Seven years ago
Then Now
And yet still to come
These parallel universes exist
Time and Space
Their illusion can make one grow old
With a falsity of living
Of dying
Not understanding that we are all one
Misperceiving our true selves
Overlooking our indestructible consciousness
Going about daily life sleepwalking insane
Instead of dreaming to awake
Instead of deliberately living
Instead of meaningfully being
Distracted with distractions, entertainment
Feasting, drinking until drunking, dosing until drugging
We count followers, likes, digital bank balances,
Material things as successes
Modern day silver platters and goblets of gold
But they remain the common clay
Misguided
Meaningless
Trite
An inglorious Way
Of discounting self, others,
The grass under our feet
Birds, trees, water, sky, earth
The deer running through the woods
The blooming plankton floating in sea
The stars twinkling above in the night sky
Why communicate when we can
Dictate and mandate
And why love when we can
Hate, twist, stir, disassociate
Hanging on
Holding on
Arrested by desire
Suffering
We trapped in our prison of unrealistic expectations
This prison of our fixed thinking
A prison of our own fears
A screen for others to play on
A stage for created drama
Someone’s written script
A sign in today’s newspaper horoscope
This is how false friends take you for a fool
This is how people make themselves
For fools
This is how false thoughts within oneself arise
This is the cave.
Be a mirror
Be a shining light
Be a tiny spring flower
Be a spring-fed mountain stream
Be a cloud
Be the horizon
Be (t)here
Be the architect of your own design
Be love
Be-lieve you are everything
And nothing …
Seven years ago
Then Now
And yet still to come
These parallel universes exist
Time and Space
I am misty blue and green above below
Standing atop a hunted jagged peak
Holding love in my arms
The Klondike stretched out before us
Cold wind buffeting
Cold sun shining blinding
Warming hearts tender embrace
Casting away the mind’s abyss
As my heart crosses the divide
Hiking
Press Release: “Trail Time? Not Quite”
As Always, Mud Season Beckons Caution
By Jared Pendak
Valley News Staff Writer
Nichole Hastings received a disturbing email recently.
As a volunteer Appalachian Trail corridor monitor , Hastings was alerted to the sight of a mountain bike’s tire treads on the AT in Norwich, off of Cossingham Road. As a designated National Scenic Trail, the AT is meant for foot travel only and is subject to National Park Service regulations prohibiting bicycle and motorized travel of any kind, as well any use by riders of “pack animals,” i.e. horses, mules, goats and llamas.
The AT crosses Cossingham Road, a Class IV road near the intersection of Bragg Hill Road and Happy Hill Road that is popular for use among mountain bikers and horseback riders.
“The AT passes over the road, north-to-south,” said Hastings, who coordinates the Dartmouth Outing Club’s trail monitor program and also volunteers with the Green Mountain Club, which maintains the Appalachian Trail from Norwich to Woodstock. “It makes it convenient for ATVs or mountain bikers to go onto the trail, if they’re using that road. What some people don’t realize is that the trail is part of the National Park Service, and that keeping vehicles, including, bikes, off the trail is federally mandated.”
Read more here.
Norwich Celebrates A.T. Family Hike Day with a Weekend of Events
What could be better than a beautiful Fall day with family out hiking in Vermont?
We have an exciting series of events coming up on September 29th to celebrate ‘Appalachian Trail Family Hike Day’ in Norwich. The Norwich Friends of the A. T. in partnership with The Norwich Bookstore, the Green Mountain Club, the Upper Valley Trails Alliance, and the Town of Norwich would like you to join them on Saturday the 29th. There will be hikes, a picnic, and an opportunity to meet the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s publisher Brian King.
The celebration begins on Saturday at 10am with Brian King, the publisher for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy is flying up from Harpers Ferry West Virginia to sign his book The Appalachian Trail at The Norwich Bookstore.
The foreword of the book is written by Bill Bryson, a former resident of Hanover and author of A Walk in the Woods. For more information on the book event, please call 802.649.1114 or email info@norwichbookstore.com. The bookstore is happy to arrange for Brian to sign a book for you if you cannot join on Saturday.
At noon, there is a bring-your-own-picnic-lunch on the Norwich Green until 1pm. During the latter half of the hour, we will begin shuttling people up to the Willliam Tucker Trail entrance on Happy Hill Road to hike.
