To the Editor:

After a banner year for Historic Altamont completing the beautiful kiosk by the village park, the group has secured grants to create a bronze statue of a female hiker completing a hike of the Long Path [“‘Welcoming presence’: Bronze statue will meet hikers at end of Long Path,” The Altamont Enterprise, March 23, 2026]. This will be a great addition to welcome hikers and visitors to the current end of the trail.

I would like to suggest naming the statue in honor of the first person to through-hike the entire (350-plus mile) Long Path from the George Washington Bridge to Thacher State Park on May 31, 1998.  Her name was Mary Ann Nissley of Chalfont, Pennsylvania.

She accomplished this feat, hiking alone, in less than 25 days during a very rainy spring.  Mary Ann was a very experienced hiker who had previously completed the Finger Lakes Trail, Pennsylvania’s Horseshoe Trail, Vermont’s Long Trail, Arkansas’s Ozark Highlands Trail, Missouri’s Ozark Trail, Mississippi’s Shore to Shore Trail, California’s John Muir Trail, and the Appalachian Trail twice.

Since her accomplishment, over 50 other hikers have made the trek non-stop and another 200-plus have completed the end-to-end by day hiking the trail in sections (35) over multiple trips.

This summer, a female will attempt to set the Fastest-Known-Time by running the whole trail in May and a male will try it in July.  The current records are 9 days, 10 hours, 44 minutes for women and 7 days, 12 hours, 18 minutes for men.

Thank you, Mary Ann, for promoting increased interest in the Long Path over the years. Also, thank you, Historic Altamont, a dedicated group, for their vision for the town.

Mark Traver

President

Long Path North Hiking Club