Appalachian Trail Summit - Erwin, TN - April 5, 2008

[Miss Janet]

I attended a meeting in the town of Erwin last night to discuss the Gateway Community Training that some of our town leaders will be attending. Much of the discussion was about the Rocky Fork wilderness area that is under contract by several parties interested in conserving the area. The goals of the program include assisting communities in developing plans for future conservation, tourism development, volunteer opportunities and education programs. This is very simplified but it seems like a great program. Right now Hot Springs, NC and Boiling Springs, PA have implemented the programs and a few others will be starting programs soon. While my interest is in the Appalachian Trail Gateway Community Program I understand that the Gateway program also looks to include other areas adjacent to parks and federally held lands. Those of you who attended the SoRuck ATC presentation learned some about this program.

I have made clear my goal to see Erwin, Tennessee become the next Appalachian Trail Gateway Community. The program addresses many of the needs of this community and I am excited to learn more about it and the process to get it started. I will be coordinating another Appalachian Trail Summit to provide a way to share information about this program with the people in my area. The Summit will also serve as a "Meet and Greet" for the long distance hikers on the trail at that time and the local individuals, business owners, city/county officials. The goal of the Appalachian Trail Summit has always been to create a good networking atmosphere, share some good information about the AT, hikers and hiking and have fun doing it!!

The date set for the Summit is Saturday April 5th.
The location and program details will be made available as soon as I figure them all out!

If any of you are in this area and would like to help out, please let me know! If you are hiking and expect to be in the area, please consider attending and sharing your adventure with our local community.

[Ron Haven]

I attended a meeting in the town of Erwin last night to discuss the Gateway Community Training that some of our town leaders will be attending. Much of the discussion was about the Rocky Fork wilderness area that is under contract by several parties interested in conserving the area. The goals of the program include assisting communities in developing plans for future conservation, tourism development, volunteer opportunities and education programs. This is very simplified but it seems like a great program. Right now Hot Springs, NC and Boiling Springs, PA have implemented the programs and a few others will be starting programs soon. While my interest is in the Appalachian Trail Gateway Community Program I understand that the Gateway program also looks to include other areas adjacent to parks and federally held lands. Those of you who attended the SoRuck ATC presentation learned some about this program.

I have made clear my goal to see Erwin, Tennessee become the next Appalachian Trail Gateway Community. The program addresses many of the needs of this community and I am excited to learn more about it and the process to get it started. I will be coordinating another Appalachian Trail Summit to provide a way to share information about this program with the people in my area. The Summit will also serve as a "Meet and Greet" for the long distance hikers on the trail at that time and the local individuals, business owners, city/county officials. The goal of the Appalachian Trail Summit has always been to create a good networking atmosphere, share some good information about the AT, hikers and hiking and have fun doing it!!

The date set for the Summit is Saturday April 5th.
The location and program details will be made available as soon as I figure them all out!

If any of you are in this area and would like to help out, please let me know! If you are hiking and expect to be in the area, please consider attending and sharing your adventure with our local community.
Miss Janet,Have you got something together for a hostel this year.I wanted to speak to you at the Ruck but I had to go.I returned Sunday and had just missed you.

[Tennessee Viking]

I attended a meeting in the town of Erwin last night to discuss the Gateway Community Training that some of our town leaders will be attending. Much of the discussion was about the Rocky Fork wilderness area that is under contract by several parties interested in conserving the area. The goals of the program include assisting communities in developing plans for future conservation, tourism development, volunteer opportunities and education programs. This is very simplified but it seems like a great program. Right now Hot Springs, NC and Boiling Springs, PA have implemented the programs and a few others will be starting programs soon. While my interest is in the Appalachian Trail Gateway Community Program I understand that the Gateway program also looks to include other areas adjacent to parks and federally held lands. Those of you who attended the SoRuck ATC presentation learned some about this program.

