Ambassador Update

Ambassador Update -

 We have sadly lost one ambassador (hey everybody) due to injury... We were lucky enough to meet up with a friend from the PCT who's hiking the AT this year and took over without us missing a beat...

                                 Meet our new Graffiti Removal Ambassador

                          Jason Gregory Truesdale "Chupacabra"

 Hello everyone my name is Jason Truesdale aka. Chupacabra. I am honored to be apart of the
hiker trash trail maintenance crew. I am 44 years old from San Diego CA. I hiked the PCT in 2014 and it changed my life. I am currently hiking the AT in pursuit of the Triple Crown. I enjoy the hiking community and am honored to give back and help out. 
In the words of Mr. Garrison.....Graffiti is bad mmmmmm K

Personal Facebook
AT hike page


  Updates on our other ambassadors - 

     One of Our Trash Ambassadors Jason McElroy "Cavey" has been battling tooth problems and is set to have oral surgery June 9th and hopes to start a Sobo thru soon after. We wish him speedy recovery! 

     Our Campfire Clean-up Ambassador  David Alan Lane "Squarepeg" started April 13th and has almost made it to Damascus...His spirits are high and he's cruising along! 

     Our other Trash Ambassador Kaitlin Thompson started April 10th and is somewhere near Squarepeg now... we are waiting to update her progress (in lbs.) soon.   


If you would like to help send our ambassadors mail drops we could use the help with shipping costs... click the link below :) 

          Hiker Trash Trail Maintenance Shipping Fund           

Meet Our Ambassadors

                                                 Meet Our Ambassadors


                                    Campfire Clean-up Ambassador


                            David Alan Lane   "Squarepeg"

 Hey it's Squarepeg! smile emoticon AKA - Crazydave  or David Lane and I and my wife are Texans! smile emoticon I'm a hiker who mainly  majored in day and weekend hikes until our first thru-hike attempt in 2013. On April 13th my wife and I stayed at the Hiker hostel and caught a shuttle to the trailhead and began our journey with excitement and great expectations. We did everything wrong including carrying a folding toilet seat! We weren't in good shape to carry a 65lb and 45lb pack so within days my wife fell and hurt her knee.  She soldiered on to Gatlinburg where  she couldn't go on as the pain was just too much. I carried on until our tenet decided to trash our house and refused to pay rent thus cutting the funds for the trip.With a heavy heart I caught a ride from Uncle Johnny's Hostel in Erwin, TN after only hiking about 250 miles. What we gained from it all was the experience of long distance hiking.  What worked and, like the toilet, (which broke on the first use) what didn't. gasp emoticon
Fast forward to March 17th, 2015 and I'm back at the Hiker Hostel, alone this time as my wife couldn't get away. cry emoticon  I began my thru-hike on the 18th with excitement,  ambition and great determination. Along the way I tore my rotator cuff muscle off the bone! gasp emoticon I had  $1,500 stolen from my pack and it was only through discipline, stubbornness, trail Angels and trail magic that I could finish my hike on October 17th. I was inspired greatly by my friend - Niki Rellon - AKA the Bionic Woman who was the first woman who thru-hiked the AT with a prosthetic leg! Anytime I started feeling sorry for myself,  I would think of her drive and determination,  theoretically bslap myself, tell myself to man up and carry on. During my hike I observed the best and worst of the hiking community and I began to speak out against the abuse after witnessing fist hand in Kent where one drunken man shut down the camping  at the used clothing store and second hand at the garden store by the on trail, train station to NY, that no longer allows camping. I took a pledge to be a self appointed trail ambassador working to show the best of the hiking community.
I'm now working on two books about this adventure now. On about the journey and the other a book of poetry from my journal entries.
I will be proudly taking to the trail again this year as a Hiker Trash Maintenance Ambassador in charge of firepit maintenance. My duties include cleaning and restoration of firepits and the education of hikers along the principles of leave no trace.
I miss and long to be back on the trail and among my hiking family! smile emoticon See you all on the trail!

