Appalachian Trail

• 1. Introduction

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  The Appalachian Trail, known to hikers as the A.T., has been walked from end to end by a four-year-old girl and by an 83-year-old man. Juniper Netteburg is believed to be the youngest, and she finished on the 13th of October 2020. M.J. Eberheart, who goes by the trail name Nimblewill Nomad, became the oldest on the 8th of November 2021. Both covered almost 2,200 miles of footpath, from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine, across 14 states. More than three million people hike some part of it every year. Yet of the more than 3,000 who attempt the whole route each year, only about a quarter succeed. Who dreamed up this path, and why did its first champion care so little about hiking? Who built it, and who fought over it? What waits along the ridges, from rattlesnakes to hail to strangers handing out food? And how did a walking route become a culture with its own slang, its own rules and its own heroes?

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• 2. The Forester's Plan

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  In 1921, shortly after his wife died, a forester named Benton MacKaye wrote a proposal titled "An Appalachian Trail, A Project in Regional Planning." His vision was not mainly about walking. He pictured a chain of farms and work and study camps where city dwellers could spend time, strung along the Appalachian Mountains. The line would run from Mount Washington in New Hampshire, the highest point in the North, to Mount Mitchell in North Carolina, the highest in the South. Hiking was only an incidental part of the idea.

  In 1922, Major William A. Welch, director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, suggested that the plan be publicized. Raymond H. Torrey did it in the New York Evening Post, under a large headline reading "A Great Trail from Maine to Georgia." The first real stretch of path opened on the 7th of October 1923. It ran from Bear Mountain west through Harriman State Park to Arden, New York.

  MacKaye then called a two-day conference in Washington, D.C., for March 1925. That meeting inspired the Appalachian Trail Conference, now called the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Arthur Perkins, a retired judge, and his younger associate Myron Avery took up the cause.

  In 1929, Perkins found Ned Anderson, a farmer in Sherman, Connecticut. Perkins sat on the Blue Blazed Trails committee of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association. Anderson mapped and blazed the Connecticut leg between 1929 and 1933. It ran 50 miles through the state's northwest corner, up to Bear Mountain at the Massachusetts line. A portion was later rerouted, between 1979 and 1983, to be more scenic and to hug highways less. That section now includes the Ned K. Anderson Memorial Bridge.

  Anderson's work helped revive interest, and Avery took over the project after Perkins died in 1932. Avery chaired the Conference from 1932 until 1952, the year he died. His goal was a simple hiking trail, and that put him at odds with MacKaye. A road had been built overlapping part of the route in Shenandoah National Park. Avery was willing to reroute the trail around it, and MacKaye left the organization. In 1936 Avery became the first person to walk the trail end to end, though not as a thru-hike. In August 1937 the route was completed to Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine.

  Paul M. Fink had been at work even earlier. In 1922, only a year after MacKaye's article, Fink began writing to hiking leaders in New England about building the trail. When Avery started planning the southern route, Fink was the first person he contacted. In 1977 the Conference honored Fink as "the guiding influence" in establishing the trail in Tennessee and North Carolina in the 1920s. He was inducted into the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame in 2019.

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• 3. Protecting the Route

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  A hurricane in 1938 swept through New England and left the young trail badly damaged. It struck shortly before World War II, and many of the people working on the route were called to active duty. The original path had deeper flaws as well. Outside areas where the Civilian Conservation Corps worked, mostly Shenandoah National Park, the Great Smoky Mountains and Maine, it often climbed straight up and down slopes. That made for rough walking and a surface that eroded badly. Trail crews and volunteer clubs have since relocated or repaired many miles of it.

  Roan Mountain, on the North Carolina-Tennessee line, was not on the 1937 route. Neither were the Mount Rogers high country with Grayson Highlands in Virginia, the Pochuck Creek swamp in New Jersey, Nuclear Lake in New York, Thundering Falls in Vermont, or Saddleback Mountain in Maine.

  Legal protection came in the 1960s, thanks to politicians and officials. Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson offered legislation to safeguard the route. The National Trails System Act of 1968 named the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail the first national scenic trails. That law gave the path its formal title, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. Volunteers then worked with the National Park Service to map a permanent route, and by 1971 it was marked, though small changes continue. By the end of the 20th century the Park Service had bought all but a few miles of the trail's span.