I have made clear my goal to see Erwin, Tennessee become the next Appalachian Trail Gateway Community. The program addresses many of the needs of this community and I am excited to learn more about it and the process to get it started. I will be coordinating another Appalachian Trail Summit to provide a way to share information about this program with the people in my area. The Summit will also serve as a "Meet and Greet" for the long distance hikers on the trail at that time and the local individuals, business owners, city/county officials. The goal of the Appalachian Trail Summit has always been to create a good networking atmosphere, share some good information about the AT, hikers and hiking and have fun doing it!!

The date set for the Summit is Saturday April 5th.
The location and program details will be made available as soon as I figure them all out!

If any of you are in this area and would like to help out, please let me know! If you are hiking and expect to be in the area, please consider attending and sharing your adventure with our local community.
Whats the story on the Rocky Fork area. I have only seen it from Flint Gap on the AT, and then seen some kind of recent work done at the forest gate. I see forest signs for Rocky Fork Crew area, but no clue what the area is designated..

Is this area going to be designated wilderness

[ImkerVS]

http://www.erwinrecord.net/Detail.php?Cat=LOCALNEWS&ID=58103


<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=510 bgColor=#ffffff border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left>Story published: 01-29-2008 • ERWIN RECORD
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left width=468>‘Miss Janet’ plans third Appalachian Trail Summit

By David Thometz
Staff Writer
[email protected]

The former operator of an Erwin hiker's hostel has announced that the third Appalachian Trail Summit will be held at Centennary United Methodist Church on Saturday, April 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Janet Hensley, better known as "Miss Janet" of the now-closed Miss Janet's Hostel to hikers and outdoor recreationists, said the summit will highlight the tourism and recreational benefits that hiking and other outdoor recreational resources offer to gateway communities such as Erwin and Unicoi County.
"It will be kind of expo-style, with booths and speakers," Hensley said. "There will be booth space for businesses that are tourism-related. The community will be invited to learn about the programs of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the United States Forest Service, the Tennessee Department of Tourism, the American Hiking Society, the Appalachian Long-Distance Hiking Association and other interested groups and organizations."
Other invited organizations that have not yet confirmed include the Appalachian Resource Conservation and Development Council and the Southern Appalachian Greenways Alliance.
"This summit will be an effort to gather people together who are interested in the Appalachian Trail as a cultural, economic and recreational asset to this community," Hensley said. "The goal of the first two summits was education of the community to work out the relationships between hikers, business people, government officials and people in the town, and we want to continue that with the third summit."
She said representatives will share information about benefits gateway programs have brought to similar trail communities in Hot Springs, N.C. and Boiling Springs, Penn. In addition, several Appalachian Trail hikers will share stories of their adventures and their opinions of Erwin as a gateway community from a hiking tourist's point of view.
"I have made clear my goal to see Erwin become the next Appalachian Trail Gateway Community," Hensley said. "The program addresses many of the needs of this community, and I am excited to learn more about it and the processes to get it started."
She said trail hiking and outdoor recreation are prime for a surge in popularity, aided by the recent announcement by filmmaker Robert Redford at the Sundance Film Festival that his next project will be a film version of Bill Bryson's 1990s best-seller, "A Walk In the Woods."
"In the years following the release of the book, the number of hikers tripled," Hensley said.
With planned filming locations in Hot Springs — just 68 trail miles south of Erwin — and several locations in Georgia, New England and other locations along the trail, she believes the film could have a similar impact. Mostly, however, she sees the summit as a way to build relations between outdoor recreationists and members of communities that host them. "The goal of the Appalachian Trail Summit has always been to create a good networking atmosphere, share some good information about the trail, hikers and hiking, and have fun doing it," Hensley said.

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[Miss Janet]

The Appalachian Trail Summit scheduled for April 5th will not be held this year. The town of Erwin is hosting an event billed as a Naturalist Expo that will be held in June. The speakers and events planned for the Appalachian Trail Summit will be added to the events planned for the EXPO.