                                    

                              Graffiti Removal Ambassador

                            David Fleming “Hey Everybody”

 
My name is David Fleming. I am A 25 year Navy veteran. Since retirement I have work as an Auto Parts salesman, truck driver, garage manager and motel manager. In 2013 a significant change in my life left me with no place that I wanted to be. As I have known about the Appalachian Trail since I was 12 years old I decided to take a thru hike. With only one week of planning and a three day gear camping test I started my journey at Amicalola Falls. Hiking in below freezing weather with inadequate gear sent me rapidly back to town. Regrouping I headed back into the mountains and hiked steadily but slowly towards Fontana Dam. I continued through the Smokies, in 22 inches of snow. After spending a few days in Gatlinburg, I returned to the trail and eventually arrived at Greasy Creek, with a torn Achilles tendon. I eventually made my way to a friend's home in Eastern North Carolina. After 4 months of recovery and physical therapy I returned to the AT in April of 2014. Slowly and steadily over the next 185 days I made my way to Katahdin. I then returned to Eastern North Carolina.I immediately started planning an additional thru hike, even after telling many trail friends that I would not attempt another long distance hike.  With a good amount of knowledge and some planning I returned to the AT in April 2015.At mile 650 I was informed by my family that my sister was in ill and not expected to last very long. I hiked
rapidly to Four Pines, and made my way 2 South Carolina. I stayed with my sister until she passed, an assisted my brother in law in making his transition to living alone.In August 2015 I rented a summer cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Through the winter I worked two part time jobs and started planning for a 2016 through hike.

I volunteered as a Hiker Trash Trail Maintenance Ambassador so that I could give back something to the trail and its people that had given me so much. I will as much as possible hike in a manner consistent with the LNT code. I hope that my efforts will show others that our trail needs their help so that it will stay in its natural form, so that our children's children can enjoy the Appalachian Trail whether it be a day hike, weekend hike or thru hike.
 
Happy trails, hike safely and we will see you there. “Hey Everybody”


                           
                                      Trash Ambassadors


                                       Kaitlin Thompson

Kaitlin hails from rural Minnesota where she had the privilege of having parents who were always telling her to, “Go play outside!” In addion to exploring her vast backyard with her brothers, there were several summers when her family of 5 would pile into the staon wagon and explore the country together. Hiking, and later geocaching, were always the highlights of these trips. Kaitlin learned not only to love, but appreciate, respect and protect nature. However, this made it harder to have a “normal” job later in life. O'ce jobs never stuck. She’s worked on an 1800’s living history ranch and most recently withthe Naonal Park Service in an e/ort to bring her love of the outdoors into her work. Although Kaitlin’s longest trips hiking trips to date are only week long trips, not months, ask anyone who knows her - she’s got the grit to see this thing through.



                                   Jason McElroy "Cavey"

    Born and raised in northeast PA less than an hour from the Appalachian trail, I’ve always been drawn to the mountains. I've toyed with the idea of a thru hike for years, but never had the pieces in place to achieve the goal. Finally, after years of 500+ mile hikes, it's time--and what better way to achieve that goal than to help clean up!
   I believe this year we can remove 3000 lbs of trash, partially because of the way I will be hiking. Starting in Harpers Ferry and heading SOBO to Springer, I can meet and help people develop an interest in cleaning up after themselves. Next I will flip back around and follow those same bubbles I talked and formed bonds with all the way to Maine-- hopefully leaving a huge impact that will follow for decades to come, and leave a place for our children to embrace.

 https://www.facebook.com/caveysadventures/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6U60J_2dM9L96tQ_YRywMw


 

Look Who's Donating to Hiker Trash Trail Maintenance

  Look Who's Donating to Hiker Trash Trail Maintenance! The following are the people and companies who have donated to help make Hiker Trash Trail Maintenance happen this year....


                                                       Company Sponsors 

 ZPacks -     ZPacks has provided us with a number of stuff sacks to give our ambassadors .
 One of the leading ultralight companies out there...building quality gear right here in my home state of Florida. We had the honor of seeing their operation in action last year and not only do they put out awesome gear that is some of the lightest out there they employ a large number of people and provide an awesome atmosphere to work in. No shoes in the shop! Something relaxing about everyone walking around barefoot and listening to tunes while they work....  Thanks ZPacks! You guys rock!

