North Adams VFW Welcomes Warrior Hike Veterans

Nathan Buchholz of Minnesota, Michelle Revoir of 'everywhere,' Dennis Newton of Alabama, Caitlin Murphy of Maine, and Gabe Golden of Texas.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A group of military veterans stopped at the local VFW after making their way off the Appalachian Trail for a little relaxation and conversation as part of the Warrior Hikers program.

Around 4 on Friday afternoon, the weary walkers made their way down the mountain and up Union Street to the friendly sight of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 996.

After walking for hours on end on the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail that spans from Georgia to Maine, the five hikers were welcomed by Post Commander Luis Beveraggi and made their way to the bar for a well-deserved beer.

These AT walkers are on the Warrior Hike, a program established in 2012 to help veterans transition after returning home from deployment "walk of the war" through the therapeutic nature of the long hike.

Beveraggi said the VFW is here to support the hikers with food, shelter, and some conversation. He said it is incredibly important for soldiers to take some time off and "refit" before rushing back into the stresses of a job and responsibilities.

"You just need that time to reflect to refit yourself and to get your mind acclimated back into society," Beveraggi said. "You complete this walk for yourself and you are letting something go as you are taking something in."

Hiker Gabe Golden from Texas said this is exactly what this walk accomplishes

"It gives you the opportunity to think back on stuff and kind of go through it," Golden said. "When you are in a situation everyday where you have to get up, go to work, and run around you just don't touch it. This actually gives you the space and time to actually work through some stuff."

Hiker Caitlin Murphy from Maine said not many programs offer this kind of opportunity that allows veterans to communicate, yet provides all the space needed.

"Some veterans have trouble adapting back into society and you get a huge veteran population on the AT," Murphy said. "The incredible thing with this program is that you are with other vets, people who are dealing with the same stuff. They are around and available to talk, but it gives you the space if you need it."

Beveraggi said when veterans are finished with the hike, the program helps them look for work if needed, after they have some taken some time off.

Beveraggi said the hikers started in March and have been making their way along the trail. He said the community has opened its arms for these hikers. Friday night they dined for free at Desperados and had a warm bed at Howard Johnson before moving on to the next community.

The group agreed that even after witnessing the worst side of humanity, people who have helped them along the trail have helped restore their faith in people.

Hiker Dennis Newton from Alabama attributed this to "trail magic," which is unexpected kindness found along the trail.

"The trail itself has its own community, and it's not just about us. Everyone is meeting all of these great hikers out here and everybody is taking care of each other," Newton said. "All of this trail magic is going on ... they had a pretty pessimistic view at times and yet this is all about people doing things when you don't expect it."

Murphy, who has never been involved with the American Legion or VFW, agreed and said the kindness along the trail has truly been plentiful and unanticipated.  

"You sort of have the idea of a VFW being a bunch of old drunk dudes smoking at 10 in the morning ... but they have been incredibly welcoming with open arms and open hearts," she said.

Murphy attributed the program and others like it to those who came before her. She said Vietnam veterans had a difficult time returning home and because of this they helped implement programs like the Warrior Hike so all soldiers have an easier time returning home.  

She said the program can work wonders for veterans. Although it is not a replacement for medication or therapy, those with moderate post-traumatic stress disorder can really benefit from the program.

Golden said if any veteran is questioning whether he or she should join in on the walk, his answer is absolutely. He said many veterans with moderate PTSD are automatically prescribed mediation as a "quick fix" that isn't the best for some veterans.  

"This helps point people in the right direction of finding a long-term coping mechanism," he said. "It never goes away so you can ether self-medicate, prescription medicate the rest of your life, or find another outlet."

Newton welcomed people to take part in the journey. He said people can keep in touch on his blog or twitter feed.

Amphibious Toads Procreate in Perplexing Amplexus

By Tor HanseniBerkshires columnist
08:09PM / Sunday, May 05, 2024

 

Toads lay their eggs in the spring along the edges of waterways. Photos by Tor Hansen.

My first impressions of toads came about when my father Len Hansen rented a seaside house high on a sand dune in North Truro, Cape Cod back in 1954. 

 

With Cape Cod Bay stretching out to the west, and Twinefield so abundant in wildflowers to the east, North Truro became a naturalist's dream, where I could search for sea shells at the seashore, or chase beetles and butterflies with my trusty green butterfly net. 

 

Twinefield was a treasure trove for wildlife — a vast glacial rolling sandplain shaped by successive glaciers, its sandy soil rich in silicon, thus able to stimulate growth for a diverse biota. A place where in successive years I would expand my insect collection to fill cigar boxes with every order of insects abounding in beach plum, ox-eye daisy and milkweed. During our brief summer vacation there, we boys would exclaim in our excitement, "Oh here is another hoppy toad," one of many Fowler's toads (Bufo woodhousei fowleri ) that inhabited the moist surroundings, at home in the Ammophyla beach grass, thickets of beach plum, bayberry, and black cherry bushes. 

 

They sparkled in rich colors of green amber on beige and reddish tinted warts. Most anurans have those glistening eyes, gold on black irises so beguiling around the dark pupils. Today I reflect on a favorite analogy, the riveting eye suggests a solar eclipse in pictorial aura.

 

In the distinct toad majority in the Outer Cape, Fowler's toads turned up in the most unusual of places. When we Hansens first moved in to rent Riding Lights, we would wash the sand and salt from our feet in the outdoor shower where toads would be drinking and basking in the moisture near my feet. As dusk fades into darkness, the happy surprise would gather under the night lights where moths were fluttering about the front door and the toads would snatch bugs with outstretched tongue.

 

In later years, mother Eleanor added much needed color and variety to Grace's original garden. Our smallest and perhaps most acrobatic butterflies are the skippers, flitting and somersaulting to alight and drink heartily the nectar abounding at yellow sickle-leaved coreopsis and succulent pink live forever sedums of autumn. These hearty late bloomers signaled oases for many fall migrants including painted ladies, red admirals and of course monarchs on there odyssey to over-winter in Mexico. 

 

Our newly found next-door neighbors, the Bergmarks, added a lot to share our zeal for this undiscovered country, and while still in our teens, Billy Atwood, who today is a nuclear physicist in California, suggested we should include the Baltimore checkerspot in our survey, as he too had a keen interest in insects. Still unfamiliar to me then, in later years I would come across a thriving colony in Twinefield, that yielded a rare phenotype checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton p. superba) that I wrote about featured in The Cape Naturalist ( Museum of Natural History, Brewster Cape Cod 1991).