Appalachian Trail

Fire and rescue crews spent hours Sunday finding a woman who fell on the Appalachian Trail and getting her out of the park so she could get further medical treatment, emergency officials said. The woman suffered an ankle injury, emergency response officials said. The woman was found along the trail near Black Rock and Annapolis Rock in the Mount Aetna area, a dispatcher said. The call came in at 12:08 p.m. and the woman was found around 2 p.m., the dispatcher said. She was loaded onto an all-terrain vehicle to get her out of the wilderness, according to the dispatcher.

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. (AP) -- A $30,000 grant from The Conservation Alliance may help protect more than 1,000 acres along the Appalachian Trail from development. The land is in Pennsylvania's White Rocks area, near the Maryland border. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is working with Pennsylvania conservation officials to protect a 260-square-mile area under the South Mountain Conservation Landscape Initiative. Though the National Park Service acquired some land to protect the trail, ATC says planned development threatens the view from the rocks, the visitor experience and the sensitive ecology.

KNOXVILLE -- So you're backpacking on the nearby Appalachian Trail and you need a bed tonight instead of sleeping on the hard ground. How about one for $21? That's how much it costs at the Harpers Ferry Hostel, a place where residents share facilities in an atmosphere that is designed to foster peace and understanding between people. There is a 12-bed male dormitory and a 12-bed female dormitory in the hostel at 19123 Sandy Hook Road, and guests share a kitchen to prepare meals.

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. -- The worst thing about hiking the Appalachian Trail barefoot isn't ice. It's when warm feet melt the ice on rocks and make them slippery. So said Lucy Letcher, 33, of some the difficulties she and her sister, Susan, 30, encountered when they hiked the 2,175 miles of the Appalachian Trail from Mount Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, then back again, mostly barefoot. The sisters -- whose journey lasted 15 1/2 months from June 21, 2000 to Oct. 3, 2001 -- were at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harpers Ferry on Tuesday to launch a signing tour of their 474-page book, "The Barefoot Sisters Southbound.

o If you like reading Tim Rowland, you'll love watching him. See what else Tim has to say So this is the new euphemism: Hiking on the Appalachian Trail. "Hey, have you seen Lester?" "Nah, he and the receptionist are out hiking on the Appalachian Trail. " Wink, wink. It really screws things up for those of us who actually get out and hike. You tell your wife that you're going out to log a few miles on the Appalachian Trail and she breaks down in tears. With the revelations of U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. -- West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin spoke from a podium at "The Point," the exact place where, below, two of America's most famous rivers -- the Potomac and Shenandoah -- were coming together in a collision of silty waters swollen by recent rains. Groups of colored rafts from nearby outfitters carrying adventurers could be seen behind Manchin as he was, at that moment, promoting the dramatic beauty of the Harpers Ferry area as a mecca for money-dropping tourists.

o Read more Kristy Smith columns at washingtoncountyliving.com Greetings, neighbors, and the best to you! Appalachian Trail program The Boonsboro Historical Society will meet today at 7:30 p.m. at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 64 S. Main St., Boonsboro. Maryland Park Ranger Rob Bailey will give a lecture with slides about the Appalachian Trail. He'll describe the trail and its history in Maryland. Refreshments will be served. 'O What a Knight' You have two chances this week to see a little local theater.

MARCH 7, 1955-APRIL 1, 2009 WESTMINSTER, Md. - Scott Miller Dellinger, 54, of Westminster, died Wednesday, April 1, 2009, at Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster. Born March 7, 1955, in Hagerstown, Md., he was the son of Waunita Miller Dellinger of Williamsport and the late Richard T. Dellinger. He was the husband of Susan Dellinger of Westminster. He was a retired veteran of the U.S. Navy, having served 22 years. He was a 1985 graduate of University of Maryland College Park.

Outdoor experiences and physical exercise are some of the aspects of the Boy Scouts of America program. Units strive to include these outings, along with good citizenship in the program for the Scouts. Recently, the Scouts and Leaders set out to bike the C&O Canal towpath as one of the trails in the Mason-Dixon Council area. The Scouts packed their bicycles and lunches and started from Fort Frederick and biked the towpath, ending at Williamsport. Along the way, they discovered some of the plants native to the area and were told of the local history associated with the canal.