Hikers

A Boonsboro High School graduate and another man who disappeared while hiking in Montana's Glacier National Park were found alive and well, park authorities said Monday night. The men - Neal Peckens, 32, a Boonsboro graduate who now lives in Herndon, Va., and Jason Hiser, 32, of Richmond, Va. - were reported missing Friday, prompting a three-day search of the rugged, snow-covered area of the park in which they were hiking. A post on Glacier National Park's Facebook page at about 6:15 p.m. Monday read: “The two missing hikers, Neal Peckens and Jason Hiser, have been located!

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) will host Junior Ranger Day, an event from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 21, at the Visitor Center at 799 Washington Street in Harpers Ferry. The event is designed to get families outside and active while learning about the A.T. near Harpers Ferry. Participants will visit the ATC's Visitor Center to pick up an Adventure Guide packet, a guide developed by the National Park Service and the ATC, to complete while hiking the Trail. Hikers will learn about the history of the A.T., trail maintenance, hike planning and the ATC's role in managing the trail.

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - Firefighters and rescuers went to the Maryland Heights overlook off Sandy Hook Road to rescue two hikers in distress Sunday night. When Potomac Valley firefighters arrived on the scene shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday, they reported two hikers stranded on the mountain above the CSX railroad tracks next to the Potomac River. "We had a young man and woman who had been rappelling on the cliff and got separated during an earlier storm," Potomac Valley Fire Chief Ronnie Gray said.

Hikers cross couple's path By ANDREA BROWN-HURLEY andreabh@herald-mail.com Photo: RICHARD T. MEAGHER / staff photographer BOONSBORO - Dick and Jeannine Gaylor enjoy it when strangers stalk across their property. They like it so much that they're asking their uninvited guests to sign in. The Appalachian Trail cuts through the back yard of the Gaylors' home on the edge of Greenbrier State Park near Boonsboro. To help keep track of the countless hikers who traipse through his yard, Dick Gaylor is installing an outdoor guest register.

Rangers at Glacier National Park said Tuesday that the two hikers with ties to Western Maryland, including former Boonsboro resident Neal Peckens, were well-prepared for their unexpected situation in the Montana wilderness. Peckens, 32, who now lives in Herndon, Va., and Jason Hiser, 32, of Richmond, Va., were found safe Monday - although very cold and wet - after spending almost a week in the park's rugged backcountry, park rangers said. “We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this incident, and perhaps we all can learn from this experience and these two men,” Glacier National Park Chief Ranger Mark Foust said in a news release posted on the park's website.

City police were summoned Saturday afternoon to a residence in the 300 block of South Potomac Street whose occupants had found a grenade while hiking outside the city limits and brought to the home, according to Sgt. Jim Hurd of the Hagerstown Police Department. Hurd said the call came in Saturday about 3:45 p.m., and police cordoned off that area of South Potomac Street for nearly an hour while a bomb squad from the state fire marshal's office came to check out the grenade. But the grenade apparently wasn't a live one, Hurd said.

tarar@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - Jack Stickles rested at a picnic table at McCoys Ferry on Friday with a Miller Lite in hand. The 76-year-old hiker said he was tired, but the three epidurals he received in his back before his 184.5-mile trek from Cumberland, Md., to Georgetown in Washington, D.C., had held up so far. Stickles, of Chevy Chase, Md., is one of 68 members of the C&O Canal Association walking the canal in honor of U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas' efforts 50 years ago to save it from being paved and turned into a highway.

About 30 hikers walked along a soggy towpath in Williamsport Saturday morning to raise money for C&O Canal educational services. The hikers participating in the second annual March for Parks out of Williamsport raised almost $1,700, said Debbie Conway, chief of interpretation for the C&O Canal. Conway said some of the money will be used to reprint brochures given to tourists. "We always walk along (the canal) and so we thought it would be a good cause," said Lisa Mummert, who lives near Downsville.

On Saturday, a group of hikers and bicyclists will be hiking or riding to raise funds for the Hagerstown Area Religious Council and its work in the community. The hikers will meet at 6 a.m. at Hagerstown Church of the Brethren for the hike that starts at Gambrill State Park at 6:30 a.m. The bikers will meet and start at 8 a.m. at Williamsport High School. Bicyclists have the option of riding 20 miles or 37 miles on the Hanging Rock Loop and hikers can hike 15 or 27 miles on the Catoctin Trail.

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.

