Paul Ives

1926 - 2021

On February 21, 2021, long-time Appalachian Trail volunteer Paul Pomeroy Ives passed away at the age of 94.

Paul was a member of the Mountain Club of Maryland (MCM) for 50 years, joining in 1971. He was an active hiker and Appalachian Trail volunteer, filling many roles for MCM. Paul served as our Supervisor of Trails from 1990 to 2011, overseeing our A.T. trail and shelter maintenance, including the planning and scheduling of many work trips. In addition to leading trail and shelter work trips, Paul also led hikes for the club for 20 years. He planned and directed our biennial Hike Across Maryland for many years. Paul also served as MCM President from 1978-1980 and as the club’s representative on the Maryland A.T. Management Committee in 1989 and 1990. Later, he was the administrator of the club’s Miles Fund program in 2013 and 2014; even as Paul aged, he continued to look for ways to serve the club.

Upon word of his death, one of our members shared that “One day on our way to an AT work trip, Paul reminisced that when he and his wife came to Maryland, they began to look for a church to attend. But then when they began hiking with MCM and doing trail work, they realized that the tree-covered forest was their cathedral.”

Paul was highlighted in a Baltimore Sun article about the Mountain Club published in September 2011: “Then there’s Paul Ives. A member for more than 40 years, Ives is 85 and stopped hiking about three years ago “when my legs couldn’t do it anymore”. But Ives is still involved as the club’s trail supervisor who makes sure the places where the club is hiking are well-kept. He was scheduled Saturday to be part of a cleanup of the Appalachian Trail portion that runs for 40 miles, the last 30 in Pennsylvania.”

Paul’s long commitment to the Appalachian Trail was recognized in 2001 by receipt of a Silver Service award, given by the National Park Service for 25 or more years of Appalachian Trail volunteer work. MCM honored his long service to the Mountain Club in 2019 by awarding Paul our Eleanor Sewell Lifetime Achievement Award.

Paul leaves a legacy of service to hiking, the A.T., and MCM that few of us can hope to match. But the example set by volunteers like Paul serves as an inspiration to many of us who devote our time.