“We started going to the cabins together, and the rest is history.” - Mary Jorgensen
Thomas and Mary Jorgensen have been together for 25 years and have been PATC members for just as long, and in Thomas’s case, even longer.
About 30 years ago, Thomas was a single parent and regularly hiked and camped on the Appalachian Trail with his son, who was a boy scout. They began making use of some of the cabins along the trail. “We went to Sugar Knob, and the front door was off, the window was busted out and it was snowing. We did the best we could to repair it.” After making those repairs Thomas was “shuffled” into PATC, being handed a set of keys to another cabin that needed repairing shortly after.
When Mary met Thomas through mutual friends, she became a PATC member and began volunteering with him. They spent their free time hiking around and maintaining the cabins in their region. Thomas is now the Volunteer District Supervisor of the Shenandoah Valley, and both he and Mary are Tract Managers for Mutton Hollow, the largest tract in PATC. The work they do as volunteers includes overseeing and assisting with the maintenance of seven cabins in the Shenandoah Valley, along with various other projects.
According to Thomas, they maintain “everything from electric cabins all the way down to, well you would debate whether it was a cabin or a wooden tent.” As Tract Managers, Mary and Thomas have also recently been working on clearing invasive plants from a meadow and installing the largest Native Flower Garden that PATC has seen.
“We tend to chip in anywhere we’re needed”, said Mary after they continued to list off a number of projects they were working on, including the renovation of the Trout Run School House, which has been well known as a gateway to outdoor activities in the Central Appalachian Mountains. Thomas and Mary spent about six months working on the cabin during the height of the pandemic, doing most of the work themselves. These renovations included everything from cleaning and painting to installing a heat and AC system.
Mary and Thomas have rightfully been bestowed the title of Honorary Lifetime Members, and they plan on continuing their work with PATC as they enjoy their semi-retirement. They currently spend about eight days a month volunteering, either up in the mountains on the trail or working on a cabin. When asked about their favorite part of volunteering, they both mentioned the camaraderie between other volunteers, PATC members, and their cabin neighbors. Thomas and Mary also enjoy spending time together in nature and making those memories together.
“We’re more than just husband and wife, we’re companions.”
Looking toward the future, Mary and Thomas are looking forward to taking more vacations, along with exploring more of PATC’s cabins and lands. Mary noted that they love to travel, and they end up doing “mostly outdoorsy things. We love to find waterfalls and explore the area that we’re going to.”
Thomas noted, “It’ll be nice as we get [our cabins] up to being the best in the system, and then we’ll be able to spread out a little bit. We’ll be able to go back to other cabins that we’ve worked on in the past or go to some that we’ve never stayed at.”
PATC is lucky to have dedicated volunteers like Thomas and Mary, whose love for nature and for each other is inspiring to see. Be sure to say hi if you see them out on the trail!
