STAFF REPORT
Glasgow News 1
Friends of Mammoth Cave will hold Mammoth-on, its biggest fundraiser of the year, Sunday, Sept. 27, at Mammoth Cave National Park. Organizers say anyone may participate, but advance registration is required.
Check-in begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Picnic Shelter parking lot, which is in the same area as the . Participants cannot register at the park on the day of the event and must sign up in advance at mammothfriends.org.
Mammoth-on combines three activities inside and around the park: a two-mile cave tour, a two-mile hike and an 18-mile bicycle ride. The bicycle route follows the park’s bike and hike trail to Park City before returning to the park.
Hope Hawkins, executive director of Friends of Mammoth Cave, described Mammoth-on as a “tri-event,” rather than a triathlon. She said registration was running about 10 to 12 participants ahead of the previous year’s pace during the interview.
The Sunday fundraiser follows National Public Lands Day on Saturday, Sept. 26. Hawkins said the park’s Saturday activities include history demonstrations and ancestry research connected to families who once lived on land that became part of Mammoth Cave National Park.
Hawkins said about 600 families moved out of the park when it was established. She said park rangers and descendants of those families have preserved information about the area’s communities and family histories.
Friends of Mammoth Cave focuses part of its work on regional students. The organization helps provide free fourth-grade trips to the national park and supports a program that sends rangers to classrooms when students cannot visit the park.
Hawkins said the organization plans to add at least one major fundraising event next year. It also intends to expand volunteer opportunities involving park cleanups and other projects.
Key Facts
– Mammothon is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 27, at Mammoth Cave National Park
– Check-in begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Picnic Shelter parking lot
– The event includes a two-mile cave tour, two-mile hike and 18-mile bicycle ride
– Advance registration is required, with no same-day registration at the park
– National Public Lands Day is Saturday, Sept. 26
– Friends of Mammoth Cave supports free fourth-grade trips and classroom ranger programs
What’s Next
Participants should register through mammothfriends.org before arriving Sunday. Friends of Mammoth Cave also plans another major fundraiser and additional park volunteer opportunities next year.
Comments