The 42nd Annual ALDHA Gathering will be held in Abingdon, VA at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center from October 11th to the 13th. We will also extend the fun by having our usual trail maintenance trip on Monday the 14th.
Registration and check-in will begin at 12 noon on Friday in the main hallway of the school.
Friday Night: We will kick off the great weekend. We will do the roll call and celebrate the 2024 finishers, We will also honor those who have done so much work for the trail and ALDHA.
Our KEYNOTE SPEAKER is
Briana DeSanctis aka Rocky Mountain High, AT2015; ADT 24 is our Keynote Speaker. She is the first woman solo continuous thru-hiker of the American Discovery Trail. We are Looking forward to hearing from her.
SUNDAY EVENING PROGRAM
Planning for Sunday night’s event continues as we prep for a great time together as a family. We will have our own Miss Janet speak. She is a Shuttler and trail Angel with years of experience in helping hikers and the trail wherever she can. Afterward, we will have our ever-popular raffle and . . . the final results of our team games. Consider it a warmup for the campfire.
Registration is now open click here to register.
If you are currently thru-hiking a national scenic trail or recently completed your thru-hike you can attend the Gathering at no cost! That’s right, free. Enter the code THRUHIKER when you register and you won’t have to pay anything.
Want to check out the full program? Download Here
CAMPING: Free camping is available around the soccer field, next to the SWHEC from 10/10 until 10/15
HOTEL INFO: Clarion Point in Abingdon, VA. Call 276 -676- 2222 for ALDHA’s discounted rate ($65 per night) for the Gathering. Mention you are with the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association to get the discounted rate during this year’s Gathering! UPDATE! Due to the recent storm the Hotels phones have been knocked out. Your reservation is still good!
DINING OPTIONS
While there is no dining hall on-site at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, Breakfast items will be available for donation each morning in Room 103/104. Also, Le Café’, the small dining area off the main hallway, will be open for attendees to sit, eat, and visit. Coffee, soda, and snack machines are available there. Tables will also be set up in Room 103/104 and in the hallways for use during the Gathering. Free coffee and water are located in the Hiker Fair area. Please bring your own cup.
Several restaurants are near the SWVHEC and more at the northern exits off I-81. There is information about these can be found on the Abingdon information table.
MONDAY WORK TRIPS: The good news to many is that yes we will be having work trips on 10/14. However, because of Helene, the plans as to where the work teams will be going are a bit fluid at this moment. We do know that one of the work trips will be along the Abingdon side of the Creeper Trail. More will be posted soon. We are a great group of hikers who give back abundantly, let us give back to the communities who have given much to us. Plan on coming on a work trip: What to bring: Please wear long pants and sturdy shoes, gloves inc PPE gloves and masks if you have them.
