[at-l] Fw: Famous hiker to speak!

["Coosa" <coosa@fox21.net>]

Passing on some info, maybe our Alabama hiker friends can attend?
Coosa

-----Original Message-----
>>
>> Hello everyone,
>>
>> Wanted to spread the word to you all that the Cahaba Group of the Sierra
>> Club is going to have what, in my humble opinion, will be the best
general
>> interest meeting Tuesday, May 16th at 7:30 at the Birmingham Zoo
>Auditorium.
>> Eb Eberhart (trailname-Nimblewill Nomad), an incredible long-distance
>hiker
>> will be our guest.  In 1998, Nomad completed what has to be one of the
>> greatest hiking adventures to be experienced anywhere on our
planet-hiking
>> 4,400 miles (10 million steps) from Key West, Florida, to the Cape Gaspe
>> peninsula in Quebec, Canada.  Nomad has taken to calling this route the
>> Eastern Continental Trail.  The most exciting part is that Nomad's route
>> took him right through the heart of ALABAMA.
>> The Eastern Continental Trail (ECT) is a continuous footpath through
>sixteen
>> states and two Canadian provinces. It encompasses for all intent and
>> purposes the entire breadth of the eastern North American Continent, from
>> the Gulf of Mexico at the southernmost point in Key West, Florida to the
>> Gulf of St. Lawrence where the Appalachian Mountains dramatically plunge
>to
>> the sea at the cliffs of Forillon, Cap Gaspe, Quebec Province, Canada.
>> The ECT was created by combining eight separate and independent sections
>of
>> USA (inluding a roadwalk in South Alabama, and the 115 mile Pinhoti Trail
>in
>> East Central Alabama), beginning with a Roadwalk in Key West and ending
at
>> the northern terminus of the Sentier International des
>> Appalaches/International Appalachian Trail at Cap Gaspe, a distance of
>some
>> 4,400 miles.
>> Nomad will share his experiences on the trail with us at our meeting, and
>> explain how Alabama played (and will continue to play) such an important
>> role in this hike.  Most of the 4,400 miles hiked was established trail,
>but
>> the largest uncompleted section of trail remains to be built in Alabama.
>> Nomad is a fervent believer in having Alabama connected to this
incredible
>> system of trails (and the world famous Appalachian Trail-the largest
>section
>> of East Coast Trail).
>> As if this accomplishment wasn't enough, Nomad will reverse his route
>> starting on National Trails Day, 2000 (June 3rd), and begin a hike from
>the
>> Cape Gaspe peninsula in Quebec southward to Key West.  This will put him
>in
>> Alabama somewhere around Christmas.  Once on the trail, you can follow
his
>> progress at www.gorp.com <http://www.gorp.com> .
>> Please announce this free event to any interested members, friends,
>> neighbors, etc.  Come hear Nomad speak!  The meeting is free, and our
>> meeting auditorium will hold several hundred folks.  You can also check
>out
>> www.nimblewillnomad.com <http://www.nimblewillnomad.com>  for more
>> information, or call me at 205-972-0252.  I appreciate your time.
Thanks.
>> * Jay Hudson, Chair, Cahaba Group of the Sierra Club
>>
>> P.S. Eb wrote the following humbling poetry while hiking through Alabama:
>>
>> A WELL-KEPT SECRET
>> A well-kept secret known to few,
>> Where the folks say suh and mahm.
>> Are the ancient Appalachians,
>> Down south in Alabam'.
>> Straight from the start, they were set apart,
>> >From the rest of their far-flung kin.
>> And throughout time in this southern clime,
>> They never quite fit in.
>> But there they sit, to the spite of it,
>> Majestic, proud and free.
>> And I would rate my *hike there a great...
>> Grand part of my Odyssey.
>> You can hike all o'er that famous trail,
>> >From Baxter to Springer Mount.
>> But you'll wind up short and to no avail,
>> When it's down to the final count.
>> So, come feast your eyes where these mountains rise, Where this magic all
>> began.
>> A well-kept secret known to few...
>> Down south in Alabam'.
>>
>> * Nimblewill Nomad (Eb Eberhart), June 1999
>>
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
>--
>> ----
>>
>>
>> "Everywhere, great sprawling roots of unidentifiable trees clutch the
>green
>> felt boulders like angry fingers; they are literally growing out of the
>> rocks.  It's amazing; it's like a hidden world, where nature does things
>> you've never seen."
>> * Rick Bass, describing a scene in Alabama's largest wildland -  The
>> Sipsey Wilderness, in his book WILD TO THE HEART
>
>

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