Hiking Trails of America Leadership

Jim Kern

St. Augustine, FL

• Founder, Florida Trail Association, 1966
• Co-Founder, American Hiking Society, 1976
• Director, HikaNation, 1980-81
• Founding Publisher, American Hiker Magazine, 1988
• Founder, Big City Mountaineers, 1989
• Past President, Hiker’s Grand Slam, 1998
• Past President, Kern Trekking & Travel, 1999
• Author, Trail Reflections, 50 Years of Hiking and Backpacking, 2011

William “Bill” Kemsley, Jr.

Taos, NM

• US Navy Veteran, WW II Pacific Theater, 1945-1946
• Founding Editor and Publisher, Backpacker magazine, 1973
• Co-Founder, American Hiking Society, 1976
• Editor: The Whole Hiker’s Handbook, 1979
• Author: Backpacker and Hiker’s Handbook, 2008

Paul C. Pritchard

Hagerstown, MD

• Decorated Combat Military Veteran, U.S. Army Advisor, Republic of Vietnam
• First Executive Director, Appalachian Trail Conference
• Former Deputy Director, U.S. Department of Interior
• Past President, National Parks and Conservation Association
• Co-Founder, American Hiking Society, 1976
  Founder, National Park Trust

Larry Luxenberg

New City, NY

• Appalachian Trail Thru-hiker, 1980
• Founder and President, Appalachian Trail Museum, Gardners, PA.
• American Hiking Society, Board of Directors
• Author, Walking the Appalachian Trail

Dennis Lewon

Boulder, CO

• Former Editor-in-Chief, BACKPACKER magazine

Ron Strickland

Bedford, MA

• Founder, Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, 1970
• Author, The Pacific Northwest Trail Guide, 1984, 2001
• Author, Pathfinder: Blazing a New Wilderness Trail in Modern America, 2011
• Author, The North Country Trail: The Best Walks, Hikes, and Backpacking Trips…, 2013
• Lifetime Service Award, 11th National Trails Symposium (American Trails), 2008, and others