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Pam & Ellie - May 2008 |
Starting in September of 2008,
Pam Flowers and her dog, Ellie, are thru-hiking the 2175 mile
Appalachian Trail, taking approximately six to eight months to
complete their trek. They started in Maine and are hiking south to
Georgia. Thru-hiking means that the hiker walks the entire length of
the trail.
The most fun thing about this trek is
that Ellie has her own walking club known as Ellie’s Walking Club.
The club is free and anyone can join. Members of
Ellie’s Walking Club will pledge to
try to walk a distance of their choice each week while Pam and Ellie
are on the Appalachian Trail.
During the hike, schools are
encouraged to participate in Ellie’s Walking Club, where students
walk at school and try to cumulatively walk a number of miles equal
to or greater then the miles Pam and Ellie will hike during the
school year. |
 During much of the hike, Pam and Ellie
will be hiking during winter months, which poses some problems such
as water sources may be frozen, they will encounter freezing rain,
snow may obscure the trail and make it difficult to find, and most
facilities along the route will be closed. While these problems may
slow them down, they will be met and
overcome.
While on the trail, Pam will carry
a backpack with her tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, cook pot,
stove, fuel, food, clothing, journal, personal items, camera and one
small book. Ellie will carry a pack with her food, bowl, toenail
clippers, and vaccination certificates.
 They’ll hike an average of six days
a week and camp each night along the trail. There are many camping
areas along the route where hikers can find shelter, meet other
hikers, and hopefully find a source of drinking water. The water
will always need to be filtered to insure it is clean.
When they head into a town for
supplies, they will likely rent a room so Pam can get a shower, sort
supplies, and send an email update for her website.
Upon completion of their journey,
Pam and Ellie will head home for a rest but will be visiting schools
during the following academic year. |
