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From Waterfalls to Wilderness Workshops

Blog Date
Author(s)
Julie Smith
Stuart O. Smith, Jr.
Tags
Travel
New York
Niagara Falls
Backpacking
Trails
Massachusetts
Hike
ALDHA
Buckeye Trail
Watercraft

From Waterfalls to Wilderness Workshops

Weekend Journey: New York & Massachusetts Parks, and Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association (ALDHA) Gathering

Every year, we go to the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association - ALDHA Gathering (@ALDHAeast) weekend for workshops on how to backpack the great trails around the world. Normally, we make it a four-day weekend (including traveling), but this year we added some extra days on each end of the trip. These extra days enabled us to see some great New York State Parks (@NYstateparks) with beautiful waterfalls, and more of the park where the Appalachian Trail crosses the highest mountain in Massachusetts (@MassGov).

 

 

Planning Our Trip to Niagara Falls

We had fun studying Google Maps as we planned our first stop -- Niagara Falls. Living in Cleveland, on Lake Erie, it has always fascinated us to think about the relationship of the water at our city's shore to the water going over these magnificent falls on their way to the Atlantic Ocean.


Travel Fun!


Niagara Falls

When we are in this part of New York, we always love to stop at Niagara Falls. What made this trip special is that we had not been on the Maid of the Mist (@MaidOfTheMist) boat trip in many years. We really enjoyed how close the boat actually gets to the falls -- you are in the midst of the mist!

Sorry that the video is sideways, but it still shows the wild ride accurately.


Rails-To-Trails Conservancy and the National Trail System


Emma Gatewood "Grandma Gatewood"


Hotel One - Sprinkler Head


Old Erie Canal Park, New York

We discovered this little park that the New York Thruway created to remember the past methods of travel. It is a new park that we recommend you visit -- it had a great visitor center, and historical buildings.


Appalachian Trail Museum


Trail-Related Retweets

Tweets of a few of the trail related people/organizations we follow and retweeted over the weekend:


Great Allegheny Passage Trail


Mount Greylock - Highest mountain in Massachusetts!


Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association (ALDHA)

What is ALDHA?

An off-trail family of hikers, dreamers, and friends of the trail, working to preserve, protect, and promote the long-distance hiking experience.

Mission Statement
The fourfold purpose of the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association is to:

  • Represent and promote the welfare of the Appalachian long distance hiking community;
  • Provide service in a cooperative spirit with other Appalachian hiking organizations;
  • Provide education on the use and preservation of Appalachian long distance trails;
  • And provide opportunities for interaction and camaraderie within the Appalachian long distance hiking community.

We have been members of the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association - ALDHA (@ALDHAeast) since its early years, and we attend the almost Gathering every year. We recommend attending the Gathering to learn from long-distance backpackers about new trails, the best equipment, and ways to have a successful backpacking adventure.


ALDHA Gathering - Friday Night Opening, October 11, 2019.


ALDHA Gathering - Saturday, October 12, 2019

These tweets have links to resources for long-distance backpacking trails:

Click links to learn about all these great trails.


ALDHA Featured Presenter: Bart Smith


Eleven National Scenic Trails — 18,734 miles!!


ALDHA Barn Party


ALDHA Gathering - Sunday, October 13, 2019

These tweets have links to resources for long-distance backpacking trails:


Remembering Visit to the Appalachian Trail Museum


Letchworth State Park

After the ALDHA Gathering, we had a most enjoyable trip on our way home, which included seeing the many waterfalls at Letchworth State Park. It was fun to "bookend" our trip with waterfalls.


Late Dinner


Breakfast


OHIO!!

Back in our home state -- Ohio!


After ALDHA Gathering -- Join More Trail Organizations!

We annually donate to the Appalachian Trail Museum (@AppTrailMuseum), and Stuart is a life member of both the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (@AT_Conservancy) and Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association - ALDHA (@ALDHAeast), since he hikes on the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) most years. He has been hiking on the A.T. since the age of 13. We are also members of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (@RailsToTrails).

The last several years, Stuart has joined more trail organizations that build and maintain long-distance trails that he is interested in exploring:

 


Related Blog Posts

Here are two other "Travel" related blog posts -- we enjoy sharing our experiences on the road:

Here are "Trails/Hike" related blog posts:

 

We write these blog posts to share what we learn about organizations and about places that we enjoy. We hope you will share them with others.