On July 20, IAT Chairperson Paul Wylezol, volunteer Brandie-Lyn Leafloor and hiker Connie Lebrun from Alberta headed out from the lookoff above Conche on the eastern side of Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula on a two-day trek of the IATNL French Shore Trail, followed by a full-day boat tour of the surrounding islands and headlands to view icebergs and whales, seals and seabirds.  The goal was to plan the logistics for upcoming guided treks and boat tours of the scenic and historic French Shore of Newfoundland. View of icebergs in Pillier Bay, with North Grey Island in the Background The IATNL French Shore Trail begins at the communication tower above Conche, near the scenic lookoff overlooking Conche and Crouse Harbours and Peninsulas, and the North and South Grey Islands. To learn more about the French Shore Trek and Boat Tour, go to the IATNL website.

On July 14, officials with the IAT in Newfoundland Labrador, Parks Canada and Ocean Quest Adventures set out from the dock at Gros Morne National Park's Trout River Pond on the new zodiac shuttle service to the trailhead of the Overfalls Trail, located at the southeast end of the 15 kilometer (9 mile) long pond.  The trail was developed in 2010 by the IATNL in partnership with Park's Canada, while the shuttle and boat tour were contracted to Ocean Quest. View of the 500ft high Overfalls waterfall from the Overfalls Trail Joining IATNL Chairperson Paul Wylezol, Vice Chair Arne Helgeland, Finance Director Kevin Noseworthy and volunteer Brandie-Lyn Leafloor were Parks Canada Heritage Presentation Coordinator Kim Vokey, Trails Crew and Maintenance worker Bruce Gillam, Ocean Quest Gros Morne Manager Andrew Skanes and crew member Adam Gardner. To learn more about the Overfalls Trail opening trek, go to the IATNL website.

Filmmaker and long-distance hiker Mark Flagler recently completed the first thru-hike of the new IAT Ireland route across County Donegal, from Slieve League to Kelly's Bridge near the Northern Ireland border.  Mark is well-known for his 2-hour documentary film Appalachian Impressions, which has aired in over one million households on the US PBS television network.   Mark completed his trek on April 29, 2011, after walking 119kms across some of the most spectacular scenery in Ireland.   A view of Slieve League     Highlights of Mark's trek includes climbing the Eagle's Nest below Slieve League, walking the coastal path towards Port, the Maghera Strand, the footpath beside Owenea River, the Bluestack Mountains, Lough Eske and the many small towns along the route.     According to Mark, "The rugged beauty of the area combined with the hospitable locals makes this one of my favorite treks I've ever done."     Later this summer Mark plans to produce a 3-4 minute video about the International Appalachian Trail in Ireland.  In the meantime, to view his thru-hike of the IAT in the Republic of Ireland, go to YouTube and make the trek with him.

IAT Vice President Eric Chouinard of Québec traveled to France in March to promote the International Appalachian Trail at tourism shows in Lyons and Paris.  He also met with representatives from the French hiking federation (Fédération Française de la Randonnée Rédestre - FFRP) and the National Pole of Resources for Outdoor Sports (Pôle Ressources Nationales des Sports de Nature - PRNSN) for the French Ministry of Health and Sport (MSS).  As translated from the original French, below is a summary of Eric's report:   Contact with the French Hiking Federation In the context of the IAT’s networking and extension project, I met Mr. Yves Lespérat, a federation administrator, as well as Mr. Christophe Martinez, national technical councillor. They appointed Mr. Armand Ducornet, general secretary of the federation who is in charge of international relations and is the V.P. of the European hiking federation, to be our contact person. I spoke with him by Skype two times since my visit in France.  To sum up  these meetings, the idea of the French hiking federation (FFRP) being a part of the IAT international committee interests the FFRP. Mr. Ducornet hopes to participate in September’s IAT events and - we hope - officially announce France’s participation in the International Appalachian Trail.   We also discussed other possible collaborations. For example, the FFRP has many communication tools for its members, as well as a store in Paris and online. I plan to request that we utilize these communication tools and stores to inform the Federation’s members about the IAT and offer our topoguides for sale.…