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Andy Falender steps down from Appalachian Mountain Club

First Person/Andy Falender

THIS STORY APPEARED IN

January 08, 2012|By Doug Most

(Photograph by Bill Greene/Globe…)

>Do you have a favorite hike? I have trouble answering that. I think my first reaction is not just the hike, but who I’m hiking with. My early experiences with our own kids are so special in my memory. If I had to come up with a specific answer, Madison Hut in the White Mountains. The Airline Trail going up to Madison is a fabulous hike.

> You mentioned your own kids. Do you see as many young people hiking as you used to? We are really quite pleased with the number of kids out on the trails and in the huts. But that doesn’t make us comfortable about that situation with kids. When we look at future challenges, getting more and more kids outside has to be our top priority.

> What’s your proudest achievement? The Maine Woods Initiative. It is just satisfying how well that has worked out.

> And biggest regret? I happened to be working on one this morning, the Bay Circuit Trail. In the 1920s, there was this 220-mile [trail] circle around Greater Boston that goes through 41 communities. About 200 miles of it is in place. The hiking trail is pretty much there. It needs to be completed and publicized.

> Why is protecting wilderness, like the Maine initiative, so important? We see our unique role being not only to protect special places, but also to make them accessible.

> Have you ever hiked the entire Appalachian Trail? No. This is what happens when you grow up in Indiana; you don’t have the chance to check off these parcels. I’ve done lots of sections of it. I don’t think I saw a mountain till I was 18.

> Before you came to the AMC, you led the New England Conservatory of music. Which was more challenging? It was probably much harder at NEC, because I had not done it before. I clearly enjoyed both, but the satisfaction here at the AMC of being able to make a positive contribution to an organization focused on a mission I am so passionate about was exceedingly satisfying.