and links to reputable aid organizations.

We also urge you to monitor what the Appalachian Trail Conservancy has to say about trail access and use. Within the hiker community, there is often skepticism about the ATC's guidance during emergencies. Concerns include the loss of income to shuttle drivers and hostels when the ATC closes portions of the trail. And hikers tend to march (hike) to their own drummer; part of the appeal of the AT is that it stands apart from the restrictions of ordinary life. Given these unique circumstances though—that resources are strained along the southern AT, that the priority must be to restore housing and services to permanent residents, and that the ATC must follow direction from its land managers such as the Forest Service—we recommend that hikers heed the ATC's closures and stay off the trail where indicated. Note that the ATC has altered its normal rules for acknowledging thru hikes. Here is their webpage which summarizes guidance to hikers.

Finally, as climate change makes storms such as Helene more likely, it's worth noting that the ATC has been studying the impact of climate change on the Trail and its surroundings for decades. We are reminded of the expertise the ATC brings to stewardship along the Trail we love.

October 3, 2024
Tragedy on the AT: A Rare Cautionary Trail
by Hal Wright

The death of a 67-year-old thru hiker in Virginia reminds us to keep track of our health before and during long distance hikes.

Tragic incidents on the Appalachian Trail are rare indeed. Over three million people set foot on the A.T. every year. Thousands of these visitors hike the entire trail or large sections of it. While few of these hikers experience serious health-related issues, we've learned of the recent death of 67-year-old thru hiker Thomas VanEtten, apparently of natural causes, along the trail in Virginia. VanEtten's obituary states that completing a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail was "something he had wanted to do for years." We can at least take solace in the knowledge that VanEtten passed on doing something he loved.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy offers much advice for staying safe while hiking a long-distance trail. Equally important is having an awareness of one's health before starting to hike. For older hikers, an assessment of one's heart health and general fitness is especially important, given that the rigors of a long-distance hike are difficult to replicate in life off the trail. Also, it's important to plan a hike which respects one's limitations in terms of miles walked per day, pack weight, and terrain. Better to be prepared to hike 10 miles per day and to experience the delight of learning that it's possible to hike farther, than it is to extend a hike for one or more days without the food needed to stay on the trail.

Contrary to some comments of some younger hikers on social media, hiking in one's 60's and beyond is not too dangerous to attempt. If that were true, many of us in Allentown Hiking Club would have been off trail for a long while!