Party held at Jaycee Park for southbound AT hikers Print
Thursday, 17 December 2009

By Davin Eldridge
Contributing Writer

The “Winter Hiking Southbound” event was held on Saturday, Dec. 12, at Franklin’s Jaycee Park. Barbecue, potato salad, corn, cookies, beans, drinks and other fixings were free for all who showed up. Forty-three hikers attended the Christmas party which was held in their honor.

With trail names like “Lug Nut,”, “Mother Nature,”, “Dirt Nap,” “Belew,” “Skid,” “Auburn Breeze,” “Bull Dawg” and “Short Bus,” the hiking community congregated together in the warmth of the Jaycee park building to get out of the cold. With the trail still on the tread of their hiking boots and in the background of their conversations, the hikers enjoyed the company of their fellows as they ate, drank, laughed and cut loose.

“Hikers don’t hike, they walk from party to party,” said “Wonder,” one of the female trail blazers at the party.

Chad Kinsey, (“Bull Dawg”) a hiker featured in the National Geographic film “America’s Wild Places” – which is a documentary about the Appalachian Trail — attended the party. As a copy of the film played in the background for anyone to watch, Kinsey came to the party to “have a good time.”

The AT is a 2,175 mile long trek through the ancient Appalachian Mountains, stretching from Georgia to Maine. The seclusion offered by the AT from the outside world has been used as an alibi for certain South Carolina politicians, as well as a deliverance from the realm of paved roads and internet for leather tramps who desire a return to nature.

“The reason we [hikers] take on trail names is to cast aside our identities and to escape,” said hiker “Bilge Rat.”

Santa Claus paid a brief visit to the wayward travelers wishing them all a “Merry Christmas.” After the food was eaten, the president of the Nantahala Hiking Club Bill Van Horn spoke for a few minutes to explain to the visitors what they meant to the future of the town, as well as what the town meant to them.

Van Horn explained that Franklin is what the Appalachian Trail Conservancy will call an “AT community partner.” Van Horn explained the inclusion of Franklin into the ATC has “moved forward,” with the help of community members like Ronnie Haven, who organized the party,

“The town of Franklin submitted an application to become an AT community partner to the ATC,” said Van Horn. “Through the bureaucracy of ATC, the town of Franklin was accepted into that program,” he explained, stating Franklin’s partnership with the organization will be finalized on Tuesday March 23.

Following that date will be the 5th annual “April Fool’s” event for hikers which will be sponsored in part by the Town of Franklin on April 2 and 3. “It’s going to be a little bit bigger, it’s going to have a little more entertainment, with a little more food,” said Van Horn, comparing the next event to last year’s.

Van Horn explained what Franklin’s induction into the ATC means for the town economy.

“There will be a section on the [ATC] website that will highlight Franklin, and it will go a step further and highlight local businesses that are doing things to support the hiking community,” Van Horn said. He went on to explain that the ATC will develop signs for the town which will indicate Franklin’s partnership with the organization. “The town of Franklin in time will also be able to use this logo on certain stationery, or advertisements if you will.”

Event organizer Ronnie Haven has been described as “hiker friendly” by those who attended the party. Haven explained that the Town of Franklin has recently realized the hiking community can contribute to the local economy. The town wants next year’s “April Fool’s hiking bash” title to be changed to something clean cut or Christian friendly. Haven who is empathetic to the town’s desire to keep the event title more appropriate is also in tune to the secular community of hikers he has been supporting and representing. Haven indicated that many of the hikers feel “offended” by the move from the town to have the signage resemble something Christian. “I am happy to see the town acknowledge and at least stand behind hikers,” Haven said.

Van Horn and Haven both sit on a committee focusing on the ATC induction of Franklin as an AT community partner. They are working as mediators for all parties involved so everyone will be “happy,” as Haven described it, who also indicated the process has been difficult to find a happy middle ground.

For more information on the ATC, contact NHC president Bill Van Horn by phone at (828)369-1983 or by email at wavh@dnet.com

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