ICL: Outdoors & Hiking in Southern Appalachians: April 01 – May 13

The first session covers the vast array of trails close to where the class is being held, types of hiking from beginners to experienced, handouts from Forest Service and Appalachian Trail Folks, etc. Includes basic requirements for comfort and safety. Subsequent course sessions will vary greatly from about long-distance trails to first aid kits, guide and reference books, seasonal variations, etc. I also plan to use friends and experts to help with various segments of the course, including an expert on basic equipment for both day hiking and backpacking.

George Owen was born and raised in central Florida, where from early elementary school on to adulthood he hunted, fished, and explored the middle Florida woods. While in college over some summers he was the director of the outdoor program and nature instructor for one of the largest youth camps near Leesburg, FL. When he moved to Georgia with his wife Sandy while starting their family of two sons, he soon was deeply involved on weekends and spare time with trail clubs and trails, twice teaching a course at ICL on hiking and the outdoors in the southern Appalachians. He has held many positions with North GA trail clubs, including the presidency of three of them and maintenance and construction director also for two. He is a co-founder of the Benton MacKaye Trail Association in 1980. He has laid out and supervised construction of over 125 miles of hiking trails in the Chattahoochee National Forest over a half-century. After retirement from his regular occupation, he was a guide for ten years part-summers in the Swiss Alps. He is currently starting his fourth term as president of the area Mountain High Hikers.