Category: Lehigh Valley Group

Wednesday, Nov 20, 2024 at 7:30 PM at Illick’s Mill in Bethlehem 

In the spring of 2024, DV Chapter member Lisa Lombardo went on a hiking trip in the Provence region of France with HF Holidays, a British hiking and travel group. All hikes radiated from Greoux-les-Bains, a charming town located a few hours northwest of Marseille.

Lisa and her friend explored the Provence region of France with other hikers from England, Canada and the US. Although the lavender was not yet in bloom, the region – particularly the Verdon Gorge – offered stunning views of the French countryside and they enjoyed a memorable trip. Join them to see and hear about their interesting adventures!

Information on upcoming outdoor events will be available.

There will not be a meeting on Zoom for our Sep-Nov meetings.

Note that this meeting will take place in person at Illick’s Mill in Bethlehem, not on Zoom. 

click for more info

Information on upcoming outdoor events will be available. Everyone is welcome. This meeting will take place in-person only, not on Zoom. Contact coordinator with any questions.

Wednesday, September 18, at 7:30 pm, Illicks Mill, 100 Illicks Mill Rd, Bethlehem, PA

In-person only (not on Zoom).

Phill Hunsberger will tell us why Cambodia was never on his " Bucket List ", but after a trip to attend a family wedding, he may want to visit there again.

7:30 PM at Illicks Mill, 100 Illicks Mill Rd, Bethlehem, Pa 18017 and on Zoom.

A.T. Museum founder/president Larry Luxenberg and Museum volunteer/AMC Lehigh Valley Group member Greg Cook invite us to learn about the only museum devoted to the origins and life on the Appalachian Trail. Located at the halfway point of the 2,200-mile-long A.T. in Pine Grove Furnace State Park southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the Museum also operates the nearby Ironmaster’s Mansion hostel for hikers. Larry will talk about the founding and development of the A.T. Museum and life on the trail. Greg will explain how he became involved at the A.T. Museum and what it’s like to volunteer.

Information on upcoming outdoor events will be available. Everyone is welcome. Reservations are required. Contact coordinator with any questions.

The recording from this past event is available in the link below. event has

Watch Now!

Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 7:30 PM

Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 7:30 PM

In the summer of 2022, Justin Fried hiked the Tour du Mont Blanc with his wife and a group of fellow AMC members. This 110-mile route circumnavigates the highest peak in the Alps and traverses some of the most stunning mountain scenery anywhere on earth. Their trip lasted 12 days and involved climbing over many high mountain passes and descending into many quaint alpine villages. It also took them to three countries: France, Italy, and Switzerland. Join Justin for a recap of this once-in-a-lifetime trip!

Meeting Details: Lehigh Valley Group meeting – Weds, March 15, 2023 at 7:30 PM at Illicks Mill, 100 Illicks Mill Rd, Bethlehem, PA and on Zoom.

Watch the video recording of the presentation.

Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 7:30 PM

“Sam” (a.k.a.Ruth) Jamke is a recent transplant to Hagerstown, MD from AMC’s NH Chapter, where she has been a four-season hike leader for many years. A life member of AMC and former member of the Club’s Board of Directors, Sam also leads many Adventure Travel trips for AMC.

Patagonia is one of her favorite destinations and she loves to talk about her four visits to this beautiful region of South America. She has hiked and backpacked in both Chile and Argentina, including multiple hut-to-hut treks on the popular “W” in Torres del Paine National Park. Come along as we experience this region through photos and Sam’s fond memories.

Information on upcoming outdoor events is announced after the presentation. Everyone is welcome.

View a recording of the presentation below.

Wed. Sept 21, Lehigh Valley Group Meeting @ 7:30 PM at Illicks Mill, 100 Illicks Mill Rd, Bethlehem, Pa 18017 and on Zoom.

Margaret McDonald will take us to Axel Heiberg Island, an uninhabited island in the High Arctic. It is in the Canadian territory of Nunavut; one of the Sverdrup Archipelago in the Queen Elizabeth Island Group. In winter this land is desolate and uninviting to all but the most hardy. However in the short summer, July and August, it is a different story.

Margaret recently hiked and backpacked a small area of Axel Heiberg. The latitude was 78-79 degrees north latitude, the furthest north she had ever been. It is not an easy destination to access but well worth the trouble. Join her for a presentation of her Axel Heiberg adventure.

Information on upcoming outdoor events will be available. Everyone is welcome. Reservations are required. Contact coordinator with any questions.

Presentation from live recording is available below.

