In Remembrance of Ralph Burgio

By Karl Kunkel

Ralph Burgio, a good hiking friend of mine and a member of the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club, our AT maintenance neighbor to the north, died suddenly on September 5, 1998. Ralph, 51, was leading a group of Roanoke College (Salem, Va.) students on an outing along the AT, north of Roanoke, when he dropped dead of a heart attack. He had a history of heart and circulatory problems. Efforts by students to revive him failed, as were the efforts of the rescue workers who reached him about two hours later.

Ralph maintained a 5.5-mile stretch of the AT, on Tinker Mountain, north of Roanoke, with PATH member John Lynharn of Greensboro, N.C., and at least one other.

"He was a devoted AT enthusiast," John said. He added that Ralph was a big proponent of educating today's young people about the AT experience, which was one reason for his interest in the outing club. Ralph worked in the publications department at Roanoke College.

I did some day hikes with Ralph and John over the past two years, usually stretches of the AT in Virginia. Generally, I joined them during their quest to complete the Virginia and Maryland portions of the AT. According to John, Ralph did complete those two goals. Ralph was also editor of the "Trail Blazer," the RATC newsletter.

I last saw Ralph at the 1997 Multi-Club meeting at Rural Retreat, Va. He led a hike one of the days, as I recall. I remember him as a pleasant, interesting person who was very passionate about his hiking, especially when it came to covering the AT. He never cut corners. One time on a Virginia hike, I remember he insisted on walking the full 200 yards from the trail head to our car, along a busy highway, rather than use a safer shortcut, because that's how the AT was laid out, and he wanted to be able to say he walked every single inch of the Virginia trail. Next time you are hiking along Tinker Mountain, the trail will probably look pretty good. John Lynharn and his cohorts will see to that. But give a little nod to Ralph Burgio, too. I'm sure he's up there now, looking in on things occasionally.