Leave No Trace e-tour at Greenbrier State Park Maryland
The Leave No Trace e-tour and Big Foot were able to help with PATC's annual picnic. Mark and Tara arrived Friday afternoon in the Suburu pictured below. Big Foot arrived a little later. Their Suburu is a mobile message board and home on wheels for many months of continuous road travel. During their journey they will be going from one venue to the next tracing a big figure eight on the map of the USA. With a focus on youth outreach they will be providing hundreds of Leave No Trace outreach/education sessions almost right up through the end of 2011.
They have a blog which allows you to follow their travels check it out:
What is the Leave No Trace e- tour?:
The Leave No Trace e-tour overview page which has lots of information and can be found at the following link:
On this page you can find the following:
What is the Leave No Trace e-tour?
The Leave No Trace e-tour, sponsored by the Coleman Company and The North Face, brings hands-on Leave No Trace demonstrations, interactive activities and general Leave No Trace education to schools, camps and youth-serving organizations from May through August. The team also travels to select retailers specializing in Coleman outdoor products in order to promote Leave No Trace information to kids and families. The e-tour provides basic Leave No Trace education programs that inspire youth to get outside while promoting responsible enjoyment of the outdoors.
Big Foot finally caught up to the Leave No Trace e-tour team at Maryland's Greenbrier State Park.
PATC Trail Patrol had the honor of hosting Big Foot and the 2011 Leave No Trace e-tour team of Mark Ardagna and Tara McCarthy. The next picture shows the hosts and Big Foot clustered around an Appalachian Trail(AT) interpretive sign outside Greenbrier's Visitor Center. The AT passes through the park and it is a relatively easy hike from the park to Annapolis Rocks. The PATC Mountaineering section offered folks a chance to do some top roping.
Besides Saturday's outreach the Leave No Trace e-tour team provided a wonderful multi-media presentation for all park visitors in the park's amphitheater on Friday night. I did not get to talk much to Big Foot over the weekend but I got the sense that he struggles a little with his huge passion for spreading the Leave No Trace word and his natural shyness. Big Foot's natural habitat usually involves colder temperatures and perhaps even snow. I believe it was the Greenbrier Visitor's Center's air conditioning and ice cream social that helped over come Big Foot's shyness such that he decided to visit with some delighted children. Ice Creme, Big Foot and really cool interpretive wildlife displays at the interpretive center a formula for fun and a little learning.
Right after the ice creme social Randy and Georgia Motz (trail names Windtalker and Mom) provided a short flute recital and a multi-media presentation about their 2006 AT Thru-hike. Award winning authors of two books, "Solemates - Lessons on Life, Love & Marriage from the Appalachian Trail" and "The Walk - Reflections on Life &; Faith from the Appalachian Trail" they are members of PATC and have a passion for communicating about their AT experience. For more details about them and their presentation the following link takes you to the press release for the Greenbrier presentation:
http://www.free-press-release.com/news-award-winning-authors-to-speak-about-hiking-the-appalachian-trail-at-greenbrier-state-park-as-part-of-potomac-appalachian-trail-club-day-festivi-1307462565.htm
Home sweet home for Friday and Saturday nights.
Of course on Sunday afternoon the whole crew was off without leaving a trace we had been there.
One of those great weekends spent with great folks who share a passion for wild places and outdoor adventure.
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