The Wales Coast Path is the longest continuous path along a nation’s coastline and Adrian Noble has been wandering on parts of it, on and off, since he was a child. Adrian will talk about the history of the path and the enormous variety of natural and cultural wonders found along it; and also discuss access, accommodations, and route planning.

Information on upcoming outdoor events will be available. Everyone is welcome. Contact coordinator with any questions.

Watch the recording in the link below.

View Recording

Wed. May 18 @ 7:30 PM at Illicks Mill

Location: 100 Illicks Mill Rd, Bethlehem, Pa 18017 and on Zoom.

David Stein will do a presentation on a fascinating trip he took through northern Ethiopia from Gondar, through Tigray and the Danakil Depression. Ethiopia is called the “roof of Africa” for its high mountain peaks. His trip through northern Ethiopia encompassed a taste of its rich natural scenery, ancient past history, and religious culture. He will also share some thoughts on the current situation in the region that he traveled through.

Past Zoom presentation is available in the button below.

Lehigh Valley group returns to in-person meetings. After two years of online meetings, they will once again take place at Illick’s Mill in Bethlehem on the third Wednesday of most months. Online participation will still be available. See the activities calendar for upcoming events.

A Walk in France, Lehigh Valley Group Zoom Meeting. John Rogers will take us on a walk in France.

Virtually all hikers around the world have heard of the Camino de Santiago, a route in Spain that ends at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the location of a major shrine to Saint James. The ending point for this famous walk is well known. But where does it begin?

Part of the answer is France, where four major pilgrimage roads converge in the Pyrenees mountains near the small city of Saint Jean Pied-de-Port. The most popular and famous of the four French trails, though little known to Americans, is the Le Puy Route. This trail has acquired many names over more than 1,000 years of use: the Latin Via Podiensis, the French Chemin de Saint Jacques, in English the Way of Saint James, and in modern times the GR 65: one of the long-distance Grande Randonnée walking routes in Europe.

Photo Credit: John Rogers

Information on upcoming outdoor events will be available. Everyone is welcome. Contact coordinator with any questions

Join us for an evening as we walk about 800 kilometers (480 miles) of the Le Puy Way through southern France, from the small French city of Le Puy in the Massif Central, to St. Jean Pied-de-Port in the Pyrenees. It took John six weeks to complete the trail, we’ll cover the distance in 60 minutes or less.

View the recording from this past meeting below:

Margot Lacey did a presentation on November 17, 2021 about her backpacking trip this past summer on the John Muir Trail. As she states: “This past summer, I was one of the fortunate 5% of lottery applicants to receive a permit for the John Muir Trail. Over twenty days, I hiked from one beautiful high alpine lake to the next, climbed innumerable switchbacks to get over the trail’s seven mountain passes, and tried mightily to will away some of the occasional smoky haze, as I made my way south from Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mount Whitney.

Early in the hike, I befriended three ‘youngsters’ forty years my junior, and we became a little ‘tramily’, camping and often hiking together. It was nice to have familiar faces waiting for me at the top of some hard climbs! I had previously hiked Vermont’s Long Trail, but the JMT was a completely different adventure. Without easy access to towns, it is a more committed hike, with limited resupply options, as well as high altitude and intense sun (but very little mud!). Along with pictures, I’ll talk a bit about the kind of mental/physical/logistical preparation that was involved, the equipment I used, and the different mapping resources that were most useful. Truly an amazing hike!”

View the recording from this past meeting below:

For the first time since 2004, AMC’s August Camp took place on the east coast this year. Since Maine is where August Camp started back in 1887, it seemed like a particularly appropriate place to re-visit. As you will hear from campers Agnes Sablow, Holly Adams, Sammi Gibb Roff and leaders Mark Kern, Phill Hunsberger, and Lennie Steinmetz, the camp at Little Lyford Pond near Greenville, ME turned out to be a truly delightful experience. Join us to hear about hiking, paddling, and exploring in the Maine Woods and why there were so many “happy campers” at AC 2021!

Please register in advance for this meeting.

A virtual Zoom meeting will be held 7:30 pm. Wednesday, September 15, 2021. Join Phill Hunsberger and his daughter, Robbin, as they tell us about a road trip they took with other family members to Iceland in July of 2021. Waterfalls, dairy farms, recent lava flows, hiking a mountain and soaking in a thermal fed stream are amount the items they will highlight of their trip around this almost treeless island in the north Atlantic.
Information on upcoming outdoor events will be available. Everyone is welcome. Reservations are required. Contact coordinator with any questions.

This event has was from the past. Please click the link below to see the recording.

Lehigh Valley Group online meeting from the June Lehigh Valley Group program on Nepal. Jo‌in Phill Hunsberger as he tells us about a business trip with his nephew, Dale Nafziger, to Barchet Tole village, Nuwakot District, Nepal.

Meeting Recording:
https://outdoors.zoom.us/rec/share/DrVRP9VzgjBnxxY-ByRLprGVHeYd-cy7egrBjYrYFTZus1u4j3esA_xftN1TPrGU.lUjogbJ-8QaPr1pL

Access Passcode: 3iXDF^k=

Future Zoom Presentation

A virtual Zoom meeting will be held 7:30 pm. Wednesday, June, 16, 2021. Join Phill Hunsberger as he tells us about a business trip with his nephew, Dale Nafziger, to Barchet Tole village, Nuwakot District, Nepal, Mr. Nafziger, who operates a coffee business in Kathmandu, Nepal is establishing a business relationship with subsistence farmers in Barchet Tole, to grow quality coffee. This coffee will that be bought by Mr. Nafziger and used in his Top of the World business, in Kathmandu. We are aware of the beauty of Nepal’s scenic trekking destinations; this presentation will highlight another side of the Nepal: the beauty of life in a village distant from any the tourist route.

Information on upcoming outdoor events will be available. Everyone is welcome. Reservations are required. Contact Phill H. at 610-533-1390 with any questions.

Please register in advance for this meeting on Zoom meeting.

A Zoom meeting. Join AMC’s Mark Zakutansky and Cathy Poppenwimer to learn about a science-based campaign and call to action to preserve scenic trail experiences. The Protect the View campaign seeks to preserve ten picturesque views vulnerable to development pressure located along Circuit Trails in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Find out how these views were selected as well as potential outcomes and how to get involved. This presentation will touch on how to put data together, inform policy, and work with local partners – relevant components for protecting other threatened open spaces throughout AMC’s region.

View the recording of the presentation from May 19, 2021 in the link below.

Use access Passcode: 2kwDua#8

Originally held April 21

Susan Taylor, Executive Director of the Friends of the Delaware Canal, will present an eclectic mix of images that take in the Canal from the Forks of the Delaware in Easton to Phillips’ Mill in New Hope. You will see:

• exceptional nature and landscape photos
• pictures from the canal’s past
• records of what has been happening in and along the Canal recently

Originally held Wednesday, March 17

Join Doug Arion, Executive Director of Mountains of Stars, for a discussion of light pollution: how it compromises our ability to observe space from the surface of the earth, its surprisingly widespread effects, its impacts on people and the environment, and how we can fix the problem and save money at the same time.

This presentation will also describe the effort we are conducting with the AMC to create an International Dark Sky Park and Reserve surrounding the AMC lands in the Maine Woods — which will preserve 100,00 acres of the last dark sky area in the eastern 2/3 of the US!

Unfortunately, we did not succeed in recording this meeting, but the presenter has kindly provided a link to a similar program he presented to another AMC group:

If you’d like to learn more about Doug’s organization and its many efforts to address this challenging situation, go to: www.mountainsofstars.org/

Originally held Wednesday, February 17

DCNR is a statewide leader in land conservation, trails initiatives, and manages much of the land available for public recreational access. During the COVID-19 pandemic, state parks attendance increased over 26%, from 37 million to nearly 47 million visitors. Some parks in Eastern Pennsylvania saw months where their visitor numbers more than doubled. With those rapid increases in visitation came increased pressures on our public resources, and increased difficulties for staff to engage an abundance of new visitors while still protecting and maintaining our public lands. Despite the challenges, it has been rewarding to see clear evidence of people turning to outdoor spaces such as state parks for recreation and solace during the pandemic.

In addition to discussing the impacts of high visitation pressure on our public lands, we’ll discuss updates and recent projects at some of the 20 state parks or park complexes in Eastern Pennsylvania. With a new park office and visitor center at Hickory Run, which opened in 2020, the recent addition of the Kittatiny Ridge to our Conservation Landscapes program, and the guidance provided by our Penn’s Parks For All planning initiative, there is a lot of news to share!

Recording Unavailable

Originally held Wednesday, January 20

Larry Bieber has had the good fortune to travel the world with a camera in hand and the opportunity to take several National Geographic courses on how to use that camera. He will share some suggestions with us on how to raise the level of our travel pictures and then show pictures from two of his trips – one to Bhutan and the other to Iceland.