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My first hike on the Long Trail was the start of a lifetime of hiking. I have always felt some obligation towards it and the state I was raised in. Therefore, it was only natural to be part of the Green Mountain Club (GMC), the volunteer club that created and nurtured the Long Trail. Likewise, it was only natural to contribute to the Long Trail Protection Fund (LTPF), a fund-raising effort put on by the GMC. The year before the hike, under the organization of Kate Donaghue, a Hike-A-Thon day was a great success in adding to the LTPF. I wanted to do my part and expand the scope of a Hike-A-Thon. Why not use my Appalachian Trail hike the following year as a personal Hike-A-Thon? The idea captivated me and kept me up one night. Instead of counting sheep, I dreamed up the blueprint for this unique fund-raiser. I would appeal to individuals via slide shows and personal interaction to contribute to this worthwhile cause, protecting the northern woods of Vermont and a classic hiking trail at the same time. My total goal was, in retrospect, small in comparison to what others have done for a wide range of different causes, not just the Long Trail. I hoped that I could at least raise a thousand dollars. The phrase coined, and the modest request I put forward, was "A Penny A Mile." Going two thousand miles meant twenty dollars. Surely I could get fifty people to support me and reach a thousand? In the end, I did better than that. Others have done MUCH better with wealthier supporters and corporate sponsorship. However, I think no less of my accomplishment, added on to the lifelong goal of hiking the Appalachian Trail. I printed up some corny stickers and left tjem in shelter registers as I hiked along. Every night, I would use a solar calculator to multiply the total miles hiked times the amount (in pennies) pledged by my sponsors and print that total in my entries. I also made a point of writing one or a few postcards to my sponsors as I made progress. Support by the GMC was good, despite the loss of their fund-raiser midstream. When completed, I had raised a figure just shy of four thousand dollars for the LTPF. I know that if I did something like it again, I would change my approach (to include corporate sponsorship). Yet I would not change that past experience for anything in the world. If you have read this far, I would appeal to you to contribute to the Long Trail Protection Fund. The LT is not a National Scenic Trail, like the Appalachian Trail, and does not have federal backing either. (And that's the way Vermonters like it.) If you want more information, follow this link: I would like, at this time, to provide individual recognition for all my sponsors. To you, I owe my gratitude in making my hike even more meaningful than I could ever have imagined. THANK YOU!! Home (A.T. '92 Hike) | Leg 1A | Leg 1B | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Shelters | LTPF | Thanks |