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April 1980 through May 1981
San Francisco, California to Cape Henlopen, Delaware

HikaNation was a 14-month cross-country backpacking trip starting at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California on April 12, 1980, and ending at Cape Henlopen, Delaware on May 27, 1981 after traversing over 4,286 miles and passing through 14 states and Washington, D.C.

Purposes for the hike included highlighting the need for more hiking trails across America and promoting hiking as a low energy consumption form of recreation.

HikaNation by the Mississippi
HikaNation by the Mississippi
January 15th, 1981

HikaNation   was   organized   by
Jim Kern, William Kemsley, Jr., Paul Pritchard, Glenn Seaborg, and others, and was sponsored by the American Hiking Society, the United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, and Postum, along with various other suppliers & supporters, including Backpacker  magazine.

The Progression of HikaNation details the journey with various organizational memos, letters, newspaper and magazine articles.

While each state had a HikaNation coordinator who planned the route and some activities through the state, Monty Montgomery was the HikaNation "on-site" Hike Coordinator. Monty drove his van and Airstream trailer parallel to the HikaNation route and provided numerous functions, including, but not limited to: coordinating with state planners, advance scouting/altering of planned route, meeting with locals & dignitaries & media, providing water/food/aid in desolate areas, transporting hikers to and from the hike, providing resupply trips to nearby towns, etc.  Without Monty, Jim Kern and the state coordinators, HikaNation would not have succeeded.


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HikaNation Route Information
including U.S. and State maps

HikaNation 1980 Backpack Route - Utah
HikaNation Utah ArcGIS Online "story map"
 by Rich Warnick
The Hikers The Organizers Campsites   -   1   -   2   -   3 The Stats & Surveys
Randy's Archives The Steering Committees Memorabilia  -  MerchandiseStories & Journals
HikaNation Photos HikaNation Videos HikaNation Reflections Hikers' Obituaries
HikaNation Reunions HikaNation Events Facebook - Instagram - YouTube Material Contributions
HikaNation Exhibit
Appalachian Trail Museum
HikaNation
The Father of the ADT
Congressional Records in
The House of Representatives
Department of the Interior
HCRS sponsorship

Search/Contact HikaNation

The Progression of HikaNation HikaNation Films by John Olmsted

42nd Anniversary HikaNation Reunion - March 2022

 

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The HikaNation Story

Jim Kern
Have You Heard About HikaNation?
Jim Kern - April 12, 2022

The Washington Post
Stacey Waring - May 25, 2021

San Francisco Chronicle
Gregory Thomas - April 12, 2022

A.T. Museum - HikaNation Exhibit
Paula Guerrein & Larry Luxenberg
How It Began

Mike McReynolds
Jeannie Harmon
One Woman's Journey

Larry E. Carpenter
HikaNation
In The Beginning

Rex Halfpenny
50 Hours Alone
In The Woods

Toni Martinazzi
Twenty Million
Footsteps

John Stout
California
Chapter 1

Janet Parsons
Three Decades of Protecting
Our Nation's Trails

by William Kemsley
The Progression of HikaNation
details the journey in chronological order
with various organizational memos, letters, newspaper and magazine articles.
HikaNation Presentations:
Jim Kern,  Reese Lukei, Jr.,
Linda Wright,  Alden Olmstead,
Paula Guerrein,  Larry Luxenberg


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Photos & Commentary by William Ewart

California
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Nevada
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Utah
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Colorado
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Kansas
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Oklahoma
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Arkansas
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Missouri
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Illinois
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Kentucky
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Virginia
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West Virginia
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Maryland
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Washington, D.C.
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Maryland
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Atlantic Ocean
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imageimageJanet Parson's HikaNation photos
"original set"
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Rich Warnick's HikaNation photos
California to Missouri
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60 of Scott's Shots
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Scott Davis' HikaNation photos
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Marce Guerrein's HikaNation photos
"original set"
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Marce Guerrein's HikaNation photos
"additional set"
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Susan "Butch" Henley's HikaNation photos
Note: Some were snapped by Rex Halfpenny.
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Rex Halfpenny's HikaNation photos
"original set"
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Reese Lukei, Jr.'s HikaNation photos
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Bruce Ohlson's HikaNation photos
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Tim Geoghegan's HikaNation photos
Colorado to The Atlantic
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Tim Geoghegan's Summer 1981
Commemorative HikaNation Hikes photos
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Kimberly Allen Capps' HikaNation photos
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Jim Lambert's HikaNation photos
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Mike McReynolds' HikaNation photos
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Mike Collins' HikaNation photos
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Linda Hull & Keith Wright's HikaNation photos
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Scott Davis' HikaNation Memorial Video Tribute
Kurt Burke's HikaNation SlideshowMarce Guerrein's HikaNation Slideshow
"Kelty Mike" Collins' HikaNation SlideshowReese Lukei, Jr.'s HikaNation Slideshow
Susan "Butch" Henley's Slideshow
(music only; no narration)
Susan "Butch" Henley's Trek Across America
(with narration by "Butch")
Hik-a-nation 1980 Cross-Country Trip by John Olmsted

