David LaVerne, 45, and Alyson Davis (almost Alyson LaVerne - they are getting married this May!), 35, are avid and life-long hikers, environmentalists, and political activists. Both were born and raised in Scranton, PA, where they hiked as children with their family and with their Scouting troops. Today, David and Alyson reside in Dickson City, PA, and continue to hike as often as possible, although Alyson's battle with arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis sometimes makes hiking more of a challenge.
They also make concerted efforts to involve David's children, Jason, 11, and Margarette, 7, in hiking and other outdoors pursuits through Scouts outings and through family hiking trips. Some of their favorite trails in Pennyslvania are the Thunder Swamp Trail (Alyson) and Mid State Trail (David).
Why do they hike? David and Alyson tell us that their favorite thing about hiking is the peace, serenity, and spiritual cleansing they receive from spending time deep in the woods. They tell us, "We refer to hiking as going to our other church, the one built by God himself. We have the birds for our choir, the animals as our congregation and the wind on our backs as the breath of God pushing us down the trail and cleansing our souls. We don't hike just because we love to, we have to hike. If we don't - or if we stay away too long from the woods - we both tend to get a bit grumpy, very care-worn and impatient. It's like a nutritional need for our spiritual selves to be out in the woods - the deeper, the better."
David recounts a memorable first experience with backpacking: "My first trip up Mt. Marcy in New York, back in 1994, I picked the scenic route and turned it into a three-day backpacking trip. It was May and there was still snow in the traps and avalanche chutes. The breath-taking vistas and unspoiled land swelled my heart and calmed my soul, that trip stayed with me long after I was home. I have often been asked through the years why I like to climb the mountains. It's always been hard for me to put it into words as eloquent as what the act of doing it inspires inside of me. I simply tell people that when I climb a mountain, it takes all of my physical and mental strength to get there, it reduces you to your weakest form but brings out strengths you never realized you had. When you get to the top and look down on the world you can see the truth of your life, and answers to questions that have troubled your soul come easily."
Why did they take the Challenge? Alyson and David, former trail maintainers, decided to take the 100-Mile Trail Challenge to help give something back to the trails that have provided them with so much joy over the years. Although they used to volunteer to do trail maintenance, they find it increasingly difficult to carve out time in their busy lives, and they though that the KTA Challenge could be another way to give back to their beloved Pennsylvania trails. They already hike year-round, so earning money to help the trail system while merely doing what they love was a "no-brainer" for David and Alyson! They write: "Our state forests and trails throughout Penn's Woods are under constant pressure and threat, especially now from the gas industry. We are both very active in the Sierra Club as grassroots activists helping to protect the forests. Completing the 100-Mile Challenge with Keystone Trails Association is yet another way for us to give back and protect the hiking trails we love."
The photograph was taken of David and Alyson in front of Saw Creek on the Thunder Swamp Trail, during David and Alyson's first steps towards the 2013 100-Mile Trail Challenge! For the rest of their Challenge, David and Alyson plan to hike sections of the Appalachian Trail, Loyalsock Trail, Old Loggers Path, Mid State Trail, and Chuck Keiper Trail, among others.
David and Alyson took the Challenge. Will you? Click here to learn more.