The Appalachian Trail turns 80
There’s something about the Appalachian Trail — or AT, as it’s affectionately known by enthusiasts — that draws people to it, from day hikers, to section hikers who spend days, weeks, or even months traversing its sections’ ups and downs, to “through hikers” who hike the entire trail from start to finish.
“The AT is a place that balances me; it grounds me,” said section hiker Maureen Cacioppo of St. Petersburg, Fla., who has hiked parts of the trail in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine over the course of about 14 years. “I can reconnect with myself and Mother Nature.”
When Benton MacKaye revealed his proposal for “An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning” in October 1921 and established the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in 1925, he probably imagined just that — a place where people could get away from their daily surroundings and immerse themselves in nature.
Over the course of the following decade or so, conservancy leadership and volunteer clubs worked side by side,
and in August 1937 the roughly 2,190-mile-long footpath was complete from Maine to Georgia, passing through 14 states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. The trail is one of the longest continuously marked footpaths in the world.
According to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, which operates with a mission to preserve and manage the trail, an estimated 3 million people each year lace up their shoes, leave the comforts of their homes and hit the trail.
“In the 80 years since the Appalachian Trail first offered a continuous hike from Maine to Georgia, millions of individuals have been inspired by both the unique experience the trail provides and the legacy of volunteer commitment that is the heart and soul of the AT,” said Ron Tipton, president and CEO of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. “The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is proud to honor the visions of Benton MacKaye, Myron Avery and our 31 trail clubs that contribute more than 260,000 hours of volunteer time annually to ensure the trail’s vast natural beauty and priceless cultural heritage are preserved for future generations to enjoy.”
With hundreds of access points along its route, the trail is within a few hours’ drive for millions of Americans.
“I like to get outside whenever possible, and I have a great hiking buddy in my 6-year-old rescued chocolate Lab, Ellie,” said day hiker Kim Beatty of Alexandria, Va. “In just over an hour’s drive, we can be on a hike at Sky Meadows State Park in Delaplane, Va. There’s a section of the AT that you can pick up and it’s out of the way and pretty empty — just the way we like it.”
While day hikers make up most of the 3 million who enjoy the trail annually, more than 3,000 people attempt to through-hike the trail each year; about 25 percent succeed. According to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, most through hikers walk north, starting in Georgia in the spring and finishing in Maine in fall, taking an average of six months.
Donna Logan of Salem, Va., through-hiked the trail 10 years ago when she was in her late 50s.
“I love the solitude of hiking alone in the woods, but also the bonds that are instantly formed as you get to a shelter at night, and have to squeeze in to a group of hikers you may or may not know, to sleep shoulder to shoulder with each other,” said now-69-year-old Logan (trail name Signage). “But you have walked the same miles that day, and those shared experiences bond you together in ways I have not found anywhere else.”
When asked what drew Logan to hike the entire trail, she said, “I am not sure I can explain it but it never leaves me. We call it ‘White blaze fever,’ and I have had it for years. It is the way the trail makes you feel when you are on it.
“It becomes an entity such as a person you are in love with and you can’t seem to get it off of your mind,” Logan continued. “It becomes an obsession that is only satisfied when you put that pack on your back and take off for a day — or six months — to really feel the world around you.”
“You can’t rush on the AT,” added section hiker Maureen Cacioppo (trail name Mojo). “There’s a beautiful flow to long-distance hiking. You find your own rhythm; I don’t find that rhythm anywhere else in my life quite like I do on the trail.”