At 1pm, Nichole Hastings will lead the hike to the Happy Hill Shelter and 
discuss the new privy installation. We will hike the A.T. back towards Norwich and down Elm Street to the Norwich Green. For more information please call 802.332.6615 or email nichole.l.hastings@gmail.com. The trail from Happy Hill Shelter to Elm Street is rated easy/moderate for all ages.
The events are free and open to the public; reservations are not needed. For a simple listing of the events see the AT Family Hike Day Schedule.
And on Sunday September 30th, the Green Mountain Club will be moving
lumber to the new Happy Hill privy site. Volunteers are welcome! Please meet at 10am at the West Hartford Village Store on VT Route 14. Bring work gloves and boots. You may email Nichole for more information at nichole.l.hastings@gmail.com.
We look forward to celebrating community, a treasure in our own backyard and Autumn with you!
***
Three other local hikes in celebration of AT Family Hiking Day are:
Holt’s Ledge Hike, Lyme NH – Meet 10 am at lower parking lot of Dartmouth Skiway, call Matt Stevens at 603.676.4102 or email at mstevens@appalachiantrail.org for more information.
Cossingham Road to Norwich, VT – Meet at 9am at Huntley Meadow, call Becky at (802) 649-9075 or email Becky.Lewandoski@uvtrails.org for more information.
Dupuis Hill, Pomfret VT – Meet 1 pm at far end of Billings Farm Museum in Woodstock. E-mail Marissa_Jager@partner.nps.gov, or call 802-457-3368 x17 for more information.
*These three local hikes are sponsored by and being led by
the Upper Valley Trails Alliance, the National Park Service,
and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
Discover the D.O.C. A.T. Boundary Program
Introduction
to the
Dartmouth Outing Club’s
Appalachian Trail Boundary Program
Do you like to hike? Are you interested in volunteering your time for a greater good? Or a local summer escape into Nature with some ‘treasure hunting’?
You may want to consider volunteering to be an Appalachian Trail Corridor Monitor for the Dartmouth Outing Club’s Appalachian Trail Boundary Program.
Please join us at an introductory presentation and learn more about it and how to get involved and volunteer as a D.O.C. A.T. Corridor Monitor.
Date: April 22, 2011 / April 27, 2011 / May 14, 2011
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 11/11:30 a.m.
Registration: pre-register, e-mail Nichole, limited space, no fee
Location: Robinson Hall, Dartmouth College
Agenda
9:00 to 10:00 a.m.
The Boundary Program Presentation
In this presentation you will learn about how the program operates, the roles, responsibilities and expectations of a volunteer Corridor Monitor for the D.O.C. and A.T.C..
10:00 to 11/11:30 a.m.
A Walk on the Boundary
We will take the presentation on a walk from Robinson Hall to the A.T. Boundary, located near the Chase Field, behind the Co-op Food Store in Hanover, NH.
11/11:30 a.m. to ———-
Conclusion at the Canoe Club (optional)
When we conclude our field presentation, we will walk back and those who are interested may join us for further discussion over coffee.
What is the ‘Corridor’ and ‘Boundary’?
The Corridor is what we call the tracts of land on either side of the Appalachian Trail. The Boundary is the yellow blazed ‘line’ delineating the separation of our Federal/State/National Park land from privately owned property.
What is a Corridor Monitor?
They are the dedicated volunteers who hike that ‘line’ monitoring and maintaining the Boundary.
Why monitor and maintain the Boundary?
To monitor and protect the Boundary and Corridor from encroachments such as hunting, timber harvesting and ATV use.
Schedule
April 2011
|
THURSDAY 21 |
FRIDAY
22 |
SATURDAY
23 |
|
9:00 a.m. to 11/11:30 a.m. An Introduction to the Dartmouth Outing Club’s Appalachian Trail Boundary Program |
May 2011
|
FRIDAY 21 |
SATURDAY
22 |
SUNDAY
23 |
|
9:00 a.m. to 11/11:30 a.m. An Introduction to the Dartmouth Outing Club’s Appalachian Trail Boundary Program |
June 2011
|
FRIDAY 10 |
SATURDAY
11 |
SUNDAY
12 |
MONDAY
13 |
| TBA | TBA |
July 2011
|
MONDAY 4 |
TUESDAY
5 |
WEDNESDAY
6 |
THURSDAY
7 |
FRIDAY
8 |
SATURDAY
9 |
SUNDAY
10 |
| X | X |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
|
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
| TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
TBA |
X | X |
To become a Corridor Monitor or find out more about the D.O.C. Boundary Program, please contact Nichole Hastings at: nichole.l.hastings@gmail.com
ni • ko • ru 
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