[at-l] The Gathering 2006

[Linda Benschop]

Marsha,

Thanks so much for the wonderful description of the Gathering.  As 
always, I left with tears in my eyes.  I wish that I could have gotten 
to spend a little more time with you and shared that glass of wine.  
There is never enough time to visit with all the people you want too.  
We were so excited that Nimblewill Nomad showed up as he told us he 
could not make it.  He looks great and has more hiking plans ahead, of 
course.  I also had a chance to talk with Gene Espy.  I asked if it was 
okay to give him a hug.  I did and he started to cry.  It was very 
moving for me.  PawPaw was also there, looking better than he did two 
years ago.  At around 90, he is still chasing the girls....LOL. 

One of the highlights for us was spending a quiet evening with Tin Man 
and sharing a little bit of "PawPaw's medicine".  I was so impressed at 
how much TinMan has changed and seems calmer and more in touch with life. 

Too many wonderful moments to share.  Now what is next?  Southern 
RUCK....no New Years eve.....or is it Trail Days?  Hope to make it to 
everything this year. 

Heading for the South as soon as the wind slows down.  Feels like a 
hurricane out there right now.  Sitting here with everything ready to 
go, all packed and just waiting for a break in the weather.
Hugs, Hummingbird








Marsha wrote:
> The highlight of the Gathering was having a long conversation with Gene 
> Espy. I'd like to spend a few days with him; hear his hiking stories and 
> secrets.
>
> Second best thing is that I met Billy Goat. He's one of those people that 
> you feel you've known all your life. He stole my heart. I found his tent 
> yesterday morning and sat there with a cup of coffee watching him sleep 
> until he awoke. If you could have seen the smile on his face. I miss him 
> already :(
>
> The only thing(s) I would have changed at the Gathering would have been the 
> weather and extending the days. There is not enough time to attend all my 
> favorite forums PLUS socializing.
>
> Friday night's presentation blew me away. But then, I knew it would. I had 
> the honor of introducing Weathercarrot, who then spoke about production of 
> the ALDHA 25th anniversary DVD. After the audience of about 500 viewed the 
> DVD, I noticed some people were drying their eyes and blowing their noses. 
> Most were men. Of course this lead into a huge crying session of a group of 
> us. I bet you didn't know that Weathercarrot!  People were deeply touched by 
> this video. NO ONE expected this impact. ALDHA members received a free copy 
> of this DVD.
>
> I really enjoyed Saturday night's presentation by Jeffrey Hunter from the 
> American Hiking Society; you can google it and find out about the new trail 
> network. It's very exciting!
>
> We did not take an AT-L group photo. Saturday was a little crazy, no it was 
> a LOT crazy. I did not take any photos of anything! It was impossible. I 
> asked others who photographed if they would email me the photos. I would 
> really appreciate anyone from this list that would send me anything.
>
> Wednesday night at the Folklife Center the winds and rain became very 
> strong. Weathercarrot already knew the weather conditions of course and had 
> constructed a tarp over my tent in the event this occurred. The wind caused 
> the tarp to slap real hard all night. Then the dogs howled. Then it rained 
> even harder, temps dropped. The night was scary.
>
> By Thursday afternoon, there was about a group of 100 at the Folklife 
> Center. It was real nice. Myself and Baltimore Jack cooked up turkey burgers 
> and the fixins-we had a LOT of fun in the kitchen with everyone. Reminded me 
> of the fun we have at the PA Ruck.
>
> Thursday morning a few ALDHA members went on a raft excursion on the New 
> River. I viewed the DVD of this the next day,  I believe the group was 
> Stacy, Greg, Noel, JoJo, Skeeter, Singer, Bill O'Brien(?).....
>
> Thursday evening I rec'd a call from eArThworm, she was in NC and it was 
> already getting dark. She was really worried about arriving so late at 
> Pipestem State Park and having to set up in the dark and COLD. Myself, 
> Baltimore Jack, Weathercarrot, Clyde and Jan all drove over to the State 
> Park and helped her set-up. Well, Jan and I supervised the men while keeping 
> warm under a nice down comforter that Jan brought ;)
>
> On Friday, many more members and dreamers arrived and it felt really good to 
> be amongst everyone. Later on that afternoon Baltimore Jack and myself 
> cooked up fried German bologna with the fixins. Jack and I had a lot of fun 
> cooking together. Thanks for everyone that helped out AND donated to the 
> Appalachian Folklife Center for our efforts.
>
> Saturday was quite busy at the college. Great forums and presentations! 
> Simply not enough to time to do it all. eArThworm's ALDHA author's forum was 
> very touching. I'll let her tell you about it.
>
> Sunday morning ALDHA meeting was informative and we spoke of the idea of 
> having the Gathering in Gettysburg next year. I was nominated and voted in 
> as the Membership Secretary. I am honored to receive this position. Thanks 
> for putting your trust in me Skeeter.
>
> I missed several people dear to me: Stumpknocker, Felix, Kinnickic. I wanted 
> to meet TJ "Teej" but I'll catch up with him in Maine next year.
>
> It was hard leaving on Monday morning. Normal people can say goodbye and 
> drive home. I am not one of those people.  I knew a long time ago that the 
> AT Community is my other family.
>
> See you all soon.
>
>
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