Haverling grads complete 2,100-mile hike of Appalachian Trail
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

PHOTO PROVIDED Haverling grads Dan Fiedler, left, and Brett Argentieri, right, pose with friend Ryan Metcalf on Mt. Katahdin in Maine at the end of the 2,100 mile trek.

Three graduates of Haverling high school recently completed a 2,100 trek of the Appalachian Trail, hiking the entire length of the trail from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine.

Dan Fiedler and Brett Argentieri, both 2002 Haverling graduates, summitted Mount Katahdin on Aug. 13. Their friend and cohiker, Garret Lang, class of 2003, had moved ahead of the group in June and finished the trail in late July.

Fiedler, Argentieri and Lang also were joined by Ryan Metcalf of Marion, NY, who had met Fiedler and Argentieri while a student at SUNY Brockport.

Fiedler, Lang and Argentieri have been friends since childhood and participated in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, where they acquired a love for camping, hiking and backpacking. They began planning the Appalachian Trail trip a year ago, and started the hike March 2 in Georgia.

"They really have a very good background in camping and backpacking," said David Fielder of Bath and father of Dan Fiedler. "I think they were better prepared than most people."

That doesn't mean the hike was easy. At one point Fielder told his father the walking was beginning to feel like a regular job. "After they got through Pennsylvania, things picked up and they got their second wind," Fiedler said last week. "They got rejuvenated in New England."

Along the way the hikers maintained a journal and posted entries on the Internet. The on-line record of their trip can be followed at www.trailjournals.com. Use the search engine on the home page to find Riders of the Storm's journal.

According to the senior Fiedler, the three friends have no plans for a second trek of the Appalachian Trail. "Dan said he's done with long hikes for a while," he told The Courier.