Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association

The Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association or ALDHA-East is a non-profit organization founded in 1983 to support and promote the interests of Appalachian Trail long-distance hikers. It "was the first organization of long-distance hikers in the United States".[1]

The ALDHA authors the annual Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers' Companion, a guide to hiking the Appalachian Trail. It also publishes a quarterly newsletter, The Long-Distance Hiker.

The "Endangered Services Campaign" sponsored by the ALDHA provides backpacker etiquette education[2] and encourages hikers to "act responsibly when they are in trail towns as well as on the trail."[3] One slogan in the campaign is "Just because you live in the woods doesn't mean you can act like an animal."[4] The campaign began in 1990 with the publication of a list of behavioral expectations for hikers staying in hostels.[2]

An annual event is the ALDHA Gathering with hiking- and trail-oriented workshops.[1] It is usually held over Columbus Day weekend and has hundreds of experienced hikers in attendance.[5]

See also

Further reading

  • Bruce, Dan (2000) The Thru-Hiker's Handbook Hot Springs, North Carolina: Center for Appalachian Trail Studies.
  • Norton, Russell (1997) Long Trail End-to-Ender's Guide. Waterbury Center, Vermont: Green Mountain Club.
  • Shaffer, Earl V. (1983) Walking With Spring. Harper's Ferry, West Virginia: the Appalachian Trail Conference.
  • Berger, Karen and Daniel Smith (1993). Where the Waters Divide: A Walk along America's Continental Divide. New York: Random House.

References

  1. 1 2 The Appalachian Trail Hiker: Trail-Proven Advice for Hikes of Any Length
  2. 1 2 ALDHA.org Backpacker Ethics Archived August 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ Solemates: Lessons on Life, Love and Marriage from the Appalachian Trail
  4. ↑ How to Hike the AT: The Nitty-Gritty of a Long-Distance Trek
  5. ↑ Advanced Backpacking: A Trailside Guide
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.