Website -  http://zpacks.com
FaceBook - https://www.facebook.com/ZPacks

Justin's Nut Butter - Justin provided us with a few cases of nut butter and we all know they're the bomb! We all eat PB on the trail but this is the next level stuff!   Justin Gold founded Justin’s in Boulder, Colorado in 2004. Starting with a good idea, great ambition, a simple food processor and the highest quality ingredients available, Justin made his very first batches of his now-famous gourmet nut butters in his home kitchen. He packed them in 16-ounce jars, gave them to friends and family, and sold them to local natural food stores. The response was extraordinary, the company grew quickly, and in four short years Justin’s grew from its literal cottage industry beginnings to a successful national brand with a loyal following of passionate customers. 


Website - http://justins.com/
FaceBook - https://www.facebook.com/JustinsNutButter

 Fusion Jerky - Safe to say most hikers consume a good amount of jerky during a hike and most taste pretty much the same. Not the case here...Fusion takes jerky to the next level with their artisan flavors! Fusion was generous enough to send us 100 packs of jerky for our ambassadors! Including Rosemary citrus turkey jerky, Garlic jalapeno pork jerky, & Lemon pepper chicken jerky! Check out the about me on their website for the story about KaiYen Mai climbing to jerky success...

Website - http://fusionjerky.com
FaceBook - https://www.facebook.com/fusionjerky

Nicks Sticks - Nicks Sticks sent us 2 boxes of their delicious grass-fed beef sticks. 

Nick's Sticks are all-natural grass-fed beef snack sticks created by Nick Wallace of Wallace Farms. No MSG, no fillers, just cows raised on grass.

website - http://www.nicks-sticks.com/

facebook -  www.facebook.com/NicksSticks

 GoPicnic - GoPicnic was awesome and donated a pile of  Sweet Perry Orchards Power Play Tasty Seed Blend. Perfect for a midday snack or to add to a meal to add texture and protein.  Founded in 2006, Chicago-based GoPicnic® is the pioneer and leader in delicious, nutritionally balanced and portable ready-to-eat breakfast, lunch and snacks. Innovating the concept of refueling on-the-go with its tasty offerings.

Website - gopicnic.com
FaceBook -  www.facebook.com/GoPicnic

Simply7 - Simply 7 Snacks was nice enough to donate a box of their Sea Salt Quinoa Chips...a tasty snack for our Ambassadors. At Simply 7 Snacks, they take all-natural, non-GMO, gluten free ingredients and bake them into simply delicious, bite-sized snacks for the whole family!

Website -  simply7snacks.com
FaceBook - www.facebook.com/simply7snacks

 

Back to Nature - Back to Nature donated a box of their tasty crispy cheddar crackers! Since 1960 Back to Nature has been creating delicious and flavorful recipes inspired by Nature. We carefully select our ingredients to create great-tasting products that you can enjoy all day long. Our mission is to provide everyday foods that are simply delicious, simply good.

website - http://www.backtonaturefoods.com
facebook - https://www.facebook.com/backtoNATURE

 

Big Tree Farms - Big Tree Farms has donated cases of Coco Hydro - coconut water mix.  Dehydrated at source so we're not shipping water around the world, Coco Hydro® is coconut water on-demand in four delicious natural flavors. Just mix with water for Coconut Water Anytime...Anywhere. From all things raw, to working to build sustainable livelihoods for their farmer partners, to being good stewards of ecology, Big Tree Farms is a champion for a brighter future in food and it's an ethos that starts right at the top. read more about what they do on the about us page!

Website - http://bigtreefarms.com
FaceBook - https://www.facebook.com/BigTreeFarmsBali/

Dr. Price's Vitamins - Dr. Price's Vitamins has donated cases of their Electrolyte Mix &
Energy Vites drink mixes. Electrolyte Mix is a blend of over 72 Trace Minerals and Electrolytes. We have created a formula that will benefit all types of people ranging from the elite athlete to your personal hydration needs. A great tasting and convenient way of hydrating properly and naturally! Energy Vites are a unique combination of vitamins and minerals that support energy production and proper metabolism. A great tasting and convenient way of getting that extra boost!

