• Registration
• General Schedule
• Hiking
  • Hikes Overview
  • Hike Schedule
  • AT Section Hikes
  • Other Hikes 1
  • Other Hikes 2
  • Nature/History Hikes
  • Self-Guided Hikes 1
  • Self-Guided Hikes 2
• Biking
• Trail Work
• Excursions
  • Excursions Schedule
  • Excursions Descriptions
• Workshops
  • Introduction to Workshops
  • Workshops July 18
  • Workshops July 19
  • Workshops July 20
• Evening Programs
• Exhibits
• Accommodations
  • On Campus Accommodations
  • Off Campus Accommodations
  • Camping
  • Meals
• Directions to Castleton
• Sponsors and Supporters
  • Sponsors and Supporters Part 1
  • Sponsors and Supporters Part 2
  • Corporate Silent Auction Donors
  • Individual Silent Auction Donors
• Volunteers Needed
  • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Volunteer Hikes Program
  • Volunteer Excursions Program
• While in Vermont
• Other Information
• Forum
• FAQ
• Contacts

General Information

July 17 - 24, 2009 - Castleton State College, Castleton, Vermont

Vermont's Green Mountain Club hosts the 2009 Appalachian Trail Conservancy Biennial, a week of celebrating and learning about the 2,170-mile Appalachian Trail. Castleton State College is a small liberal arts college located off U.S. Route 4 west of Rutland. The campus overlooks a classic Vermont village of white clapboard houses and shady streets.

As America's oldest long-distance hiking trail, Vermont's Long Trail may well have inspired Benton MacKaye to dream of an Appalachian Trail (AT). The AT in southern Vermont follows the ridge of the Green Mountains for more than one hundred miles over Glastonbury, Stratton and Bromley Mountains and Killington Peak.

Vermont’s Green Mountain Club welcomes Appalachian Trail advocates, volunteers, hikers, trail maintainers, and all those with an interest in and commitment to protecting and maintaining America’s hiking trails, to this 37th biennial gathering of the Appalachian Trail community. The festival features hikes, including 138 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Vermont, more than 50 workshops, and the membership meeting of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. For those less interested in hiking, there will be excursions, bike trips, and a number of family-friendly events suitable for all ages. This biennial festival is the nation’s largest gathering of hikers and hiking advocates.

The Appalachian Trail Festival 2009 also marks the beginning of the Green Mountain Club’s centennial celebration. The Green Mountain Club was formed in 1910 with the purpose of making "the Vermont mountains play a larger role in the life of the people." Over the next 20 years, GMC volunteers envisioned and built the Long Trail, the nation’s first long-distance hiking trail. The Long Trail runs 272 miles from Massachusetts to the Canadian border. The southernmost 105 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Vermont follow the route of the Long Trail. The Green Mountain Club is recognized by the Vermont legislature as the “founder, maintainer and protector” of the Long Trail.

GOING GREEN
Vermont 2009 is taking steps to promote environmentally responsible practices during the festival, including no bottled water on campus or at trailheads. We are also soliciting donations to buy carbon offsets from NativeEnergy a for-profit company that finances renewable energy projects such as manure digesters and wind farms. Your donation can be made on the registration form. A $6.00 donation equates to 500 miles of driving. For more information, see www.nativeenergy.com. For a complete description of our “going green” actions and how you can help, visit our festival website at www.Vermont2009.org.

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