A T C Biennial Meeting - Castleton College,VT -July '09
for complete info see www.vermont2009.org -the Biennial is
where we elect our AT management, besides all the comaradie,workshops,etc.
Cheers, ---Red Wolf o'da Smoky's
They are calling it a "festival" this year, but a scan of the program makes it clear that it is the same as the old "conference." I plan to be there, God willing.
plan on going if my dad can drive me
Originally Posted by weary
Me too.
Sometimes you get to meet a compelling personality and really good guy in the mess hall.
There will indeed be a "festival" in nearby Rutland, VT the following month:
http://www.nvnohi.com/ltf/info/info.html
The program in the AT Journeys magazine goes on for many pages... must be a lot of attendees who need help with "it's just hiking".
Hope to make it, this is a "week long" event? How long does it take to "confer"....
Do one thing everyday...that makes you happy...
there are many, many programs, presentations and excursions on the agenda
http://www.vermont2009.org/general_schedule.htm
On line registration opened March 2, after resolving some last minute glitches.
We are planning to go.
Might have planned on the whole week if they were trying the kids program again. Guess that's been tried a couple of times and dropped - lack of interest? volunteers? not sure. The biennial meeting that drew me deeply into the hikes committee (Shippensburg '01) was pre-kids for us.
Also the dorm rooms are starting to get pricey.
After coming all the way up from Savannah,GA for the ATC Bieniel ( Appalachian Trail Festival ), I'll have a few weeks to spendhiking and yellow-blazing around NH,VT,ME i.e, NEW ENGLAND, before the Long Trail Festival over in Rutland,VT ( I think the correct dates for that is August the weekend of August 7 . Their website is www.longtrailfestivalvt.org . --Cheers, Red Wolf o'da Smoky's
We decided not to offer an organized youth program because of 1) low participation at recent AT conferences and 2) youth protection issues. Just not worth the effort.
Yes, dorms and meal prices at Castleton are getting pricey. But that's what the college is charging.
The Long Trail Festival is cheaper, and it has music and thruhikers. The ATC Festival is for Trail Talkers (not that there is anything wrong with that).
Yes, the Long Trail Fesdtival has super music and is cheaper ( I have help operate it for the first two year --'07 & '08 ) . The ATC Biennial ( Appalachian Trail Festival ) also has thru-hikers ,only, perhaps not as many '09 thru-hikers as the LT Festival .
Blue Jay , have you been to an A T C Biennial before ? There is a 2,000 miler reception planned again for this one ----I believe they are all thru-hikers, no ?
The business meeting actually gives your voice a chance to be heard, through your vote for the A.T.C. management . MORE THAN ALL THAT....the tremendous amount of workshops,organized hikes, and the diverse people you meet at an ATC Biennial
( not only hikers,but trail builders, trail maintainers,trail supporters ,trail involved Federal officials, and excellent entertainment over a longer festival than the L T Festival make the Biennial quite unique and of much value to all hikers,includeing the
current crop of thru-hikers . ---Happy Trails! ---Red Wolf
I'm planning to attend, the ATC meeting that is. Not sure yet about the Long Trail Festival.
I have not, however I've been a member for over 10 years. I'm sure it's a great event and I would have a great time. I'm just a little bothered by the fact they are holding it in almost the same place, only a few weeks before the LT Festival and afraid it will take some of the wind out of the smaller event. I'm not saying it was a deliberate thing, or a big deal, but some consideration may have been made. I emailed them my concerns, no one has yet responded.
The site was chosen before the first LT Festival I believe. I know they had brochures printed and available at the NJ ATC conference two years ago.
Why would you characterize the ATC event as trail talkers, even granting that you have never been to one? They have a whole week of hiking and trail work. You don't have to attend to look at the schedule. In NJ I went on an awesome hike of the Long Path between the GW Bridge and the NY/NJ border. It was lead by local hikers and not only did I get in a great hike (without having to double back) but learned a lot about the history of the Palisades during the hike.
I didn't attend either LT Festival because it seemed to be more like a music concert than a hiker event according to the description on the web site. So you say they are trail walkers, not talkers? If they have a bunch of hikes then I might be interested. I'll look into it again.
But the ATC conference/festival has been good over the years (White MTns and NJ were the ones I attended). I don't care much for the greatly increased cost this year (why northern NE should cost so much more than NJ is beyond me), but I will likely attend this year if my schedule works out.
Frosty
One of the things that impressed me at one of these, was meeting so many people who had put their heart and soul into protecting the AT.
And protecting it in so many different ways. Really cool.
When Rick says you might meet some interesting personalities at the ATC get-together, he's exactly right.
I spent a very long lunch at a Biennial a few years ago, sitting around a big table with, among others, Bob Peoples and Earl Shaffer.
If you have a chance to attend one of these weekends, you should.
Earl asked Jack if he's was hiking the trail again, Jack replied "yep", Earl leans in and ask Jack in his soft spoken voice, "how many times will this be", Jack replies "five", Earl rears back looks at Jack and says "what are ya Crazy". Best converstion I've ever witnessed between two AT thru-hikers.
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