Local News

On March 2 - 3, the IAT North America Council gathered in Moncton, New Brunswick to discuss issues of common interest, report chapter progress, and relax with friends over good food and drink!  Topics for discussion included IAT maps and trail markers, websites and social media, corporate sponsors and long-distance hikers, and IAT Europe and the 2013 AGM.

January 2013 marks the introduction of two new website series on the Natural and Cultural Heritage found along the International Appalachian Trail, from eastern North America to Western Europe.  This first piece on Natural Heritage by Beyond Ktaadn was excerpted and adapted from their new Eastern Alpine Guide, and is titled: Common Alpine Plant Species along the IAT in North America.

From August 22-23, Long Range Adventurer Lew Coty made a circumtrek of Gros Morne National Park's Trout River Pond, beginning at the trailhead to Trout River Pond Trail.  The two day trek brought him across the top of the Tablelands, down around the back end of the pond near Overfalls Trail, and up and across the south side hills, with a final descent down the head of the Elephant.

On the beautiful autumn day of October 30, IAT Chairperson Paul Wylezol, IATNL Vice Chair Arne Helgeland, and Signage Director Delano Pittman entered Serpentine Valley to continue work on the Lewis Hills Trail, the final stage of the new IATNL UltramaTrex.  This one-week trek provides access to all four of the West Coast's ophiolites, characterized by the rust-colored ultramafic, peridotite.

In July 2012, Appalachian Trail thru-hiker Paul Gagnon and his partner Laura White made a 4-day/4-night trek of the Lewis Hills and Blow-Me-Down Mountains.  With the exception of their start at Fox Island River south of Cache Valley, their south to north trek followed the IATNL route, most of it across alpine barrens above 2,000 ft (600 m) elevation.

In October 2012, Beyond Ktaadn, a collaborative research and outreach organization focused on alpine landscapes in eastern North America, will publish an Eastern Alpine Guide including IAT mountains of Newfoundland.  Contributors include academics and experts in the U.S. and Canada, as well as IAT Chairperson Paul Wylezol.

On August 27-28, IAT Chairperson Paul Wylezol and IAT Hiker Sean LeMoine hiked across the North Arm Hills, from Stowbridge Head in the Bay of Islands to Trout River Pond in Gros Morne National Park.  The goal was to identify a route for the new IATNL North Arm Traverse.  The two-day trek requires a 45 minute boat ride on each end, provided by

From July 31 - August 1, IAT Chairperson Paul Wylezol, Recording Secretary Caroline Swan, and Maine hiker Loren Johnston did a 2-day hike in the Blow Me Down Mountains to add trail markers to the IATNL Blow-Me-Down Mountain Trail, and look for route improvements and additions.

In August 2012, National Geographic included the International Appalachian Trail in the World's Best Hikes: 20 Epic Trails.  "We looked for walks that travel deeper into a location’s history and culture. Sure, there’s outdoor adventure on each of these 20 hikes, but the trails also tell a rich story."

On June 26, after the IAT AGM in Reykjavik, Icelandic Touring Association Manager Palli Gudmundsson took IAT Chair Paul Wylezol and IATNL Vice Chair Arne Helgeland on a day-long tour of Thorsmork (named after the Viking God of Thunder) and one of the ITA's most popular backcountry huts.  The day began with a 2-hour drive from Reykjavik to the famous Seljalandsfoss waterfalls,