Website - http://drpricesvitamins.com
Facebook - www.facebook.com/DrPricesVitamins

Jay Robb - Jay Robb was cool enough to send us a box full of his Protein Isolate powders in 3 different flavors for our ambassadors. Health and fitness guru Jay Robb founded Jay Robb Enterprises in 1988 after what most hikers can relate to in some way..."I had long hair (since the 1960s), and I owned a 1970 Volkswagen Beetle, six small boxes of clothes, a tent, and a sleeping bag. This almost homeless lifestyle, allowed me to save money because I was squatting on the land in exchange for being their gardener." Check out his websites about to read more of his story... 

Website - http://www.jayrobb.com
FaceBook - https://www.facebook.com/JayRobbProtein

Ultima Replenisher - Ultima replenisher sent us a box of electrolyte drink mix for our ambassadors!

website - http://www.ultimareplenisher.com
facebook - ahttps://www.facebook.com/GoUltima

Twangerz - Twangerz came thru with boxes of their 7 delicious, flavor infused, salts that can be mixed in a variety of ways to enhance any snack, any food, any moment, anywhere. Our whole family sat around the dinner table and tried out every flavor the other night and we were blown away by how much flavor these added....hikers get ready to take boring flavored staples to the next level!

website - http://www.twangerz.com/
facebook - www.facebook.com/twangerz

                                                            The People 

 We recently started a GoFundMe so people could donate to help us cover the costs of shipping and some tools...read our other blogs to see what we're going to be up to...and donate or let us know if there's another way you'd like to help to get your name added below :) 


Henry Stick Schimpf -  donation via GoFundMe - Thanks Stick you rock bro!



                                                        CLICK BELOW TO
                                                    GOFUNDME

Hiker Trash Trail Maintenance Ambassador Projects

  This year Hiker Trash Trail Maintenance will have Ambassadors on the AT doing a number of projects for us. If you are alumni & planning to re-hike this year and would like to apply to be an ambassador for us (Click Here) and apply before 02-13-16. Below are the projects we have planned so far...

      

                                                      Campfire Clean-up 


     This is a project that Ebrake started last year and did during our entire thru hike. It started the first night we were on trail when she decided to clean out and rebuild the fire pit at the shelter we stayed at. Because we fire cook it became an important task for us and something she did as soon as we got to camp each night. It was a surprisingly low number of people we saw who built fires or cooked on them. For us building a fire to cook on is part of our minimalist approach to hiking as we don't like to carry a stove or fuel canisters (which we don't like due to the environmental footprint they leave).  We also just like to have a fire, it brings people together and gets some conversation going, not to mention gets rid of the bugs that like to feast on Ebrake.
       The amount of trash and built up material in that first fire pit was awful, as were most of them along the way. In most cases instead of cleaning out the pits people would just add rocks creating a taller pile of half burnt material and trash and in a few cases we even ran into mice living inside the piles. In other cases people would just build another fire pit next to the original one rather than cleaning it out, so we would remove them both and rebuild one of them right. If you would like to see time lapse videos of a few of our campfire clean-ups check out our YouTube channel we will be posting them over the next few days.

       So this year we will have a Fire Ambassador who will be cleaning out and rebuilding fire pits and educating other hikers on fire building and pit maintenance. Hopefully this spreads and other hikers will join in maintain them and clean up after themselves. Unfortunately to many people are uneducated when it comes to campfires... what trash you can and can't burn, what wood actually burns (green trees don't burn don't chop them down!), or even how to start a fire. Our ambassador will also be doing some fire cooking and showing others the versatility of doing so (try cooking steak on a jetboil...and yes you can and should pack out steaks!) We hope this project leaves a beautiful trace that others can enjoy!


                                                          Graffiti Removal

        Every shelter has it and our goal is to remove as much as we can. Realistically we know that this problem will probably continue but it doesn't have to. We have the power of policing each other, none of us would be ok with someone standing up and writing on our living room walls at our house so we need to treat the shelters and trail as a whole as if it is our home, because it is. It's ok to tell someone not to violate your home...not to destroy it...not to disrespect it. Our society has become a place where correcting someone for doing something wrong is not ok, but we can change that! We can be the someone, the someone who cares, the someone who speaks out against wrong.

