
   
      
         
            
            PLEASE ACCEPT THE ENCLOSED TEMPORARY
            MEMBERSHIP CARD. IT AUTHORIZES YOU TO
            START ENJOYING AMC’S OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
            IMMEDIATELY!
            
            
            
            
            Dear Outdoor Enthusiast:
            
            The Appalachian Mountain Club is looking for men, women, and children who share our love of the outdoors—and our commitment to preserving our region’s natural beauty for future generations.
            
            Please use your Temporary Membership Card to “Join the Club.” And join the fun while making a real difference for the environment!
            
            You name it—we’ve got it!
            
            Our roots are in hiking. And our roots go deep. When the AMC was founded, Grant was president and Bell was about to make his first phone call. Only 50 million people lived in a country where Colorado had just become its 39th state.
            
            Our members participate in virtually every Earth-friendly outdoor activity you can name!
            
            From beginners to experts, they are into hiking, camping, and backpacking.. .cross-country skiing and snowshoeing... rock climbing and mountaineering.. .canoeing, kayaking and bicycling.. .nature photography and birdwatching. . .and relaxing alongside nature.
            
            Our mission is great
            
            With our volunteers, we maintain 1,400 miles of trails. We provide overnight shelters (including the famous AMC Mountain Huts) to more than 80,000 hikers annually.
            
            We built our first hut more than 100 years ago in New Hampshire’s northern Presidential Range, and we helped protect the White Mountains so that they are still open to you now. Today our unique network of 10 huts and lodges—each a day’s hike apart—stretches 56 miles through the White Mountain National Forest. And we offer the same hospitality atop beautiful Mt. Greylock in the Berkshires.
            
            We’re partnering with agencies and other organizations to introduce inner-city youth to the fun of the outdoors in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City. We’re helping to develop
            
            Over, please
            
            APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB
            Five Joy Street · Boston, Massachusetts 02108-1490 · (617) 523-0636
            the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, from Old Forge, New York, to Fort Kent, Maine. We’re helping to protect the Sterling Forest in New York. And we’re working with the National Park Service in upgrading the trail system in the Delaware Water Gap and Acadia National Park in Maine.
            
            We’re determined to conserve the Northern Forest of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York, as well as the White and Berkshire ranges, and the countryside surrounding the Appalachian Trail. We’re working to keep our air clean and healthy, our waterfalls clear, our rivers running free, and recreational activities open.
            
            Here in the Northeast, we hold stewardship of a precious portion of planet Earth. Contained within it are more than 100 species of trees.. .more than 2,000 species of plants and flowers! Plus all the birds and animals of the forests and the fish of our rivers and lakes.
            
            We’re committed to preserving a healthy environment that sustains us all. 
            
            The Call of the Wild
            
            Despite centuries of neglect—wildlife still abounds in the 12 states where we are active. Even black bears are making a comeback! Shouldn’t you?
            
            Shouldn’t you watch hawks and ravens soar below you at AMC’s Lakes of the Clouds mountain hut perched 5,000 ft. high on Mt. Washington’s slope?
            
            Shouldn’t you canoe and hike along the Deerfield, Connecticut, and Androscoggin Rivers—seeing some of the Northeast region’s most beautiful scenery?
            
            Shouldn’t you learn the art of photographing subtle winter light? Build an igloo? Drive a dogsled? Climb a frozen waterfall?
            
            Shouldn’t you learn ways to protect the environment while you are enjoying it? Wouldn’t you like to? You can.
            
            Why not come backpacking and overnight camping with AMC? We have groups for every level of expertise and programs for all seasons.
            Why not come horseback riding with AMC in the Catskills—exploring the foothills and spending the night at a campsite?
            
            Bring binoculars. Prowl for owls. Listen to loons.
            
            Bring binoculars for the annual warbler migration. Join a nocturnal owl prowl. Spend
            two days camping, canoeing, and watching the wildlife on Connecticut’s Housatonic
            River. Spend a weekend bushwhacking with map and compass near our Pinkham Notch Lodge. Take a four-mile canoe trip to northern New Hampshire’s only bald eagle nesting
            
            site in the Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge that we helped form. Explore the evolution of the Presidential Range, on a four-day geological trek.
            
            Thank Mother Nature by giving something back!
            
            Join fellow AMC volunteers who protect and preserve our extensive northeastern trail network—including major sections of the Appalachian Trail.
            
            YOU’LL HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE—but sign up early! “Berths” for AMC’s volunteer projects go fast. Last year more than 1,000 members contributed more than 70,000 hours to our challenging and rewarding pro bono activities, in cooperation with state and municipal agencies, and other nonprofit groups that share our goals.
            
            Indulge yourself
            
            Pursue your special interests or prepare yourself for a variety of recreational activities and/or conservation projects by attending an AMC Workshop:
            
            TRAVERSE THE PEAKS of the Presidential Range. Stay overnight in your cozy bunk surrounded by wilderness. Experience the most breathtaking views of the White Mountain National Forest.
            
            BRING THE KIDS to Lonesome Lake Hut. There are daily activities and guided hikes for the whole family.
            
            ISLE-HOP the Maine Coast. Explore Penobscot Bay by canoe. Camp out on isolated islands. Experience the peace and beauty of coastal rhythms.
            
            SIGN UP FOR a hut-to-hut vacation package—for your whole family, or yourself alone. Hike between our Greenleaf, Galehead, Zealand Falls, and Mizpah Spring Huts, and experience the beauty of the mountains and hospitality of the huts.
            
            EXPLORE the Northern Forest. Choose from a number of hikes from easy walking to challenging. Learn about the natural history, forest management practices, and environmental issues that affect the Northern Forest.
            
            “Breaking the ice” is easy
            
            Regional chapters from Maine to Washington, D.C., play a key role in introducing you to the activities and opportunities of AMC membership.
            
            Chapter leaders arrange hiking and bicycling trips and teach the basics of cross-country skiing, whitewater and flatwater canoeing, and other outdoor skills. Chapter members
            
            
            
            participate in local conservation efforts, trail work, field trips, and outings. AMC publications are maps for your enjoyment
            
            Your tax-deductible Membership includes a subscription to AMC Outdoors, the magazine of the Appalachian Mountain Club. Published 10 times a year, each issue is crammed with dates and detailed descriptions of AMC activities. Hundreds and hundreds of them every month—many at chapters near your home.
            
            We’ll tell you where to go for outdoor fun and keep you informed of the crucial issues affecting our mountain environment.
            
            In addition to Event Calendars of regularly scheduled workshops, clinics, day trips, overnight expeditions, and family programs, AMC Outdoors lists state-by-state chapter activities—plus notices of everything from neighborhood walks to day rides, from weekend getaways to whale-watching excursions.
            
            We also publish a wide range of books, maps, and trail guides. We have the largest and broadest library of outdoor publications in the Northeast of interest to you.
            
            And your membership entitles you to discounts on “all of the above.”
            
            AMC is dedicated to protecting the mountains, trails, and rivers throughout our region and near your home. Our mission is to protect the environment through responsible citizen use and enjoyment of the outdoors—that means your use, your enjoyment.
            
            May we look for the enclosed AMO Membership Acceptance with your tax-deductible contribution by return mail?
            
            Please join us in enjoying and protecting our special corner of planet Earth today.
            
            Sincerely,
            
            
            
            
            
            Andrew J. Falender
            Executive Director
            
            P.S. And please feel free to use your Temporary Membership Card while we are processing your application. I hope it’s just the push you need to get outdoors.
            
            P.P.S. Check out our website at www.outdoors.org for up-to-date information and hot tips on where to go, what to do, and what to take!
      
   
