by Wanda Shirk, KTA Board President
Driving near the Walt Whitman bridge in Philly on our way to Ocean City, NJ, for a week of family time one summer about eight years ago, my husband and I spotted a billboard with the bold headline: "SING RESPONSIBLY!" This was a source of great amusement for both of us, since my singing (irresponsibly?) had perhaps had an effect on my early departure from the game as a competitor in the CBS-TV show Survivor 10: Palau, aired in the spring of '05. George really wanted to find a way to take a picture of me beneath the billboard, but it was elevated on metal posts several stories above ground level, and from our position on the highway, we had no idea even how to get to the ground there, much less how to get me up sixty or a hundred feet to the base of the sign, so the opportunity passed. I believe "Sing Responsibly" was a song or an album by some alternative music group.
But whatever we do, doing it responsibly is a great idea! There are lots of considerations in hiking responsibly -- letting someone know our route, being properly prepared for possible weather conditions, planning ahead with maps and gear, and being fit enough for the challenges we've carved out. As with all of living responsibly, another consideration is giving back where we're taking out, where we've appreciated benefits. Someone has said that "Giving back is the rent you pay for enjoying the planet."
Unfortunately, since people are often irresponsible, society forces us to be responsible in some ways. We have to pay gas tax to support our streets and highways. You have to pay the green fees if you're going to do your rounds of golf. But no one's at the trailheads requiring purchase of a ticket to hike our trails, though they really aren't free. How do we "hike responsibly," in terms of making sure the trails will be there for ourselves and our posterity in the years ahead?
Many KTA members are avid trail maintainers and have given back by volunteering for Trail Crews. Membership in KTA is also an important way of contributing, because member dollars sustain KTA's office and our programs that provide, protect, preserve, and promote trails. We sincerely thank each one of you who maintains an annual membership in KTA.
The Keystone Trails Association is composed both of individuals hikers and of about three dozen dues-paying member organizations -- mainly hiking clubs, trail-maintaining clubs, and conservancies. Balancing our budget while accomplishing our mission is always a challenge, and we are deeply grateful to those clubs who "participate responsibly." KTA has asked -- but doesn't require -- member clubs to annually donate an additional $3 per member to KTA. If all clubs did this, KTA could advance like a hiker heading off after a refreshing break on the mountaintop. While most clubs have not yet set their dues to make this annual contribution to KTA, we take this opportunity to thank, most heartily, those who are helping our trail users to "hike responsibly"!
At the top of the list, a great big thanks to the Mid State Trail Association (MSTA). These folks contributed $1,162.96 this year, $2 for every kilometer of the Mid State Trail (MST) and its spurs. KTA volunteer Trail Crews work on many sections of the MST each year, and the partnership between the KTA and the MSTA is truly symbiotic.
Coming in at a close second for club giving this year is my home trail club, the Susquehannock Trail Club (STC), which recently donated $1,000 to KTA. The club raised annual member dues from $5 to $10 per person a few years back, and this enables us to "hike responsibly" in partnering with KTA. The $1,000 represents a signficant "rounding up" after the math was done on the $3 per member calculation, which had led to a donation of $786 last year. I am personally very proud of my club for its generosity and sense of responsibility to the larger hiking community. The STC has appreciated lightly-used tools passed on from KTA maintenance crews, and last May, the STC and KTA did a joint trail care weekend based out of Ole Bull State Park that greatly enhanced the STS (Susquehannock Trail System).
The Quehanna Area Trail Club also gave KTA $1,000 last year, but, sadly, this was because of the closing out of their treasury, as the club has lacked the new blood needed to continue. KTA hopes to help maintain the Quehanna Trail and perhaps provide Quehanna-area hikers and/or maintainers the opportunity to form a "KTA Chapter" (you'll hear more on that later this year) to continue maintaining the QT -- one of my personal favorite trails.
The Alpine Club of Williamsport and the North Chapter of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club both donated $500 to KTA last year. Three member clubs gave $250 each: The Rachel Carson Conservancy, the Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club, and the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club. Thank you all for your support!
Two clubs, the Mountain Club of Maryland and the Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club, made $200 donations to KTA in 2013. Thank you!
Unlike governments or golf clubs, we have no user fees, but trails can cease to exist if we don't protect them. This takes both time and money.
Thanks to all of you for "Hiking Responsibly"!