I became involved with the MNF Guidebook about 25 years ago. I had hiked the Appalachian Trail and became interested in trails that adjoined the AT. The result was an effort to search for guidebooks in the 14 states through which the AT passes. West Virginia did not have a guidebook on all the state’s trails, but the 2nd Edition of the Conservancy’s MNF Hiking Guide had been published in 1974.

Already an avid hiker in West Virginia (where I lived during part of my childhood), I used the early Conservancy MNF guidebook for trails near the Virginia border. I accepted a request from the Appalachian Mountain Club Press in Boston to research and write guidebooks on the North Carolina and West Virginia state trails. For West Virginia Hiking Trails; Hiking the Mountain State, I gave as much attention to all the trails outside the MNF as to the inside of MNF. It was after this research I alerted the WVHC to misinformation in the Guidebook. In attendance at some of the WVHC board meetings the questions began to focus on my possible assistance with Bruce to make major changes in the Guidebook. The rest is history.

My brother Moir (12 years my senior) first took me hiking in West Virginia before I was 5 years old. We lived near Beckley. Those hikes and others when we moved back to Virginia, left an indelible image. My mother has said that I had to be watched when still crawling because I headed for the forest instead of the street. In Virginia my family lived at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains where the Blue Ridge Parkway was being constructed. A CCC Camp was only four miles away, and one of my uncles was its supervisor. My cousin and I spent many hours there; we watched the CCC men build trails near Rocky Knob. Soon, as early teenagers, we were taking our younger brothers on hikes--we even constructed a shorter route with a trail through the forest to reach our public school. At that time the Appalachian Trail was nearby. I dreamed of eventually hiking it all the way, continuously. (It happened 40 years later.)

Bruce Sundquist and I planned to have the 7th edition ready for purchase about four months after the 6th edition was completely sold. But our ambitions to make changes took longer than expected. One change was to use an entirely different computer lettering type. -- less of a typewriter style. We also desired it be proofed carefully for grammar and spelling. There were trails to be deleted and new ones to add. For the first time we sent old copy and our changed copy of manuscripts to each district ranger and to headquarter’s staff. In one district we almost changed the entire chapter.

The introduction was highly modified, some from requests by readers. We left in the same message of the book’s purpose, but stream- lined the process. We omitted or redesigned some maps and charts that had become obsolete. We would have taken even longer had we not received the assistance of Joe Robles, forest recreation specialist in Public Service of the MNF.

I would consider it close and open. I try to be understanding about the lack of adequate staff in the MNF, and the bureaucracy under which they function. I have never been denied information for maps and trail files. I show respect for their continuous efforts to serve the public inquiries. I have observed the public expecting more than the staff can provide. There has been a decline in funding, particularly for trails. And sadly, very few Conservancy members and other organizations have adopted trails to consistently maintain or rebuild after floods and natural disasters. Only once have I been lectured for my support of the Conservancy. It happened about three years ago when a new staff member had been assigned and he knew very little about the MNF or those of us who have been both devoted to the MNF trails and what the Conservancy has done to promote and support the MNF. Jo Robels and Linda White have been prime examples of staff with strong efforts for sharing and cooperating with Bruce and me.

American History and Psychology Professor for nearly 20 years. I have an M.A. degree and Ph.D. courses from the University of Virginia, and with Duke University and Florida State University. I have taught hiking and backpacking, canoeing, and mountain climbing for more than 20 years at Louisburg College. My 12th book is North Carolina’s Mountains to Sea Trail to be published by the University of North Carolina Press next spring. I am a graduate of the Adjutant General’s School in the US Army and served six years overseas. I have lived in 20 different states, three foreign countries, and hiked trails in all but four of the states in the U.S. My wife, Flora, and I have dedicated 88 acres of land for the DeHart Botanical Gardens. Both will forever be preserved.

All my life I have been a writer. As a child I wrote the poems and drew the illustrations for family greeting cards. At the age of 16 I was writing articles for publication in the city of Danville’s The Danville Register. I was also a reporter for the U.S. Army Stars and Stripes. My articles have been in national magazines and many newspapers throughout the Southeastern United States. It was a natural for trail guidebooks. I wrote Hiking and Backpacking Basics; among books such history books on colonial Virginia, trail guidebooks on Virginia, three on North Carolina (one of which has sold more than 100,000 copies), one on South Carolina, and one for the Sierra Club called Adventuring in Florida and the Georgia Sea Islands.

Yes. It is priceless and loved by millions of visitors throughout its history. Like all national forests it has had it public demands for it to be many values for a variety of public groups. It will survive all the natural disasters and its critics, right or left. I foresee it changing to more recreational in services and, much like the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests in North Carolina, less timber cutting. I hope it can receive additional funding to advance its acreage.

Tom Rodd hangs out in Charleston where he uses his legal expertise to try and serve the taxpayers. This when he is not hanging out in other places. Sometimes he can be found in Moatsville.