  Today more than 99 percent of the route is protected by federal or state ownership or by right-of-way. It once crossed many hundreds of miles of private property. Thirty-one trail clubs and multiple partnerships maintain it. The National Park Service, the United States Forest Service and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy manage it. Each year more than 4,000 volunteers give over 175,000 hours of effort, valued at an estimated $3 million. In total the path passes through eight national forests and two national parks.

  In New York, 700 volunteers laid 800 granite-slab steps in Harriman and Bear Mountain State Parks, followed by more than a mile of walkway on stone crib walls. The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference ran the four-year project, which cost roughly $1 million and opened in June 2010. It rebuilt the oldest section of the trail.

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• 4. Rock and Forest

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  The trail drops to 124 feet inside the Bear Mountain Zoo and rises to 6,643 feet just below the summit of Kuwohi, in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Between those extremes, the woods change state by state. In the south, the hardwoods are mostly oak and tulip trees, also known as yellow poplar. Heading north, maples and birches gradually replace the tulip trees, and oaks vanish in Massachusetts. By Vermont the lowland forest is maple, birch and beech, with colorful foliage in September and October. Nearly the whole trail has been logged at some point. A few old-growth pockets survive, including Sages Ravine on the Massachusetts-Connecticut border, the Hopper on Mount Greylock, and a place called The Hermitage near Gulf Hagas in Maine.

  In the southern highlands, open grassy patches called Appalachian balds break up the forest. They are believed to come from fires or grazing in recent centuries, or in some cases from thin, sandy soils. Several are sprouting trees, so the National Forest Service periodically mows some of them to keep them open.

  Pennsylvania's 229.6 miles are so rocky that hikers call the state "Rocksylvania." They also describe it as the place "where boots go to die." Erosion has worn away the dirt and left jagged stone that punishes feet, ankles and shoes.

  Mount Greylock in Massachusetts holds the only subalpine forest in the state, reaching down to 3,000 feet. That is unusually low. The mountain faces the prevailing westerly winds, and its summits rise about 200 to 650 feet above any other peak in Massachusetts.

  New Hampshire has more trail above treeline than any other state on the route. At Mount Moosilauke, which rises to 4,802 feet, hikers reach the first true alpine environment, where thin plants sit among bare rock. Below it lies the krummholz zone, where stunted trees bend their branches away from the northwest winter wind. Because they look like flags, they are sometimes called "flag trees." In the Presidential Range the trail climbs to 6,288 feet on Mount Washington and stays above treeline for about 13 miles. That is the largest alpine environment in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.

  In Maine, evergreen forest reaches low elevations, and cedars join the white pine, spruce and hemlock found farther south. Near the northern end, tamarack, a needle-bearing tree that drops its leaves, turns yellow in late fall after the birches and maples have gone bare. Maine's hemlocks have so far escaped the woolly adelgid, an insect that has ravaged hemlocks farther south and may be stopped by the cold.

  Mount Katahdin holds the second-largest alpine environment in the eastern United States, with several square miles on its flat tableland summit. Its treeline sits near 3,500 feet, an elevation that is simple lowland forest south of Virginia.

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• 5. Wildlife and Hazards

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  In parts of Maine, even the strongest hikers may average only 1 mph. Some places require holding on to tree limbs and roots to climb or descend, which is especially risky in wet weather. At Mahoosuc Notch, a mile-long stretch of boulders forces hikers to pass under some of the rocks. The Kennebec River is the only crossing on the trail that requires a boat. The Hundred-Mile Wilderness, the most isolated portion of the route, runs east-northeast from the town of Monson to just south of Abol Bridge.

  The American black bear is the largest omnivore a hiker may meet, and confrontations are rare. Sightings are uncommon except in Shenandoah National Park and parts of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Bear populations there have grown steadily since 1980. In New Jersey, bear activity rose rapidly from 2001, so every shelter there now has a metal bear-proof food box. Eastern timber rattlesnakes and copperheads also live along the trail, usually in drier, rocky sections. Deer are common, elk have been reintroduced in the Smokies, and moose may be found from Massachusetts northward.

