Hundreds of volunteers and other supporters will gather this weekend at the Appalachian Trail Museum to celebrate its first year in operation.
"It far exceeded our expectations in every conceivable way," said Larry Luxenberg, president of the museum located in Pine Grove Furnace State Park.
"We were open 119 days and had more than 8,300 visitors from 47 states and almost 20 foreign countries," he added.
The first anniversary celebration will kick off Friday with a banquet in which the first inductees to the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame will be announced. This event is sold out.
Inductees include pioneers who conceived and developed the trail, those who organized or directed major trail organizations, long-time trail maintainers, leaders who promoted and protected the trail and hikers who made significant accomplishments.
A two-day festival will follow on Saturday and Sunday featuring a variety of activities associated with the history and culture of the Appalachian Trail. Highlights Saturday include featured speaker Gene Espy, the second person in history to thru-hike the trail. There will also be a performance of Native American flute music by Randy "Windtalker" Motz.
The Saturday afternoon line-up will also include a cooking and backpacking stove contest along with an ice-cream-eating contest. It is a tradition for thru-hikers to eat a half gallon of ice cream at the Pine Grove General Store when they reach the midway point of the trail which is about two miles south of the museum.
Features Sunday include a nature/photography hike along with thru-hiker Joe Lisle sharing stories for children about his hiking experiences.
‘Spirit of the trail'
"We want to have a celebration each year to thank people for their involvement with the museum," Luxenberg said. "We hope to capture the spirit of the trail and get them interested in enjoying outdoor adventure."
Located across from the general store on state Route 233, the museum is open from noon to 4 p.m. daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day and on weekends from noon to 4 p.m. September and October.
The museum first opened to the public on June 5, 2010, as the first museum in the United States dedicated to hiking. The first phase of the museum honors the legendary hikers who made the idea for a footpath from Maine to Georgia a reality. Today, the trail is 2,181 miles long and crosses 14 states.
So far, the museum society has raised $20,000 of a $50,000 challenge grant. Once the balance of the money is raised, volunteers would be able to develop the remaining two floors of the museum building.
"We had a lot of very favorable comments," Luxenberg said about the feedback received in the first year. "People were surprised by the quality of the exhibits. We have made a number of upgrades."
This week, volunteers plan to install a major new exhibit that would display signs from the Maine and Georgia terminus of the trail along with a bronze plaque that was mounted on the Centerpoint Knob near Boiling Springs - the old midway point of the trail.
Vendors will attend both festival days offering a variety of exhibits and products related to hiking.
