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Gathering 2002

by Wendy Johnson

If you did not attend this year's Gathering you missed a great time of fun, fellowship, slide shows, presentations, and food. The Gathering was held October 4th - 6 at Lake Wenatchee, Washington. The leaves were in the midst of changing color; they were magnificent. Although the weather was a little bit chilly and windy it did not keep folks from sleeping outside if they wanted to.

Friday started off with registration and catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. During dinner Bob Stoehr of the Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forest welcomed us and filled us in on trail-related news. Then we got going on a night of great slide shows. Scott Bischke presented a slide show "Healing on the CDT." We felt the joys and challenges he and his wife, Katie, shared on the Continental Divide after Katie had been diagnosed with and treated for cancer. Next, Brian Frankle took us along on an unusual, hot and dry tour of Utah's Salt Flats. Jonathan Ley's spirited slide show of a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail finished up the evening.

Saturday morning started off with Brice Hammack giving a talk about "Hiking into Perpetuity." Brice told us how, at over 80 years of age, he still enjoys hiking although his style of hiking has changed. Brice began his serious hiking after he retired. An outstanding example for us all, Brice is likely to be our oldest Triple Crowner (Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail). One person stated on their evaluation form, "Brice's talk inspired me that I have 40 or more years of hiking still ahead." Tom Magee's "Life Changes" evoked many thoughtful comments from a multitude of the Gathering's participants.

Ray Hanson from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Wyoming traveled to the Pacific Northwest to give us a great presentation about the BLM's management of public land in Wyoming. Animals, hikers, and vegetation were all taken into consideration when the BLM put up fencing, provided water sources, etc. Ray's pictures showed different types of water sources that BLM created and creative ways of building fence openings that allow people but not animals to pass through. That was followed by "Meet the Manufacturers" which Ron Moak moderated. Brian Frankle - ULA Equipment, Glen Van Peski - GVP Gear, Henry Shires - Tarp Tent, and Ron Moak - Six Moon Designs, showed their products and told the story of how they came up the idea for their product. These cutting edge designers described the evolution of their designs, based a lot upon feedback by us, the hikers.

The Saturday afternoon program continued with Paul Griffith presenting "Light Ideas." He talked about lightweight backpacking equipment, showed us his gear and explained why it worked well for him. One piece of gear he demonstrated was a little single bulb LED flashlight, about the size of a quarter, that has a switch so it can stay on continually. He also showed us how you can rig it up simply for use as a headlamp. Among the other items he showed was an amazingly lightweight ice axe and a lightweight stove that burns propane in a small canister. After Paul's talk we divided into several different groups. Ron Moak gave a gear making workshop, Wendy Johnson lead a discussion on women's issues while hiking, Monte Dodge offered his famous hands-on stove making class, and the YMCA camp offered a nature walk. We all joined back together again as Lesya Struz lead a discussion on common issues that face all hikers no matter which trail you hike. The group then divided up to discuss specific issues and ideas about the PCT, AT, and CDT. Bob Turner rounded off the afternoon activities with a slide show, "Around Glacier Peak" (Washington state). Bob's was an incredible hike (bushwhack?) through vegetation so thick, high and wet that most of us would not have dared to tackle the route. He said that at least part of his route has now been cleared and invites new adventurers.

Dinner started off the evening followed by the presentation of the Triple Crown awards by Steve Queen. Two Triple Crown awards were given this year. Then we were off for another evening of great slide shows. Brian ("Flyin' Brian") Robinson gave a slide show and answered questions about his incredible ten-month AT, CDT and PCT hike of 8,000 miles between January and October of 2001. He described the preparation and training he undertook before the hike. He also stated that he had to maintain 6000 calorie intake each day in order to maintain his weight during the hike! He was up and hiking at sunrise and often walked beyond sunset. What an accomplishment!!! Congratulations, Brian.

Henry Shires presented a slide show on "UK's Coast-to-Coast Trail." It was great to see a trail in a different part of the world, especially the cultural landscape of this British trail. Back stateside, a joint presentation on the Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) was made by Gary (Lindy) Lindberg and Mike Dawson. Lindy gave a slide show on his 2002 end-to-end hike of Pacific Northwest Trail and Mike followed up with a slide presentation about goat packing in the Pasayten Wilderness portion of the PNT. Mike then told us about the PNT organization and the need for our help in developing this route. Dave Cobb finished up the evening with a slide show about the 719-mile Great Divide Trail located in Canada's Alberta and British Columbia provinces. As usual, all of the slide presentations were excellent and left us all wanting to hoist our packs and start hiking.

Sunday morning started with Chris Turner orchestrating the raffle drawing with its many prizes. Jen Schaeffer then gave a great presentation of "Food for Backpacking." She gave us ideas on what dehydrates well and tips on how to use the dehydrated food in meals. Jen also got into some of the issues and new findings on balancing nutritional needs while on trail. The presentation was followed by the annual ALDHA-West board meeting.

We couldn't have done it without your help - presenters, planners, facilitators, and the Gathering volunteers who did all of the miscellaneous jobs that needed doing. Monte-thanks for bringing your historical stove collection for us to see, and showing us how to make the next generation, back-to-basics, alcohol stove. Bert - thanks for the great help with all of the registrations. Thank you, one and all, for coming to and helping out at Gathering-2002. And (hint, hint), please let us know what you'd like to do-show or tell-at Gathering-2003. The planning process for next year's Gathering is already underway. Stay tuned, happy trails, and see you at Gathering-2003!

The Distance Hiker's Gazette: vol 7 #4, Fall 2002