hut2hut.info is created by:
Sam Demas is an independent researcher focusing on environmentally sensitive food and shelter systems for long distance human-powered travelers. He is the editor, and at this point, the primary researcher and writer for h2h. Part of the 97%, Sam is a reluctant backpacker and an enthusiastic walker. He loves to walk for days on end with a light pack, and has walked (or skied, but never biked, yet!) hut-to-hut in the USA, Canada, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Morocco,Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Greece, Chile, and Japan. But he hasn’t visited New Zealand, Iceland, Norway and lots of other nations with hut systems (yet!). By now he has visited and written about most of the hut-to-hut systems in the USA, and is hoping to return to many of them.
After 40 years working in academic libraries, Sam is focusing on hut2hut.info as his research and writing interest for the next few years. This endeavor utilizes his skills in research, collaboration, and strategic planning; it puts him in touch with lots of interesting people; and it frames his travel plans. And perhaps it will help to raise the level of discourse and knowledge in the USA about huts, yurts, home/farm stays and other ways of supporting long distance walkers, bikers and skiers.
In 1973 Sam completed a masters degree in Environmental Education, but chose a career in librarianship. This project is something of a return to his long-standing interest in nature study/environmental education, focused now on the role hut systems might play. Sam hopes his research and development work in this arena will contribute in some way to the essential civilizational task of providing young people with immersive nature experiences that engender a profound ethos of biophilia in our culture.
Amanda Wagstaff is an artist, writer, and educator from Red Oak, Virginia. She currently lives in Dublin, Ireland where she is a Fulbright Research Fellow at the Chester Beatty Library. Her Fulbright project is called “Pilgrims Travel Differently,” an interdisciplinary research project exploring Celtic Christian monastic practices and Insular Art in relation to her own art practice. Her research includes retracing pilgrimage routes and visiting the sacred sites of medieval Ireland and the United Kingdom. Through her art and writing practices, she hopes to make connections between this research, contemporary life, and current events. For more information about her art work and her research observations, check out her website “Traipse” http://www.amandawagstaff.com. As our “Pilgrimage Editor” Amanda will be writing about pilgrimage for hut2hut, and seeking writing from others on this and related topics.
Help wanted:
This is a labor of love and we cannot possibly cover the scope by ourselves. Looking for writers/editors for ski huts, bike huts, and huts in specific nations. Also help in maintaining and improving the web site would be welcome!