       Our Tag Ambassador will be sanding off graffiti in shelters,privies,and anywhere else it's found. We will also be passing out sanding blocks along the trail so others can get involved too. Our ambassador will also be educating and speaking with other hikers about graffiti and the negative impact it has on all of our experience. Some of the places graffiti is found are painted and sanding them isn't an option, so we are also planning some painting projects per approval from the trail clubs, to repaint those areas. We will post on our Facebook when we get approval for those projects and when they will be (hopefully we will be able to throw some epic paint parties this year).


                                           
                                                                     Trash

      One of the biggest problems on the trail is trash...for some reason people think it's alright to leave those heavy empty wrappers,cans,bottles,ect. on the trail after consuming the lightweight contents (sarcasm). We packed out bag full after bag full from shelters, out of the privies, and from off the trail. In all fairness not all of the trash was from thru hikers but some was (when we find a gallon ziplock full of food wrappers we know who did it!), the fact is a good bit was from locals out partying or day hikers. Whoever the culprit may be isn't the issue, the fact that it happens is! We should all take care of packing out our own trash and calling out anyone we see leaving theirs.  
          Last year the gentlemen from Packing It Out set and achieved a goal of packing out a TON of trash from the trail. While we're glad they did so we are also sad that there was that much trash in the first place. This year lets all leave the trail with less trash and pack out anything and everything we can!

       Our Trash Ambassador will be packing out trash from every shelter and educating others on the importance of leaving the trail trash free. We will also be meeting with our ambassador at kickoff and with the help of Miss Janet be passing out trash collecting containers to hikers. Plans for our trash project are still in the works and we hope to be teaming up with the "Packing It Out" crew to continue what they started last year.



                                                  How can you help?

      How can you help? Well if you are thru hiking you can join in on any of the projects above, like our Facebook and keep an eye out for when and where we're doing projects, or sign up for our ambassador program. If you are not thru hiking this year but still want to help you can help support our ambassadors via our Gofundme.We will also be posting a blog soon about a few projects we are working on for anyone who has free time at home or wants to come join us on a project we do as we  travel up the trail this year.

List of Appalachian Trail Clubs

 The following is a complete list of trail clubs and the areas they cover (southbound) -


ATC - http://www.appalachiantrail.org/


 Maine Appalachian Trail Club (MATC)
AREA OF COVERAGE - Katahdin to Maine Highway 26 in Grafton Notch
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 0 - 266
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.matc.org/

 Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC)
AREA OF COVERAGE - Highway 26 /Grafton Notch to  Kinsman Notch
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 266 - 389
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.outdoors.org/

 Randolph Mountain Club (RMC)
AREA OF COVERAGE - The Perch (IN THE WHITES)
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - The Perch 328.7
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.randolphmountainclub.org/

 Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC)
AREA OF COVERAGE - Kinsman Notch to Vermont 12
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 389 - 465
MAIN WEBSITE - http://outdoors.dartmouth.edu/

Green Mountain Club  (GMC)
AREA OF COVERAGE -  Mass state line to the Canadian border. (LONG TRAIL)
                                             Vermont 12 to the Massachusetts border (AT)
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE -  LT = 1- 274
                                                   AT = 465 - 592
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.greenmountainclub.org/

AMC Berkshire Chapter
AREA OF COVERAGE - Vermont border to Sages Ravine, MA.
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 592 - 682
MAIN WEBSITE - http://amcberkshire.org/

AMC - Connecticut Chapter
AREA OF COVERAGE - Sages Ravine, MA to the New York border
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE -  682 - 734
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.ct-amc.org/

New York-New Jersey Trail Conference
AREA OF COVERAGE - New York/Connecticut border to Delaware Water Gap, PA
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 734 - 895
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.nynjtc.org/

Wilmington Trail Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Delaware Water Gap to Fox Gap
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 895 - 903
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.wilmingtontrailclub.org/

Batona Hiking Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Fox Gap to Wind Gap
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 903 - 911
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.batonahikingclub.org/

