The Applegater

Applegater Fall 2016 23 BY DIANA COOGLE ATA to premiere video of Ashland-Grants Pass thru-hike ATA is excited to announce that its annual Call of the Wild fundraising event will feature the first showing of Walking the Wild Applegate, a video that documents the first-ever thru-hike from Ashland to Grants Pass that ATA board members Josh Weber and Luke Ruediger took last May. Josh and Luke hiked mostly cross-county on the future Jack-Ash Trail, proposed by the Siskiyou Uplands Trails Association, from Ashland to Jacksonville, and on ATA's proposed Applegate Ridge Trail, from Jacksonville to Grants Pass. It was an 80-mile expedition of exciting discovery. The showing and celebration will be on Sunday, October 9, at Pacifica Gardens, 15615 Water Gap Road, Williams. Tickets are $10 each and will be available at the Ruch Country Store, online at applegatetrails.org (with an additional $2 fee), from board members, and at the door. We'll be selling great local beer and great food, starting at 6 pm. en the movie! Afterward, there'll be a chance for more beer, more food, and lots of questions for and conversation with the intrepid hikers. Josh and Luke were following roughly the routes of the two trails, exploring the country to see what there is to see from the trail, how difficult the trail-building will be, where, approximately, the routes should go, and, mostly, what it'll be like to hike from Ashland to Grants Pass. As wearied as they were after six days of trail-finding and rugged climbs, they walked off the trail buoyed by enthusiasm. From time to time other ATA board members and, most importantly, videographer Tim Lewis met them on the trail. Tim took miles of footage—oak savannahs, camping places, deep forests, open meadows, incredible views—which he worked into an edited version that depicts well what the rugged hike was like, from snow on the hikers to fairy-tale walks through galaxies of wildflowers. D o n ' t m i s s t h i s exc i t i n g event. We're especially looking forward to seeing those of you who so generously contributed to the Kickstarter campaign that made this video possible. ATA will put the money raised that evening toward the first trail-building for the Applegate Ridge Trail, on the East ART, which is planned to start in October. is trail has been years in the planning. ATA is over- the-top excited about putting picks and shovels to the ground for this beautiful section of trail, which we predict will be a popular one for hikers, horseback riders, and families. Come to the showing of the video and take a look. You'll be excited, too. Diana Coogle • dicoog@gmail.com Prior to the thru-hike, Luke Ruediger appraised the countryside for a route on the Applegate Ridge Trail that ATA is proposing. Here he is standing at an overlook on the East ART. spy movie or something, and then smush it all together and make it your story." In her case, she "wanted to write about the children's game Candy Land, but thought about Alice in Wonderland. I put them together." is is good advice: read widely and make creative connections. Jayden Newkirk, author of A Walk in the Woods, explained the importance of being able to start over. "I learned that when we get stuff mixed up, we can crumple it up and start all over with a new piece of paper." Another important writing—and life—lesson! Zelda is not the only student thinking about writing a sequel. Andrew ■ FIRST-GRADE AUTHORS Continued from page 22 If you know an author who has written a book in Kim Neiswanger's class in the past few years, you can view and purchase a copy of his or her book at thebookpatch.com. Search by the author's name. KNOW AN AUTHOR? Ruch School first-grade authors, from left to right: Thomas Grier, Andrew Grier, and Christian Miller, with Medford School District Superintendent Dr. Brian Shumate. Clearly, these authors have learned what it takes to write well. says his next book "is going to be about a cat that comes into technology and goes into this machine that turns him into a fox. en he keeps turning into other animals until he's stuck being human and has to find another way out of the technology to make him back into a cat." Clearly, these y o u n g a u t h o r s have learned what it takes to write w e l l : p a t i e n c e , p e r s i s t e n c e , o p e n n e s s t o n e w i d e a s , a n d a willingness to revise. Oh, and one more thing, says Jayden: "Get enough paper. If you don't have enough paper for your illustrations, go to the store and get more!" Margaret Perrow della Santina 541-899-9950 "Pamercize" for everyone! Dance fitness instructor Pam Walters (top row on right) leads exercise classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9 to 10 am at Applegate Community Church, 18960 North Applegate Road, Applegate. Pam also holds a class in the park next to the Applegate Store and Cafe on Saturdays at 9 am. Classes are free and all ages are welcome. Photo by Shelley Manning.

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