  For most hikers, the most persistent pests are ticks, mosquitoes and black flies, along with the mice that live in shelters. The Mid-Atlantic and New England stretch has a very high population of deer ticks carrying Lyme disease. It matches the highest density of reported Lyme cases in the country. In 1993 one hiker contracted hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare and dangerous rodent-borne lung disease. That hiker recovered and walked the trail the following year.

  Weather matters more than wildlife. The season generally starts in mid-to-late spring, when the South can be extremely hot, sometimes above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Farther north and higher up, hikers face cold, strong winds, hail, snow and poor visibility. In March 2015, a large tree blew over and killed a hiker in Maryland. That October, a visitor from England died after falling while taking photos at the Annapolis Rocks overlook in Maryland.

  In July 2013-66-year-old Geraldine Largay disappeared while hiking alone in Maine. She became lost and survived 26 days before dying. Her remains were found two years later, in October 2015.

  Violent crime is rare, though it has occurred. The first reported homicide on the trail came in 1974 in Georgia. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to discourage trail use, and the National Park Service closed all managed shelters from Virginia to Maine. In 2021 the Conservancy suspended issuing hang tags to thru-hikers for a period.

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• 6. Life Between Blazes

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  White paint blazes mark the trail from one end to the other. Side trails to shelters, viewpoints and parking areas use blue blazes. Some older sections also carried metal diamond markers bearing the trail's logo.

  More than 250 shelters and campsites serve hikers, though most also carry a lightweight tent, tent hammock or tarp. The shelters are generally open, three-walled structures with wooden floors. Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut call them lean-tos, Shenandoah National Park calls them huts, and some people call them Adirondack shelters. They are usually a day's hike or less apart, most often near a water source that may be dry, and with a privy. In New Hampshire's White Mountains, the Appalachian Mountain Club runs eight much larger huts along 56 miles, offering full-service lodging and meals in summer. In North Carolina, the Fontana Dam Shelter earns the nickname "Fontana Hilton" for its flushable toilets and its nearness to an all-you-can-eat buffet and a post office.

  Nearly every shelter has a pre-hung food hanger, usually a short nylon cord with an upside-down tuna can suspended partway down. Hikers hang their food bags from it, out of reach of rodents. In hiker lingo, these are "mouse trapezes."

  Most shelters also hold a spiral-bound notebook in a container, known as a shelter log. Signing is not required, but hikers use the logs to document where they have been and where they are going. Entries warn of dangerous animals or unfriendly people, report dried-up water sources, and can even serve as proof of who reached certain summits. Hikers sign with pseudonyms called "trail names," and the entries are often colorful.

  The Appalachian Trail Conservancy lists over 50 towns in its "A.T. Community" program for providing food, supplies and lodging to passers-through. Many hikers also receive "trail magic," meaning help from strangers in the form of kind acts, gifts and encouragement. Sometimes it is anonymous, and sometimes a stranger cooks for hikers at a campsite. In New York, where the trail crosses the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line, the crossing marks the only train station along its length.

  Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, headquarters of the Conservancy, is what many consider the trail's "psychological midpoint." The real midpoint lies about 75 miles farther north, in southern Pennsylvania. On the 21st of December 2019, a CSX train derailment damaged the footbridge over the Potomac River there and severed the trail between West Virginia and Maryland. The crossing reopened in July 2020.

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• 7. Thru-Hikers and Records

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  In 2017, the trail recorded 715 northbound and 133 southbound thru-hikes. That same year the Conservancy estimated that 3,839 hikers set out northbound from Springer Mountain and 497 southbound from Mount Katahdin. It also reported 1,186 completions, counting both section hikers and thru-hikers. Thru-hikers finish the whole trail within a 12-month period, while section-hikers cover it over a series of separate trips. Between 2011 and 2018, the northbound completion rate ranged from 19 to 27 percent, and the southbound rate from 27 to 30 percent.

