View Full Version : Hike at Mountain Crossings to honor Meredith Emerson
Bulldawg
01-12-2008, 15:32
Thought I'd post this today since the site is back up. There will be a short hike down to the Byron Herbert Reese parking area and then they are planning some sort of Indian cleansing ceremony. This is next Sunday, 1-20-08, at 10AM. I will copy a few emails I got from Winton Porter at Mountain Crossings.
John- thanks for the email. At this point… the plan is to hike down the road to Byron Herbert Reece hold a ceremony. What, I thought was going to be less than 100 people seems to be growing, so we have decided to forgo.. putting a group this large on the trail. After the ceremony… we would simply let those who wanted hike up towards Blood Mountain.
Thanks for your kind words… I do love what I do.
Winton
Just wanted to let everyone here know. There is a site with info as well but I cant find it.
eArThworm
01-12-2008, 15:42
There is a site with info as well but I cant find it.
It's http://www.mountaincrossings.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=16
Bulldawg
01-12-2008, 15:46
It's http://www.mountaincrossings.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=16
Darn, you beat me to it!!
There was talk a few days ago about a thread for people who would be hiking their own hikes in Meredith's memory. Since not everyone can or dare I say should attend, has anyone started a thread where people can post about their own hikes already completed or in which they'd like to invite others to participate?
Please link it below when a thread's begun if one doesn't already exist, otherwise link the existing thread.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
01-12-2008, 15:53
This will be an extremely crowded event that will be a media circus. While we want to honor this hiker with a memorial hike, we will likely choose to hike her route and do it alone or with a few close friends on a day when the media isn't around. I feel it would be more in keeping with what the lady would have wanted as a memorial. She was hiking on New Years day with only her dog as a companion.... I feel she hiked for the same reason many of us do - solitude, quiet and time to reflect.
eArThworm
01-12-2008, 15:54
Darn, you beat me to it!!
Reference Librarians are quick on the research-trigger.
Bulldawg
01-12-2008, 16:00
This will be an extremely crowded event that will be a media circus. While we want to honor this hiker with a memorial hike, we will likely choose to hike her route and do it alone or with a few close friends on a day when the media isn't around. I feel it would be more in keeping with what the lady would have wanted as a memorial. She was hiking on New Years day with only her dog as a companion.... I feel she hiked for the same reason many of us do - solitude, quiet and time to reflect.
Speaking of the media in general. I was having lunch yesterday with a vendor I buy from and we began talking about this event that has touched especially all of us in the Northeast Georgia area. We were in O'Charley's which has TVs playing in the bar and all the news was concerning missing people all over the country.
We both came to the conclusion that weirdos, freaks, killers, are probably no larger a percentage of society than they have ever been. It is simply more sensationalized and broadcast over a larger area due to the media circus surrounding events such as this. I am taking nothing away from the fact that this was horrible for this young lady and her family. It has touched me and I am sure all of you immensely. But the media circus surrounding it has brought it right into your living room more so than ever before in recent years.
i just take confidence in knowing that the authorities now have in custody a man that for all accounts was a serial killer. Thanks god for whomever took down that tag number.
Just my two cents.
I wouldn't want to speculate about what someone I never met would want or the appropriateness of an event I'm not involved with planning.
The proposed event would appear to be about healing and moving on and is likely to generate some good publicity. I would hope it also serves to promote hiker safety.
That said, I will be hiking tomorrow near my home instead. Whether I will hike alone or not I have not yet decided, but regardless I will be thinking about recent events in Georgia.
For those who cannot make it to Georgia, I think it would be a great idea to hike some at the closest section of the AT on the same day and share the same moment of silence.
For those who cannot make it to Georgia, I think it would be a great idea to hike some at the closest section of the AT on the same day and share the same moment of silence.
That's what I'm trying to convince some people that are attending the Southern Ruck to do, rather than rushing off to Neels Gap, :)
Hi Sly,
I guess there will be plenty of people on Sunday headed to Neels gap. Can a short hike in silence be planned on Sunday around the same time or perhaps contact the NOC and see if we can 'dedicate' a tree or Stone along the river in her honor (since this is not the time to plant one) with a small plaque that could be put in the ground by the tree?
It could even just be a moment of silence or two before a meal in her honor, to celebrate her life and love for the outdoors, as well as the loss of one of our own. :)
Hi Sly,
I guess there will be plenty of people on Sunday headed to Neels gap. Can a short hike in silence be planned on Sunday around the same time or perhaps contact the NOC and see if we can 'dedicate' a tree or Stone along the river in her honor (since this is not the time to plant one) with a small plaque that could be put in the ground by the tree?
It could even just be a moment of silence or two before a meal in her honor, to celebrate her life and love for the outdoors, as well as the loss of one of our own. :)
I'm not sure how many people will be heading to Neel Gap.
I've already posted on the website that the Southern Ruck will be held in Meredith's memory. Also, we've always had a Sunday Devotional, and of course, Meredith's passing will be the focus. I think a short hike after it would be nice.
As far as getting the NOC itself involved, I'd rather not put them on the spot. Something like this really should be done at Reese trailhead or Blood Mountain.
In the meantime, I've been trying to get a hold of, and word to Circuit Rider and Sherlock to see if they're coming to do the devotional. If anyone knows how to reach them I'd appreciate it.
As far as getting the NOC itself involved, I'd rather not put them on the spot. Something like this really should be done at Reese trailhead or Blood Mountain.
You are right about this, good point. Sounds like a great plan, that way everyone there can be involved if they so choose :)
See you at the Ruck!
That's what I'm trying to convince some people that are attending the Southern Ruck to do, rather than rushing off to Neels Gap, :)
I hope the Ruck goes as planned w/o a lot of people rushing off.
Hike for Meredith on the 20th, wherever you are.
I received this from Winton at Mountain Crossings. Please check the Mountain Crossings website for details. New location see website for directions www.mountaincrossings.com
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We had to change the location to MEEKS park in Blairsville… to help control the possible crowds. Please go back to the website and hit the more info link for detail. If you can spread the word on the change.
Create a great day
winton
www.mountaincrossings.com
Miss Janet
01-13-2008, 05:27
I spoke with Winton earlier this evening and he said that this has grown from a few dozen people to as many as 800 expected!! What an overwhelming show of solidarity from the GA community!! They did move the event off the mountain and into a town park to control the crowd. It will be covered by all the TV stations and there may even be some celebrities showing up to add their support.
I hope the event goes well and gets some positive messages are sent to the rest of the country. But I hope that everyone who chooses a quieter or just different way to remember Meredith knows that that has value, too. I think that there will be lots of people using next Sunday morning as a time set aside to honor the life of this young woman no matter where they are.
Glad to hear they are moving the event. Hiking in her memory is one thing, trampling it to death is another. I will hike some on the AT in CT.
gldwings1
01-13-2008, 10:07
For those who cannot make it to Georgia, I think it would be a great idea to hike some at the closest section of the AT on the same day and share the same moment of silence.
Great Idea TinMan! In response to John: I wholeheartedly agree! This is near my home and it is an innocent person who was for no good reason victimized by someone else. It is sad that Meredith was killed but Hilton could have just as easily killed someone else in a Mall parking lot. He chose a "girl next door" as a victim in a place we think of as peaceful. For that everyone feels even more violated than were this a crime with a motive vs a crime without apparent reason other than timing and location.