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HIKE page 9
us in on local lore, and then in-
vited us to their home for tea and
a Scotch whiskey tasting."
The Finks' vacation to Scot-
land was just one of 36 vacations
they could have selected. Coun-
try Walkers offers tours through-
out Europe, Central and South
America, Africa and the South
Pacific — not to mention the
United States and Canada.
The trips can last anywhere
from five to 10 days and the walk-
ing distances range from 4 to 12
miles a day and are rated easy (4-
8 miles on gentle, rolling terrain
with short ascents and descents),
moderate (4-12 miles on rolling
terrain with possible climbs up
to 1,200 feet and/or uneven foot-
paths), or challenging (6-15 miles
on rolling terrain with climbs up
to 3,000 feet and/or uneven foot-
paths).
According to Jim Sano, presi
dent of Geographic Expeditions
and Tre Laghi Travel, luxury
walking tour specialists based in
San Francisco, the Finks are typ-
ical of walking vacationers. Most
who sign up for Tre Laghi's trips
are in their 50s and are fairly af-
fluent. After all, its walking tours
through Italy, Switzerland, and
France average $3,000 per per-
son for an eight-day vacation; air-
fare is additional.
Along with their growing time
and income, travelers in their 50s
and even 60s are generally fitter
than their parents were at the
same age so they're not intimi-
dated by such a trip, which can
range from "pretty easy to quite
rigorous," says Mr. Sano.
At Tre Laghi, walking tours
are made up of groups of no more
than 16 travelers and are led by
To contact the American
Hiking Society, call (301)
565-6704. For AHS' Volunteer
Vacation 1997 project sched-
ule (from March through Oc-
tober), send a self-addressed
stamped envelope to AHS
Volluiteer Vacations, P.O. Box
20160, Washington, D.C.
20041-2160.
Backroads, call 1-800
462-2848.
Butterfield & Robinson,
call 1-800-678-1147.
Couniry Walkers, call 1-
800-464-9255.
Geographic Expedi
donsirre Laghi Travel, call
1-800-777-8183.0
two experienced guides who live
and work in the area being
toured. Guests spend at least two
nights in each hotel with accom-
modations ranging from luxuri-
ous hotels to comfortable
farmhouses.
"We'd race each
other to [soak in] the
bathtub when we got
back to the hotel.
But by the end of the
trip, we felt
wonderful."
Should you want a walking or
hiking vacation that's perhaps a
little less luxurious, the Ameri-
can Hiking Society sponsors Vol-
unteer Vacations. Each year, this
national non-profit group, based
in Silver Spring, sends hundreds
of volunteers, from college stu-
dents to older adults, to remote
locations to build and restore foot
trails in national parks, forests
and rangelands.
Among the destinations to
which volunteers have traveled
are Utah's Canyonlands Nation-
al Park, Michigan's Pictured
Rocks National Lakeshore, Ari-
zona's Petrified Forest National
Park, and the Tallgrass Prairie
National preserve in Kansas.
According to AHS Volunteer
Vacations coordinator Chuck
Kines, volunteer vacations have
made quite an impact on the
country's trail systerh for the past
20 years and volunteers contin-
ue to be needed.
"AHS Volunteer Vacations of-
fer a perfect opportunity for trail
novices and veterans to combine
a unique one- or two-week-long
adventure with donating valu-
able time to America's trail sys-
tem," says Mr. Kines.
No prior trail work experience
is necessary. Volunteers should
be at least 18 years old, in good
physical condition, and able to
hike 5 miles or more a day. Par-
ticipants must provide their own
camping gear, including a bro-
ken-in pair of hiking boots, and
arrange their own travel to and
from the site. ❑
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