1. press release
Celebration to Mark 60th Anniversary of First Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike
Hikers from all over Pennsylvania will gather Saturday, August 2 for a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of Earl Shaffer’s pioneering Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike and to help preserve the Earl Shaffer Shelter. The three-sided primitive shelter is the last remaining one built by Earl that is intact and still being used by overnight hikers.
The shelter is being preserved by the Appalachian Trail Museum Society and will be the featured artifact in its collection. The ceremony is being held in conjunction with the club maintaining the shelter, the Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club. Also sponsoring the event is the Earl Shaffer Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving his writings, poems and songs.
The ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. at the shelter site along the Appalachian Trail, three miles north of the crossing of Route 225. The ceremony will include reminiscences about Earl, a native and lifelong resident of York County, and speakers representing the Appalachian Trail Museum Society, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Keystone Trails Association, the Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club, the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club and the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association.
Participants should park by 8:45 a.m. at the Dauphin County Agriculture and Natural Resource Center on Route 225 (about 15 miles north of Harrisburg) near the intersection with Route 325. From there carpools will be available to the A.T. crossing for the three mile walk into the shelter. Some shorter trails in may also be available.
After the shelter is dismantled, volunteers will be needed to carry out the parts of the shelter for eventual reconstruction as part of the A.T. Museum. The rain date is Sunday, August 3. Volunteers should bring water, lunch and work gloves if available and practice “Leave No Trace” principles. For additional information contact Larry Luxenberg at 845-634-0581 or hikerll@yahoo.com or Jeff Buehler at ATHikerJB@aol.com.