  Most people walk north from Georgia to Maine, starting in early spring and following the warm weather. They are called NOBOs, or GAMEs, and those heading south are SOBOs, or MEGAs. A thru-hike generally takes five to seven months, though some have done it in three. Hikers sort themselves into informal groups. "Purists" follow the white blazes and leave them only for shelters and campsites. "Blue Blazers" cut miles by taking blue-blazed side trails. The usually pejorative label "Yellow Blazers," a nod to yellow road stripes, goes to those who hitchhike up or down the trail. The Conservancy calls anyone who finishes a "2000 Miler." It gives thru-hikers and section-hikers equal recognition, runs on the honor system, and as of 2018 counted more than 19,000 people.

  The record of firsts is tangled. In 1936, six Boy Scouts from New York City and their guides were reported to have completed a 121-day thru-hike from Maine to Georgia, funded by a veterans' group. The Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association accepted it much later. In 1948, Earl Shaffer of York, Pennsylvania, publicized the first claimed thru-hike. Critics later pointed out that he had skipped significant portions with shortcuts and car rides. Shaffer later claimed the first north-to-south thru-hike as well, but Chester Dziengielewski was named the first southbound thru-hiker. In 1998, Shaffer hiked the trail again at nearly 80, making him the oldest claimant up to that time.

  Peace Pilgrim was the first woman to walk the trail in a single season, in 1952. In 1955-67-year-old Emma Gatewood became the first solo woman to finish, northbound, in 146 days. She repeated the feat two years later and section-hiked the trail in 1964.

  Speed attempts fall into two classes. Supported runners travel light with a crew providing food, shelter and medical care. Tara Dower finished southbound on the 21st of September 2024 in 40 days, 18 hours and 5 minutes. Karel Sabbe went northbound on the 29th of August 2018 in 41 days, 7 hours and 39 minutes. Among self-supported hikers, Jeff "Legend" Garmire finished southbound on the 21st of September 2025 in 45 days, 8 hours and 37 minutes. Heather "Anish" Anderson did it southbound on the 24th of September 2015 in 54 days, 7 hours and 48 minutes.

  The Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail together form the Triple Crown of long-distance hiking. Brian Robinson was the first to finish all three in a single year, in 2001. In 2018, Anderson became the first woman to do so in one calendar year.

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• 8. Beyond the Terminus

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  Forillon National Park, on Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula, marks the end of a 1,900-mile route that begins at Mount Katahdin. This International Appalachian Trail runs northeast through New Brunswick. It is a separate trail and not an official extension of the A.T. Other branches cover parts of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and the western shore of Newfoundland, reaching the Atlantic near L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site. The route has since been extended to Greenland, Europe and Morocco.

  At the southern end, the Appalachian Mountains continue to Flagg Mountain in Alabama. In 2008, the Pinhoti National Recreation Trail, which ends at Flagg Mountain, was linked to the A.T. through the Benton MacKaye Trail. Promoters of the southern extension recall MacKaye's remark at the 1925 conference that the trail should one day reach Katahdin "and then to Birmingham, Alabama." The Pinhoti ends near Weogufka in Coosa County, 50 miles east of Birmingham. In 2010, the Alabama legislature created the Alabama Appalachian Mountain Trail Commission to supply state resources. Making the Pinhoti an official part of the A.T. would still require an act of the United States Congress.

  The 8.8-mile Approach Trail in Georgia starts at the visitor center of Amicalola Falls State Park and ends at Springer Mountain. Because Springer Mountain is remote, many northbound attempts begin there. Most of it was originally built as part of the A.T., before the southern terminus moved from Mount Oglethorpe to Springer Mountain in 1958. The Eastern Continental Trail also continues south into Alabama and Florida.

  Beginning in 2007, groups including the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the American Hiking Society began monitoring environmental changes from higher ozone levels, acid rain and smog. A 2007 study of hikers found most walk the trail for fun, enjoyment of life and warm relationships with others. A 2018 study found that around 95 percent of thru-hikers identified as white.

  Bill Bryson set his 1998 book A Walk in the Woods on the trail, and a 2015 film adaptation followed. In 2009, the phrase "hiking the Appalachian Trail" became a euphemism for an affair, after it was used as cover for Mark Sanford's whereabouts during his extramarital affair. That same year, North to Maine, a play about the trail and the thru-hikers who walk it, was staged.

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