Meet KTA's 2024 Representative at Large Nominees

KTA's nominations committee has nominated new KTA Representatives at Large. Voting will take place at the fall board meeting during Keystone Hike Fest in Johnstown, PA. Get to know these awesome hikers below!

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Meet David “Cyril” Quatrone
Since David “Cyril” Quatrone hikes with forearm canes, his trail name is Fourfeet.  He’s hiked over 750 miles each year for the past 3 years, including completing 40% of the AT (all the AT in PA), and all of Thunder Swamp, Black Forest, and Darlington Trails.  He is almost finished with the Horse-Shoe Trail, and is working on the Ticonderoga.  This past year he hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up.  The 6.5-mile trip down the South Kaibab Trail was done in 3 hours, but the same distance back up took over 8!  He has helped trail work crews several times, coming within 10 feet of a bear once, and has provided trail magic along the AT.  Cyril has written an unpublished book, “Cripple on the Trail.”  Most of his hikes are day hikes, but he is seeking a solution to a problem presented by his disability and hopes to one day be able to do more and longer multi-day hikes.

Cyril has a B.A. (Northeastern Bible College), a M.Div. from St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Seminary, and a M.Ed. from Kutztown University.  He teaches mathematics (and sometimes history) in Allentown.  With several former students, he started and ran a non-Profit corporation, “Ensuring Tomorrow” (ET) for 7 years.  In addition to providing scholarships and calculators to students, the organization took them to museums, plays, restaurants, lectures, and introduced many of these inner-city students to hiking!

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Meet Steve & Rita Black
Steve & Rita Black live in Ford City, PA (Armstrong County).  Steve is a machinist at a local tool and die shop and Rita has had careers in real estate and Career & Tech Ed.  They are members of the Butler Outdoor Club and enjoy hiking with the Clarion & Butler Chapters of the North Country Trail.  Steve can be found walking dogs at the Orphans of the Storm or metal detecting in search of old coins and “treasures”.  Rita volunteers at the Salvation Army Thrift Store, Ford City food bank & the local libraries.   Together they enjoy workdays at the Outdoor Discovery Center, Geocaching, and collecting stamps for the PA State Parks/Forests Passport.  Favorite hiking areas are Clear Creek/Cooks Forest and Crooked Creek Lake Park.

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Meet Patricia Houston
While early childhood education and early intervention field are her profession and passion, Patricia is also an explorer who loves adventure…especially outdoor adventures. She loves being barefoot and carefree, chasing sunsets & rainbows, exploring the woods, swimming in waterholes, and hula hooping in the rain. Similar to her experiences working with young children, nature experiences also bring new adventures and challenges. You never get bored! Both her profession and nature are sources of joy, purpose, peace and rejuvenation. 

Patricia approaches life with passion, creativity, and determination; a brave adventurer who often stands out as different and unique. A summer is not complete for her unless she has been to the beach and gone on a camping trip. This summer she finally made it to Ricketts Glen. It was a wild, solo camping adventure with lots of bear activity and some stormy weather. In Philly, her favorite hike is Andorra Meadow. Her most transcendent and magical hiking experience was her first solo camping trip where she spent 2 months hiking and camping from California to Oregon. 

Currently, Patricia lives and works in Philadelphia. She is an Assistant Director of preschool with an outdoor program. She received her education at the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in psychology; at Community College of Philadelphia with an associate’s in early childhood education. As long as she can remember, she has been interested in the anthropology of child development. She has always been seeking to understand the different social worlds of children and how children learn about the adult social world to which they will eventually belong. Patricia has spent her life providing and caring for young children. 
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Nature is one of the passions that has continually sustained, healed, inspired and rejuvenated Patricia. She feels blessed to know where her true passions lie and is keen to transition into a role where she can engage in them equally. Patricia is excited to continue learning about wilderness survival, outdoor adventures, and nature preservation. Patricia hopes to one day live in a cozy cottage or cabin in the woods as her primary residence and travel the world frequently to experience the magic of all of Earth’s natural wonders.

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Meet Blase Hartman
Blase has lived in PA for the past 40+ years. Time outdoors has always been a priority and upon retirement he rekindled his passion for backpacking, trekking many popular (and obscure) PA trails.  With each step came a growing appreciation for PA’s natural resources, feeling privileged to immerse in such beauty and inevitably leading to a strong sense of stewardship.

The past few years have progressively focused on making good on that sense of stewardship;  performing trail maintenance, participating in trail club activities, and expounding the benefits of backpacking (just ask him).

Current activities include maintaining a section of the Appalachian trail and establishing an annual Treksylvania Backpacking Rally (TBR) to encourage folks to get outdoors. The inaugural event is planned for spring 2024.

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