Peregrine Hiking Award

The Peregrine Award is available to those who hike all 77 miles of the Foothills Trail between Oconee State Park and Table Rock State Park. The Peregrine Award was started in 2011 in honor of long time Foothills Trail Conference member Heyward Douglass who through-hiked the Appalachian Trail under the trail name “Peregrine.” Heyward began his work with the FTC in 1986, began serving on the board in 1989, and was board chair from 1999-2005. He has spent countless days on the Foothills Trail building new trail bed, maintaining the trail, taking pictures, tracking GPS coordinates, and greeting hikers. Few people have Heyward’s passion for the Foothills Trail or have served as such a dedicated ambassador as has Heyward. He has also been instrumental in the development and publication of the Foothills Trail Guidebook and Map, which he continues to update as Trail conditions change. The Peregrine Award honors Heyward for his service and dedication. Heyward chose the trail name “Peregrine” because it is one of his favorite birds, and he was instrumental in the re-introduction of the Peregrine Falcon to the mountains of Upstate South Carolina. Also, the word peregrine comes from the Spanish word peregrino, which means pilgrim, befitting of Heyward’s hiking personality.

The requirements for the award are:

• Hike all 77 miles of the Foothills Trail. The completion of the distance may be in a single through-hike or multiple section hikes over a period of time.
• Be a member of the Foothills Trail Conference at the time of award application. You may join on-line here, or with your mail-in application.
• Submit a report of your hike(s) describing your experience, best moments, etc.

Applications will be reviewed by the Foothills Trail Conference and, upon acceptance, applicants will receive a completion certificate and Peregrine Award patch.

You may apply on-line by clicking the following link Peregrine online Applicarion

OR

You may print and mail this application Peregrine mail-in Application