Appalachian Trail

Appalachian Trail
Length: 2,172 miles.
Completion: 100 percent.
Terrain: Forests, mountains.
Highlights: Best of the eastern U.S.
For more information: Appalachian Trail Conference, 799 Washington Street
P.O. Box 807, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425-0807 Phone: (304) 535-6331, www.appalachiantrail.org

Even the name sounds 2,000 miles long.

The Appalachian Trail stretches through more than a dozen states, from Springer Mountain, Georgia, to Mt. Katahdin, Maine. From its southernmost point, just outside Atlanta, the trail passes through the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, along the Appalachians and the Blue Ridge ranges, and through Shenandoah National Park, Bear Mountain State Park and Green Mountain National Forest.

The trail is situated near the populous cities of Knoxville, Baltimore, Harrisburg, Allentown, New York and Albany. It’s easily accessed from Washington D.C., Boston and Philadelphia, making it popular with city-bound day hikers. More than 150 million Americans live within a day’s drive from some portion of the Appalachian Trail.

“…the Appalachian Trail, a ridiculous footpath 2,000 miles long, running the length of the Appalachian Mountains, up and down a thousand peaks, in and out of a thousand valleys, across a thousand meadows, through a thousand forest glades…the idea—the idea!—of some year actually getting into harness and walking the entire Trail has always haunted me at the back of my mind. It’s one of those outdoor dream adventures we all dream and very few have the nerve to realize.”

–Edward Abbey, 1977

In Connecticut, the AT ascends into the rugged Taconic Mountains to the top of Bear Mountain (2,136 feet), the state’s highest summit. Eighty-five miles of AT travel the western edge of Massachusetts, touring the Taconic Mountains and the Berkshires. The AT winds 157 miles through the heart of the White Mountains, offering some of the most dramatic views in all of New England. A glorious and rugged final stretch of the AT extends 274 miles across Maine to trail’s end on mighty Mt. Katahdin.

Many of the New England segments of the Appalachian Trail offer great day hikes. Feeder trails leading from well-signed trailheads connect to the AT and offer hikers the opportunity to tailor outings to time and abilities.

The terrain ranges from bare mountains to heavily forested valleys; foliage from delicate wildflowers to stands of spruce and fir, poplars, and hemlocks. Hikers step back in time along this “footpath through the wilderness” across a land called Chattachoochee, Nantahala, Manassas and by many other Indian names.

Because it extends along the ridgeline of a number of mountain ranges, the hiking can be slow-going on the steepest ascents and descents. Nevertheless, the A.T. is well traveled. Few hike it from end to end, but many dream of the challenge.

More than 200 shelters, ranging from simple lean-tos to beautifully built wooden structures welcome hikers. These accommodations are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Hostels are located in some of the towns along the trail.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail—and writing about it—has spawned a small industry all its own. There are a few dozen reminiscences of hikers who have hiked solo or on their honeymoon, to detailed trail guides. Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, a hilarious account of the author’s travels on the AT was a bestseller, and a movie as well.

At the dawn of the 20th century, New England hikers were already dreaming of a long distance trail over the Appalachian crest. Massachusetts hiker Benton MacKaye, a planner by trade, formalized the idea of an Appalachian Trail as the centerpiece of a vast greenbelt, a sanctuary from hectic Eastern urban life, such as it was in 1921.

The old pioneer opened through the forest a path for the spread of civilization. Now comes the great task of holding this life in check–for it is just as bad to have too much urbanization as too little. It is just as vital today to open up our overcrowded areas as it was a century ago to open up the overwooded areas. Hence the Appalachian Trail.

–BENTON MACKAYE, founder of the Appalachian Trail, 1879—1975

Hiking clubs and volunteer groups were quick to embrace MacKaye’s plan, and pro-trail forces soon coalesced with the founding of the Appalachian Trail Conference in 1925. The politically savvy group secured the cooperation of the Forest Service and National Park Service from the beginning. Thanks to tremendous efforts at route finding and trail-building during the 1920s and 1930s, and a mighty assist from Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps crews, a continuous trail opened in the summer of 1937.

Alas, assorted natural disasters, a road-building fervor and the considerable distraction of World War II and its aftermath put a damper on hiking the AT and it was not until the 1950s that hikers made widespread use of a now signed and realigned route.

The Appalachian Trail follows the ridge crests and traverses the major valleys of the Appalachian Mountains from Springer Mountain in north Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. The trail winds its way through Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.