AMC - Delaware Valley Chapter
AREA OF COVERAGE - Wind Gap to Little Gap
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 911 - 926
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.amcdv.org/

Philadelphia Trail Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Little Gap to Lehigh Furnace Gap
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 926 - 937
MAIN WEBSITE - http://philadelphiatrailclub.org/

Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Lehigh Furnace Gap to Bake Oven Knob
and from Tri-County Corner to Rausch Creek
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1) 937.9 - 941.3  2)  951.5 - 1013.6
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.bmecc.org/

Allentown Hiking Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Bake Oven Knob to Tri-County Corner
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 941.3 - 951.5
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.allentownhikingclub.org/


 Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Rausch Gap - PA 225
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1014.1 - 1035.0
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.satc-hike.org/


York Hiking Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - PA 225 to the Susquehanna River.
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1035.0 - 1041.4
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.yorkhikingclub.com/


 Mountain Club of Maryland
AREA OF COVERAGE - Susquehanna River to Darlington Trail
& Center Point Knob to Pine Grove Furnace State Park, PA.
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1041.4 - 1054.8  2) 1072.0 - 1088.6
MAIN WEBSITE - http://mcomd.org/


Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Darlington Trail to Center Point Knob
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1054.8 - 1072.0
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.cvatclub.org/


Potomac Appalachian Trail Club
AREA OF COVERAGE -  Pine Grove Furnace State Park, PA to Rockfish Gap, VA
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1088.6 - 1328.4
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.patc.net


Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Rockfish Gap to Reeds Gap
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1328.4 - 1347.7
MAIN WEBSITE - http://olddominiontrailclub.onefireplace.org/


Tidewater Appalachian Trail Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Reeds Gap to the Tye River
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1347.7 - 1358.4
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.tidewateratc.com/


Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Tye River to Black Horse Gap
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1358.4 - 1448.8
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.nbatc.org/


Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Black Horse Gap to the New River
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1448.8 -  1585.7
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.ratc.org/

Outdoor Club of Virginia Tech
AREA OF COVERAGE - Virginia 608 to Garden Mountain
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1585.7 - 1618.4
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.outdoor.org.vt.edu/

Piedmont Appalachian Trail Hikers
AREA OF COVERAGE - 70 miles of the storied AT. PATH's maintenance starts
from Va. St. Rt. 670 at the South Fork of the Holston River
north to U.S. 52 near Bland.
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1618.4 - 1663.1
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.path-at.org/

Mount Rogers Appalachian Trail Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Virginia 670 to Damascus
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1663.1 - 1719.3
MAIN WEBSITE - http://mratc.pbworks.com/w/page/8862374/FrontPage


Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Damascus, VA to Spivey Gap, NC
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1719.3 - 1885.1
MAIN WEBSITE - http://tehcc.org/


 Carolina Mountain Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Spivey Gap, NC to Davenport Gap, TN/NC
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1885.1 - 1947.8
MAIN WEBSITE - http://carolinamountainclub.org/

Smoky Mountain Hiking Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Davenport Gap, TN/NC to the Nantahala River, NC
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 1947.8 - 2048.6
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.smhclub.org/

Nantahala Hiking Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - Nantahala River, NC to Bly Gap Ga Border
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 2048.6 - 2107.3
MAIN WEBSITE - http://www.nantahalahikingclub.org/


Georgia Appalachian Trail Club
AREA OF COVERAGE - North Carolina border to the southern terminus on Springer Mountain
MILEAGE OF COVERAGE - 2107.4- 2185.9 (end)
MAIN WEBSITE - http://georgia-atclub.org/

Ambassadors

   Hiker Trash Trail Maintenance is looking for a few AT alumni who are repeat offending this year to help us spread some info and lead some "as you thru hike" projects for us.
   We will be announcing what 2 of the projects are this coming Sunday Funday ( 01-31-16). But for now this is what we can tell you....

