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Spur
05-26-2005, 01:17
Earl Shaffer hiked from Katahdin to Springer in 99 days back in 1965 at age 46, making him the first person ever to have hiked the trail in both directions. Unlike his 1948 and 1998 northbound hikes, not very much has ever been written about it.

The Earl Shaffer Foundation is celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Earl's southbound hike by posting daily entries from his 1965 journal at http://www.trailjournals.com/earlshaffer , along with various bits of Earl's poetry from the vast collection which he wrote over the course of his life. Most of this material has never before been published in any form.

The Foundation is also beginning a series of auctions on eBay to dispose of items owned by Earl at the time of his death, with proceeds going to some of Earl's favorite organizations, including ALDHA, the AT Museum, the ATC, the Wilderness Society and the Salvation Army. The first round of auctions will feature a pack similar to the ones he used when thruhiking, a pith helmet, a down sleeping bag, a wool blanket sleeping bag, and assortments of books from his personal collection. A schedule of the eBay auctions appears online at http://www.earlshaffer.com .

The first auction is due to begin June 1, 2005. Once they've begun, the auctions can be found by searching eBay on the term "Earl Shaffer".

Spur
webmaster, Earl Shaffer Foundation

SavageLlama
05-26-2005, 09:17
Thanks for posting.

I've read Earl's 'Walking with Spring' and loved it.

Is there anywhere to find additional photos that Earl took during his thru-hikes?

Spur
05-28-2005, 13:42
Not currently that I know of. That's another project. Perhaps it will happen in the future.

c.coyle
05-28-2005, 15:15
Not currently that I know of. That's another project. Perhaps it will happen in the future.

I've wondered the same thing ever since I read the book. I hope his photos from that first thru still exist.

Spur
06-02-2005, 11:52
The first auction of Earl Shaffer's memorabilia has just gone up on eBay, this one for a down sleeping bag that belonged to Earl:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6536875750&ssPageName=ADME:B:LC:US:1


More info on the auctions at: http://www.earlshaffer.com


Earl's 1965 southbound hike is now running on Trail Journals:

http://www.trailjournals.com/earlshaffer

Tent-N-Kent
06-04-2005, 13:20
I've wondered the same thing ever since I read the book. I hope his photos from that first thru still exist.
You may be reassured , they do exist. Not only that , the Smithsonian Institute is in the process of digitally copying and restoring them. The images of his hike in 1948 are not just a representation of the beauty he found while walking with spring , they reflect his unique sense of humor. Maybe some day the Earl Shaffer foundation and the AT museum will have a DVD available for purchase , we hope....Tent-N-Kent

SavageLlama
06-09-2005, 21:23
the Smithsonian Institute is in the process of digitally copying and restoring them. Maybe some day the Earl Shaffer foundation and the AT museum will have a DVD available for purchase , we hope....Tent-N-Kent
I'm impressed to hear the Smithsonian is restoring the photos. A dvd would be awesome.