[at-l] Ann McDuff of "Annie and the Salesman" has died

[atcamel@xxxxxxxxx (Tim Hart)]

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This news was terrible and shocking.  We've lost someone who truly loved hi=
king.

I first met Ann on the CDT last year in southern Colorado.  I had seen Ann =
& Larry at previous Gatherings and had emailed them prior to our CDT hikes.=
  Like most ALDHA/ at-l / long distance hiker first meetings on the trail, =
we felt as though we knew each other and were instant trail friends.  I was=
 talking to day hikers in S. Colorado and they said another day hiker was b=
ehind me - they thought Ann couldn't be a thru hiker with her tiny backpack=
!

I last saw them on the CDT before the Creede cutoff.  The wind was so sever=
e that I was actually knocked off my feet later that day.  Ann was still sm=
iling, despite the incredible winds.

Ann got off the CDT once for personal concerns at home and a second time af=
ter becoming sick out of Silverthorne.  They got off the trail for good at =
Silverthorne and went home after hiking 1000 miles.  I thought Ann & Larry =
might get back on the trail after a month and possibly head southbound from=
 Glacier.

I asked Ann at the Gathering last year why they didn't get back on the trai=
l last summer after recovery.  She said that the two trail interruptions we=
re a sign that they should be at home last summer.  Despite her love of the=
 trail, she had a feeling that she belonged at home last summer.

We've lost a true trail friend.  For those hikers that haven't run into Ann=
 on the trail, you've lost a potential trail friend.

Camel AT 98
Starman PCT 00
Tim CDT 02

 John O <johno@monmouth.com> wrote:Dear fellow hikers,
Please join me in mourning the loss of a dear friend. Ann McDuff, of "Annie
and the Salesman," was killed yesterday while riding her bike near her home
in Fairhope, Alabama.
Her son Laurence ("Fairhope" of 1992) called me this morning with the news.
I've posted a personal tribute to her on the ALDHA Web page and I would be
happy to include any thoughts you might want to add to that. Her funeral
will be Saturday at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Daphne, Ala., in case
anyone who's nearby can make it. There is a link in the online tribute to a
news story that ran today about the accident, with details on the service.
I am personally devastated by this news, especially when I think about all
the people in ALDHA she touched during her all-too-brief
time on the trail. She gave an eloquent testimonial at the 2000 Gathering
and was there once again in attendance with her husband
Larry at last year's Gathering.
If anyone has any pictures of Ann they would like to share on the Web page,
please send those along as well.
Condolences can be sent to the McDuffs at P.O. Box 164, Montrose, AL
36559-0164.
She was quite fond of ALDHA Gatherings and Trail Days. While she always
traveled light, she never forgot to carry along a smile,
especially for those times when she spotted trail friends at hiker
get-togethers. Walk in peace, Ann.

~Bill O'Brien

"Bill O'Brien"




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