 What will be expected of our Ambassadors - 
The projects will take 10+ minutes a day during your hike to complete.
Be able to speak well with other hikers about the projects they are working on.
Our Ambassadors need to be able to act in a positive manner.
 (We are Hiker Trash so we don't expect you to be angels just act responsibly)
Post to our social media including pictures and videos of the projects.
 (along with some shameless plugs for sponsors)

 What "perks" do our Ambassadors get? 
Well first and foremost you get to make a positive impact on the trail!
Be a positive role model :)
Any tools/gadgets needed to complete projects.
and yes we are going to give you some free stuff too...

 We are currently working to get companies to donate things for us to offer as "rewards" for those making positive impacts on the trail (boxes of hiker trash goodness).
 So far we have the following companies who have donated and we are expecting more soon...
ZPacks
Fusion Jerky 
Justins Nut Butter
Dr Prices Vitamins
Big Tree Farms
simply 7 snacks
Jay Robb Protein

‪

   If you would like to be one of our ambassadors please copy and paste the following application and fill it out, then send to our email at Hikertrashtrailmaintenance@yahoo.com titled  "Ambassador"


Real name -

Trail name -

Trails hiked & dates - 

Your social media links - 

Any special diet or food allergy ? 
(need to know for sponsors products so we don't send you things you can't eat)

The following questions will help us place you in the project best for you. 

Do you have a tie from Miss Janet?

Are you planning to go to the Kick-off? Would you be willing to?

Do you stay in shelters or tent near them? Would you be willing to and why/why not? 

Do you go to hostels? Do you stay at hostels? Why/why not? 

Do you build campfires? Do you fire cook? How do you feel about fire pits? 

Do you normally pack out others trash? why/why not?

What are your thoughts on trail graffiti? Ever done it?

How do you feel about the privies? do you use them or cat hole?

What are the 2 things you think are the biggest  problems maintenance wise on the trail? why? what do you think could be done?

Why would you be a good ambassador for us?

What is Hiker Trash Trail Maintenance ?

   In order for us to explain what Hiker Trash Trail Maintenance is we first have to tell you how it came about. During our southbound thru hike of the Appalachian Trail this past year (2015) we were moving trees from day 1 on the trail since we had started May 19th in Maine and trail maintainers hadn't yet been in most of the 100 mile wilderness, we moved 100's that we were able to both pick up, even carried a saw a few days and cut some off the trail. We also dealt with 100's of lbs. of trash left by weekenders and winter folks, cleaned out the shelters, and Ebrake began digging out and cleaning every fire pit at every camp we stayed at. It became her mission to clean out and rebuild them, even stopping to do them in the middle of the day.
    Once we started running into other thru hikers and they saw what we were doing it spread, we noticed others doing things and it began to snowball. We started off telling others we should all spend 5 minutes a day doing something to improve the trail, cleaning up trash, sweeping a shelter, moving a branch..any time you look at something and think "someone should..." just "be the someone!". This lead to "Leaving Beautiful Traces" our version of  "Leave No Trace" minus the NO. We feel like when you tell someone NO they may sometimes take it to literally...we believe hikers can make a huge positive impact by leaving things better than they find them.
   After we got home from our hike we quickly started planning for our books and still wanted to give back to the trail. This is when we came up with Hiker Trash Trail Maintenance, we decided we had to take matters into our own hands. Many of the trail clubs are very overwhelmed and many of the members are frankly getting older and honestly have a hard time keeping up with the maintenance. Memberships aren't growing as fast as the numbers of hikers on the trail, funding is always less then whats needed and usually focused on bigger projects. The trail crews and clubs need more members and we strongly urge anyone who has the time and is able to, to join a local trail club near them - we are doing a blog on the trail club contacts so (Click Here) to find a club near you.
  As for those who don't have the time and can't commit to a club, we invite you to join us in our mission to improve the trail Hiker Trash style.There will be a few Ambassadors for us on the trail this year doing "as you hike" projects ( currently looking for Ambassadors if you are a "repeat offender" and planning to thru hike again this year and would be interested please check out our blog "Ambassadors" and send us an email). We will also be around the trail ourselves this year promoting our books and doing projects, so we hope to see some of you out there! We will be posting blogs on projects we have coming up and projects we're getting involved in so subscribe to our blog, follow us on Facebook, subscribe to our Youtube and all that other social media stuff below ;) 




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