The fourth decade of KTA's existence was a notably productive one. The highlight of the decade, of course, was the Appalachian Trail Conference's 1989 biennial general meeting at East Stroudsburg, PA, with KTA as host. In addition though, there were other notable accomplishments relating to the Appalachian Trail and other trails in the state. There were also significant developments involving KTA's organizational arrangements.

In the fall of 1994, an ad hoc Committee on the Future of KTA presented its report which included a number of recommendations, including:

Other suggestions covered the possible adoption of an "Adopt A Trail" program; urging KTA's organizational members to encourage their own individual members to become individual members of KTA; promoting more regional gatherings; and increasing dues income, whether by increased dues or the establishment of special dues categories.

In the spring of 1992, the KTA Council authorized the creation of a Trust for Keystone Trail Lands. This was intended to provide a vehicle for receiving gifts dedicated to the purchase of available land for the protection of Pennsylvania hiking trails.

In the fall of 1990 the KTA Council adopted a position statement concerning compatible uses of hiking trails. The statement made four principal points: (1) trails on public lands should be posted as to the type of permitted uses; (2) motorized vehicles should not be permitted on trails intended for pedestrians; (3) riding and pack animals, bicycles, and mountain bikes should be allowed only on trails where it is determined that such use will neither damage the trail nor diminish the hiking experience; and (4) on trails designed for handicapped usage only pedestrian usage should be allowed in addition to the specific use for which the trail is intended.

After a review of all the pertinent issues, including both cost and risk, KTA's Legal Chair did not recommend that the organization seek to acquire liability insurance.

By 1990, KTA had been in existence for 34 years and it was noted by many that the number of deaths of longtime members was slowly but steadily increasing. At the 1990 meeting, following the deaths of Dick Kimmel and Wilma Flaig, two KTA stalwarts, the first Annual Memorial Service was held, a brief rite of remembrance. This service was repeated at every subsequent KTA Annual Meeting, for over a decade. In 2013, the tradition was reinstated by new Board President, Wanda Shirk.

The most noteworthy event of this fourth KTA decade was unquestionably the hosting by KTA of the 1989 edition of the Appalachian Trail Conference's biennial general meeting, which was held in Pennsylvania on the campus of East Stroudsburg State University. Extending from June 16 to 23, it was the largest ATC General Meeting up to that time. The final registration count was 1,226.

During the week there were more than 70 workshops and six different panel discussions. An exhibit area held some 50 displays by clubs, government agencies and commercial exhibitors. Perhaps the most impressive statistic of all is the monumental schedule of more than 100 hikes that was offered. Evening entertainment was provided by Walkin' Jim Stoltz and Susie Crate, among others. And, of course, everything was planned and organized by KTA volunteers. ESU-89 was entirely self-funded, and ultimately produced a cash profit for KTA of $9,000.

In 1986 the National Park Service finally settled on a new (presumably permanent) route for the Appalachian Trail across Pennsylvania's Cumberland Valley, thereby bringing to an end the long, difficult and sometimes painful process of negotiating with all of the many interests involved. The crossing of this hurdle triggered a number of other developments related to the AT in the Valley.

Over the next few years the new footway itself was laid out and put in place, with a dedication in 1990. Also in 1990 a new footbridge to take the AT across the busy, multi-laned U.S. Route 11 was opened. Appropriate dedication ceremonies were held on July 28, 1990. The building of this bridge was the result of an exemplary cooperative effort involving the National Park Service, PennDOT, and KTA.

Another major development in the Cumberland Valley -- also involving PennDOT -- was the addition of a separate pedestrian walkway along the Bernheisel Bridge.

Throughout this ten-year period steady progress was made in improving the quality of the maps available to AT hikers in Pennsylvania, as KTA sharpened its map-making sophistication and skills. The first step involved the production by KTA of black-and-white maps for the entire portion of the AT in Pennsylvania. Subsequently the move to color maps was successfully implemented.

On September 13, 1990, two hikers, Geoffrey Hood and Molly LaRue, were killed at the Thelma Marks Shelter on the Appalachian Trail in Perry County, PA. According to documents of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, "LaRue was bound, raped, and stabbed. She died approximately 15 minutes after receiving a knife wound to the neck. Hood, her boyfriend, died five to eight minutes after being shot three times with a revolver." A week after the killings, Paul D. Crews was arrested and charged with the killings. He was subsequently tried and convicted.

This rape and double murder was the worst crime ever recorded on the AT in Pennsylvania. The reaction among both the public and the hiking community was universal outrage. Suggestions for an appropriate response from the Trail community, however, were widely varied. Some suggested that essentially nothing had changed and that the Trail remained far safer than the nation's cities, with no new safety measures being called for. Others advocated a variety of enhanced security measures, many of which would have altered forever the widely treasured "trail experience." KTA played a lead role in seeking a balanced response between these two extremes.

In September, 1987, a directive was issued to all Pennsylvania State Forest Districts by Richard Thorpe, the Director of the Bureau of Forestry requiring that future timber sales incorporate a no-cut buffer zone of 100 feet on each side of the trail for certain hiking trails on State Forest land. This policy not only doubled the size of the previous buffer zone, but also changed the earlier limited-cut policy to a no-cut rule.

The trails covered by the new policy were: Baker, Black Forest, Bucktail Path, Chuck Keiper, Donut Hole, Golden Eagle, John P. Saylor, Lost Turkey, Loyalsock, Mid State, Old Loggers Path, Pinchot, Quehanna, Rocky Knob, Susquehannock, Thunder Swamp, Tiadaghton, Tuscarora, and West Rim. In those cases where a trail is only partially on State Forest land, the new rule applied only to the portion actually on State Forest land.

The Appalachian Trail and the North Country Trail were not covered by the new policy since their designations as National Scenic Trails provided them with even stronger protection.

In November 1994, a KTA volunteer crew installed a 48-foot bridge over Medix Run on the Quehanna Trail. The new bridge replaced one that had been in place for 14 years until it had to be removed in 1991 because of extreme deterioration.

KTA's Fourth Decade: 1986-1995