On Saturday, a group of hikers and bicyclists will be hiking or riding to raise funds for the Hagerstown Area Religious Council and its work in the community. The hikers will meet at 6 a.m. at Hagerstown Church of the Brethren for the hike that starts at Gambrill State Park at 6:30 a.m. The bikers will meet and start at 8 a.m. at Williamsport High School. Bicyclists have the option of riding 20 miles or 37 miles on the Hanging Rock Loop and hikers can hike 15 or 27 miles on the Catoctin Trail.

Luke Badley was 6 years old riding along with his family when he noticed the long fenced bridge spanning across I-70 and asked his dad what it was. It was the Appalachian Trail overpass that hikers use to cross the busy highway. Badley's father told him about the roughly 2,200-mile trail from Georgia to Maine and how some people known as thru-hikers attempt to hike it end-to-end. It was then that Badley, now 23, of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., decided that one day, he would do that. “I was like, oh, Georgia to Maine.

A woman who became lost Thursday afternoon on a trail off Crystal Falls Drive ended up at a park ranger's house Thursday night along Wolfsville Road near the Frederick County line, according to a Washington County 911 supervisor. The woman was hiking on a trail off the Appalachian Trail and lost her bearings, the supervisor said. The ordeal started at 5:41 p.m. and the woman showed up at the ranger's house at about 8:45 p.m., the supervisor said. The woman appeared to be OK, the supervisor said.

Rangers at Glacier National Park said Tuesday that the two hikers with ties to Western Maryland, including former Boonsboro resident Neal Peckens, were well-prepared for their unexpected situation in the Montana wilderness. Peckens, 32, who now lives in Herndon, Va., and Jason Hiser, 32, of Richmond, Va., were found safe Monday - although very cold and wet - after spending almost a week in the park's rugged backcountry, park rangers said. “We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this incident, and perhaps we all can learn from this experience and these two men,” Glacier National Park Chief Ranger Mark Foust said in a news release posted on the park's website.

A Boonsboro High School graduate and another man who disappeared while hiking in Montana's Glacier National Park were found alive and well, park authorities said Monday night. The men - Neal Peckens, 32, a Boonsboro graduate who now lives in Herndon, Va., and Jason Hiser, 32, of Richmond, Va. - were reported missing Friday, prompting a three-day search of the rugged, snow-covered area of the park in which they were hiking. A post on Glacier National Park's Facebook page at about 6:15 p.m. Monday read: “The two missing hikers, Neal Peckens and Jason Hiser, have been located!

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) will host Junior Ranger Day, an event from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 21, at the Visitor Center at 799 Washington Street in Harpers Ferry. The event is designed to get families outside and active while learning about the A.T. near Harpers Ferry. Participants will visit the ATC's Visitor Center to pick up an Adventure Guide packet, a guide developed by the National Park Service and the ATC, to complete while hiking the Trail. Hikers will learn about the history of the A.T., trail maintenance, hike planning and the ATC's role in managing the trail.

The JFK 50-Mile Ultramarathon is on the brink of its 50th year of existence. Celebrating President Kennedy's commitment to fitness, the event has brought thousands of runners to the hills and hollows of Washington County, including a 13-mile stretch on the Appalachian Trail, itself a venerable icon of outdoor activity. The race is historic in its own right, and has become part of the county's identity, much like the annual Salute to Independence at Antietam.  On a national scale, the same can be said for the Appalachian Trail.

Alan Downs got into Scouting because he was interested in all the camping involved. He hiked on the Appalachian Trail twice with his Boy Scout troop, but never imagined where a chance conversation would lead him. As Downs waited during his Eagle Scout Board of Review, just shy of his 18th birthday, his Scoutmaster shared his own dream of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail, called through-hiking. The seed was planted and Downs, 23, tucked it away as he headed to Shippensburg (Pa.)

Citing concerns about the location and users, the Washington Township (Pa.) Supervisors said Wednesday they will not change their zoning ordinance to accommodate a man who wants to open a hostel for Appalachian Trail hikers. Lawrence "Bogator" Pitt asked to create a hostel at his property in the 11000 block of Mentzer Gap Road, according to a memorandum prepared by township staff. Pitt would like to build onto the existing home or build a few cabins, the memo said. The proposal does not fit into existing zoning regulations for R1 (low-density residential)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Sarah Shourd, one of three Americans arrested last year while hiking near the Iran-Iraq border, has met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Family spokeswoman Samantha Topping says that Shourd and her mother, Nora Shourd, met with the president Friday while he was in New York to attend to the United Nations General Assembly. Topping declined to say where and when they met and what was discussed. The 32-year-old hiker was freed 10 days ago after spending more than 13 months in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison.