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TJ aka Teej
07-24-2003, 10:01
Last Saturday in Vermont, several dozen hikers and their friends mixed with dozens of gear reps at the Green Mountain Hiker's Summit. Thanks to the efforts of Brendon and Kathleen, Thompson Park in Manchester was turned into a mini-Gathering of food, music, gear and good cheer. Many AT and LT hikers took a break from the trail to join the fun, and were rewarded with free camping, showers, and the first twenty-five signing in got thoughtfully put together gift packs too. The volunteers even supplied soap, shampoo, and towels!
By noon hula-hoops spinning, frisbees were flying, hiker dogs were napping, and dozens of through hikers who were spread out over many miles of trail were reuniting and in many cases meeting for the first time. Some hikers hit the pool and the skateboard park, some headed into town for Ben & Jerry's.
The Trail folks were well represented. The Mount Washington Weather Observatory had a booth, and so did the Green Mountain Club, the Appalachian Trail Club, the Green Mountain National Forest, and Vermont Wilderness.
Gear reps from all over turned out, including Go-Lite, Asolo, Leki, Big Agnes, Marmot, Mountain Hard Wear, and Manchester's own Mountain Goat - and many others - had tents and displays of gear spilling out all over the park. I'm not sure how much gear was sold, but lots of samples and freebies were given out, lots of packs and poles were repaired, and lots of wicked cool tents and gadgets were fondled with much lust.
About halfway through the event, I was in a huge tent with some hikers and locals contemplating silent auction bids on some of the donated loot. "Hey, if we win enough stuff, we could hit the Trail tonight!" said a he to a she. She laughed, and said "Not a bad idea at all!"
Thanks to this years Hiker's Summit, the trails got a little extra funding, current hikers got some welcome hospitality, gear reps got to show off their products, and some future hikers got amazing exposure to the Green Mountain trail scene. Not a bad idea at all!
More info, including a web-movie of this year's event (might not be up yet), is at www.hikerssummit.org.
Hikers met: 2x4, Cuss, Bud, Paparazzi, Trukin', SnackAttack, DoodleBug, RedMan, TumbleWeed, Sumac, Sweat, RustyRail, and HomeRun.
Coolest gear: Trease.biz had tents that hung in Trees.
Best Hiker Dog: 4, of 2x4. A gentle spirit who has gained 10 pounds since Springer.

Blue Jay
07-24-2003, 10:04
Damm, TJ you were there!!. I shuttled a few of those hikers and a dozen others into and out of town and spent the night on Bromley. I would have liked to have met you.

TJ aka Teej
07-24-2003, 10:21
It's a small world, BlueJay! It was a beautiful summer afternoon, wasn't it? I put a couple of pics up in the gallery :O)

tlbj6142
07-24-2003, 12:54
Check out trease.biz's web site....

I love this quote...

"a spacious tent for one and yet well within backpacking's lightweight needs."

It weights in at 10# 5oz! That's lightweight?