HikaNation Films by John Olmsted

2011 Reunion videos
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2015 Reunion videos
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A Handshake Across America - 2017
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2022 Reunion videos
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April 2016 Interviews with
Jim Kern by Paula Guerrein
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October 2017 Interviews with
W. Kemsley by Paula Guerrein
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October 2018 Interview with
David Hales by Paula Guerrein
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2022 Interviews with
Paul Pritchard by P. Guerrein
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1981 Thanksgiving Gathering
Dallas, Texas
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May 1982 Reunion photos
White Rock Mountain, Arkansas
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May 1983 Reunion Information
Monticello, Utah
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August 1984 Reunion Information
Strawberry, California
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October 1986 Reunion photos
Front Royal, Virginia
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August 1990 BBQ photos
at Doug Marshall's House, Michigan
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May 1991 Reunion photos
Cape Henlopen, Delaware
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May 2000 Reunion photos
Cumberland Falls, Kentucky
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May 2011 Reunion photos
  &  Jeopardy
Mt. Magazine State Park, Arkansas
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August 2013 Reunion-BBQ photos
at Doug Marshall's House, Michigan

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September 2015 Pre-Reunion Hike photos
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
35th merchandise logo35th poster 2
All Things 35th -- 2015 Anniversary Reunion
Marys Lake, Estes Park, Colorado
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September 2015 Reunion photos
  &  videos
Marys Lake, Estes Park, Colorado
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Additional 2015 photos, edited by Scott
Marys Lake & Rocky Mountain National Park
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August 2017 BBQ-Reunion photos
at Doug Marshall's House, Michigan
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July 2018 Mini-Reunion Hike photos
Along the Colorado Trail
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August 2019 Mini-Reunion Hike photos
Along the John Muir Trail, California
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September 2021 Mini-Reunion Hike photos
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan
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March 2022 Reunion photos & videos
St. Augustine, Florida
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July 2022 Mini-Reunion Hike photos
Collegiate Peaks Loop, Colorado
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September 2023 Mini-Reunion Hike photos
John Muir Trail into Yosemite Nat'l Park, California
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The Father of the American Discovery Trail





The American Discovery Trail (ADT) is a new breed of national trail - part city, part small town, part forest, part mountains, part desert - all in one trail. Opened in 2000, its 6,800+ miles of continuous, multi-use trail stretches from Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware, to Pt. Reyes National Seashore, California. It reaches across America, linking community to community in the first coast to coast, non-motorized trail. The ADT provides trail users the opportunity to journey into the heart of all that is uniquely American - its culture, heritage, landscape and spirit. (November 9, 2014)

 

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Recent and Upcoming Events

HikaNation Program by Alden Olmsted
Appalachian Trail Museum
Saturday, September 17, 2022 @ 2pm
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Save the dates & plan ahead!!!
HikaNation BBQ Gathering at Doug's
July 17 - 19, 2024    (details later)

2013 former bbq
 
Works in progress


"Source material" contributors for The Progression of HikaNation
(memos, letters, newspaper and magazine articles, etc.)
A Multitude - 10+
August 2013
Am. Hiking Society
1978 - 2017
Backpacker
1978 - 2015
Dept. of Interior
HCRS
- 1979-1981
Randy Blymire
April 1996
Jim Lambert
2013 & 2017
Dave Backus
end of 2013
Paula Guerrein
July 2015 & Beyond
Reese Lukei, Jr.
2015 & Beyond
Scott
August 2015
Janet Parsons
Sept 2015 & Beyond
Jim Kern
2016 & Beyond
Bruce Ohlson & Jeannie Harmon  2016 Tim Geoghegan
May 2016
AHS & John Stout
October 2016
Gudy Gaskill
October 2017
Mike McReynolds
August 2018
Rex Halfpenny and
Mary Oswald
- 2018+
Terry Ernst
Sept 2018 & Beyond
William Ewart
2000 - 2022
Linda Hull and
Keith Wright
- 2022
More details and more contributors: Contributions, 2000 - 2022

 

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Contributions (photos, articles, etc.)Recent Additions to HikaNation
HikaNation Hikers' ObituariesFacebook - Instagram - Twitter
American Discovery TrailHikaNation  on  YouTube
American Hiking SocietyHikaNation related links
Hiking Trails for AmericaSearch / Contact HikaNation
The Progression of HikaNation


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 Archivist - Curator - Website Designer
William Ewart













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