Appalachian Trail Hall of Famer Field to talk at High Peaks social March 16

FARMINGTON — Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame member David Field will present the “History of the Appalachian Trail in Franklin County” at the High Peaks Trail Social, hosted by the High Peaks Alliance, Saturday, March 16.
The night of stories and camaraderie around a love of the great outdoors will be from 5 to 7 p.m. at North Church, 118 High St.

Field, a Phillips native, is overseer of lands for the Maine Appalachian Trail Club and a trail maintainer in Maine for 63 years, will relate Myron Avery’s struggle to extend the AT beyond the White Mountains and the people in western Maine who helped him find the way. The talk will focus on the story of the original location of the AT in Maine, with a special emphasis on Franklin County (the first plan was to go over Mount Abraham). Field will complete the talk with the story of the relocation of more than half of the route in Maine from 1970 to 1990, the 40-year task of finding protection for the surroundings of the trail and the key people involved in all of these efforts.
Field graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire in 1959, earned a B.S. in Forestry from the University of Maine in 1963, a master of science in Forestry from the University of Maine in 1968, and a Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1974. He has worked in the woods logging, surveying, and on forest fires. Field was a professor of forestry, eventually becoming the chair of the Department of Forest Management at the University of Maine. He holds Maine licensed forester certificate 19. He is also the author of “Along Maine’s Appalachian Trail,” published in June, 2011, as part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series.
The High Peaks Alliance is a volunteer non-profit organization made up of local hunters, hikers, birders, loggers, fishermen, snowmobile and ATV riders, Maine Guides, cross-country skiers, mountain bikers and others working together since 2007 to ensure continuing public access to Maine’s High Peaks Region. Forr more information, email Brent West at brent@highpeaksalliance.org.

PHOTO: Berry Picker’s Trail to Saddleback. (Submitted photo)