July PA 1998

ISSN 098-8154 The Potomac Appalachian The Newsletter of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club Volume 27, Number 7 118 Park Street. S.E., Vienna, VA 22180-4609 July 1998 PATC Sponsors Event for Disabled Hikers ne of a trail club’s most important mis- Counselors need training before they can help important, there was cohesion among the Osions is to reach out to non-traditional others. And that was the purpose of the gath- counselors encouraged by the beauty of the trail users those with disabilities and chronic ering at Blackburn - to take teenagers to the location. The camp broke up about mid-af- health conditions. Sometimes the disability point of leadership. Ten CITs (Counselors in ternoon on Sunday. The counselors seemed is blindness, sometimes the hikers are wheel- Training) joined with four staff members to ready to begin the regular camp in June. chair-bound. In the case of a group occupy- have group sessions and training, funded by ing Blackburn Trail Center on the weekend a grant from the Appalachian Trail Confer- The CITs, the staff and parents who drove to of April 25 and 26, they were teenagers and ence. Dr. John McNamara, the chairman of the camp were equally impressed with the mag- adults with epilepsy. the newly formed PATC medical committee, nificent scenery and the Blackburn facility. conducted training in wilderness medicine Many commented that they had no idea that Every year, the Neurology Department at and snake identification, including recogni- such a fine lodge existed in the area, and asked Children’s National Medical Center sponsors tion of poisonous snakes. Immediately after many questions about when the club obtained a week-long camp for children with epilepsy the training, hike leader Bob Pickett took the it and how it was being renovated and enlarged. held at the 4-H Center outside Front Royal. group on an AT hike. The snakes cooperated, With a facility like Blackburn, PATC is well It is financed by an Appalachian Trail Con- and they found two timber rattlers sunning equipped to host such sessions. This gives us a ference outreach grant. The counselors who themselves just west of the trail at Buzzard capability that we have never had before. It is work with the children themselves have epi- Rock. (Was that you, Bob, holding that rat- more than just an opportunity to do good—it lepsy, so they know the concerns and issues, tler by his head and tail for everyone to see?) is a mission to bring the experience of the trail and what they are trying to achieve. One goal After that, everyone retreated to Blackburn to people who might otherwise never know it. is to reduce the physical and social isolation for a never-to-be-forgotten dinner cooked by With the weekend of April 25 and 26, PATC often experienced by those with disabilities camp chef Sharon Johnson. After dinner, may have embarked on a new era of commu- and chronic health conditions, and bring the Evelyn Salinger demonstrated how to conduct nity service. ❑ children to a better understanding of them- a sing-along during the campfire portion of –Tom Johnson, selves and the disability they have through a the evening Vice President group and camp experience in the outdoors. Many have been over-protected by parents The next day was more wilderness training, who fear the consequences of epilepsy. group training and planning sessions. Most In this Issue… Reclaiming The American Chestnut’s Old Dominion Council Fire ................................... 2 Cabin Rates ................................... 4 alking the Trail, you may pass a stream began with a blight imported on Oriental Morris Cabin ................................. 5 Wcalled, “Shooting Creek”. There are nursery stock shortly after the turn of the cen- News for Hike Leaders ................... 7 many, and the name does not refer to the tury, and proceeded steadily south- and west- water cascading down the mountainside, but ward from New York through the eastern Donations ...................................... 7 to the stills that were fiercely defended as an states in spite of all efforts to halt or delay its Forecast of Events .......................... 8 alternative source of cash after blight killed spread. By the Great Depression, the chest- Costa Rica Gambit ...................... 11 the big American chestnut trees, taking with nut forests of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Moun- A Trail Story (Part Two) ............... 12 it the mainstay of the mountain family’s ex- tains were dead; by the early 50’s the last large istence. Just imagine what once was ours: be- groves in West Virginia had also succumbed. Notices ........................................ 13 fore the blight, one-fourth of the trees in Avery Era Ends (Part Two) ........... 14 Appalachia were American chestnut. At the Everywhere the forests were haunted by tall Book Review ................................ 15 time, a hundred feet tall was not an uncom- gray ghosts which covered some mountains mon size for chestnut, and the small sweet so completely that the rural folk described Family Hikes Program ................. 16 nuts were preferred by most of the wildlife them as giant porcupines. However, the lum- Publications ................................. 17 from birds to bears. ber was still valuable — straight as the yellow Trailhead...................................... 19 poplar and nearly as strong as oak, but much Trail Overseers Wanted ................ 20 The destruction of the American chestnut See Chestnut, page 3 Potomac Appalachian 1 Council Members, Chairs and Staff Council Fire Officers President: Sandi Marra he Council held its regular meeting at tower need be only slightly above tree level. VP Operations: George Still VP Volunteerism: Tom Johnson T7:00 p.m. on May 12, 1998 at the Club The tower would not be visible from the AT. Supervisor of Trails: Peter Gatje headquarters. The meeting was attended by There would be a small building at the edge Email: PJGatje@aol.com 20 Council members, 2 Special Committee of the parking lot that would require service Supervisor of Corridor Management: Bob Butt General Secretary: Warren Sharp chairs, 3 staff and one Club member. once a month or less. PATC and ATC are General Counsel: Randy Minchew working with Nextel. Membership Secretary: Lisa Still Treasurer: Dick Newcomer The Club membership decreased by a net of Recording Secretary: Gerhard Salinger 11 to 5910 in April; but 132 new members The Council voted to increase the cabin rental Sections/ Chapters signed up during the month. Treasurer Dick rates starting on October 1, 1998. The new Mountaineering Section: Tony Sanders Newcomer gave an overview of the endow- rate structure removes the increase in rate for SMRG: Randy Rupp ment fund. In 1992 and in 1996, the Club parties larger than a specified number. There Ski Touring Section: Katherine Stentzel North Chapter: Steve Koeppen received very large gifts which were put into will be a single rate for all cabins during the N. Shenandoah Valley Chapter: Walt Smith an endowment fund that has been well man- weekend and on holidays and a lower rate for S. Shenandoah Valley Chapter: Lynn Cameron aged so that its value now is several times the weekday rental. All rates are multiples of $5. Charlottesville Chapter: John Shannon West Virginia Chapter: Jane Thompson annual operating budget. The purposes of the The rate increases, the first in four years, are fund are to provide supplemental income to in the range of 12% Standing Committee Chairs (Council Members) the operating fund, provide income to capi- Blackburn Trail Center: Chris Brunton tal funds and provide a reserve in the event of Walter Smith reported that the Nominating Cabins: Matt Ogorzalek Cabin Construction: Charlie Graf severe, unforeseen problems. The Endowment Committee is polling Council members about Conservation: Mary Margaret Sloan Committee consists of five Club members issues facing the new officers. Club members Corporate Donations: Jack Reeder appointed by the President for staggered three are urged to contact Walt through Club head- Endowment: Bill Ladd Finance: Blair Staley year terms and the Club President and Trea- quarters. Hikes: Tom Johnson surer. They meet quarterly to review invest- Lands: Phil Paschall & Eric Olson, co-chairs ments. Once each year, they transfer some of Supervisor of Trails, Pete Gatje, compli- Legal: Randy Minchew Maps: Dave Pierce the income to endowment fund to the opera- mented trail overseers on their work on the Maryland Appalachian Trail Management tions of the Club and to the restricted capital AT and major side trails in the SNP. A good Committee: Charlie Graf funds. rapport has been built between volunteers and Public Affairs: Terry Cummings Publications: Jean Golightly the Park Rangers. The Massarock and SNP Shelters: John Andrews Wilson Riley discussed the Shenandoah Na- Trail crews that will work in the SNP for ten Trail Patrol: John Moore tional Park (SNP) Backcountry/Wilderness weeks this summer are filled. Special Committees/Ongoing Activities Management Plan. The Park is divided into Archives & Library: Paula Strain Tuscarora Trail Land Management: Vacant five recreational opportunity zones with regu- Maps Committee Chair, David Pierce, Cabin Reservations: Marilyn Stone lations for each. The thrust of the Plan is to showed a strip profile of the AT maintained Deputy Supervisor of Trails: Rick Rhoades reduce the impact of humans on the Park. by PATC. The Council agreed that the pro- Firestone Tract Management: Vacant Information/Sales Desks: Marguerite Schneeberger Access to wilderness and cultural areas of the file should be printed and sold. Internet Services: Andy Hiltz Park may be limited. Essentially every activ- Land Management: Ed McKnew ity of the Club in the Park will be affected. The Hike Leaders Training Workshop will be Vining Tract Management: Howard Johnson Committee chairs are urged to respond to the held on September 12 and 13 at Blackburn Potomac Appalachian Plan before the June Council meeting. Pub- Trail Center.

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