South Mountain Speakers Series: The Appalachian Trail

Saturday, July 10^th 1-4PM

Pine Grove Furnace State Park

A day of guided, historical hikes along the Appalachian and other trails will be the next lecture of the South Mountain Speaker Series. The event is free and open to the public and will take place Saturday, July 10 between 1 and 4 PM at various locations in Pine Grove Furnace State Park.

Participants may choose between six concurrent hiking tours and opportunities to hear mini-lectures about the Trail’s and region’s natural and cultural history. Routes range from suitable to children to appropriate for avid hikers. At sites along each route, historians and interpreters will make presentations on special topics, including Native Americans, the Civil War and Underground Railroad, the era of extraction, Camp Michaux, or native plants and animals. All routes include several of these mini-lectures and a visit to the new Appalachian Trail Museum.

Routes will converge at the furnace stack pavilion near the midpoint of the Appalachian Trail. The event will conclude with a multi-media exhibit exploring the present and future of the Trail, the allure of the “thru-hike,” and a visual tour of opportunities to enjoy the Trail in South Mountain. Ice cream will be served and participants may witness hikers attempting the half-gallon ice cream challenge.

In the Spirit of the Michaux Lectures

Pennsylvania has a long and compelling history of conservation. Inspired by the state and the nation’s early conservation leaders and their struggles, the South Mountain Partnership seeks to put today’s environmental issues into a broader context and inspire action within our communities.

The South Mountain Speakers Series are organized in the spirit of the Michaux Lectures, a series of talks given by Joseph Rothrock in his work to preserve and restore Pennsylvania’s forests and natural landscape. During the late nineteenth century, the Michaux Lectures as presented by Rothrock were an educational mission that became a catalyst for real change in our state’s environmental history.

It is our hope that as we face the challenges of the twenty first century, the South Mountain Speakers Series can encourage a new generation to find in the past a positive vision for the future of the South Mountain landscape and beyond.

Building on our past to create a legacy for our future

The Appalachian Trail