Date: 2010-03-14
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The Appalachian Trail (the Trail, the AT) is a National Scenic Trail following the crest of the Appalachian Mountains over 2000 miles from Springer Mt in Georgia to Mt Katahdin in Central Maine. The Trail passes through parts of 14 states and includes more than 90 miles of elevation change over its full course. The product of a unique public-private partnership, the Trail was formally proposed in 1921 by Boston planner, Benton McKaye. A network of individuals and local hiking clubs began work the following year, and the final section of the Trail was completed by Civilian Conservation Corp crews on Sugarloaf Mountain, ME in 1937. When the AT was completed in 1937 the Trail was officially 2038 miles long. In 2002 the Appalachian Trail was officially 2,168.8 miles long (about 2,172 miles as-walked). Following recent reroutes in Tennessee, Maryland and Vermont the total mileage became an official published length of 2174.6 miles for 2005-2006, because of ongoing relocations (largely designed to reroute the Trail onto public lands) the length of the Trail changes every year. Although the AT is a designated National Park Service site, it is overseen by the private, non-profit Appalachian Trail Conservancy and a network of regional hiking clubs and individual volunteers. The trail is currently protected along more than 99% of its course by federal or state ownership of the land or by right-of-way. The trail is maintained by a variety of citizen organizations, environmental advocacy groups, governmental agencies and individuals. HIKING THE APPALACHIAN TRAILInitially though impossible by many of the AT's planners, in 1948 the entire length of the Trail (then 2044 mi) was first hiked in a single season ("thru hiked") by a recently demobilized Pacific War veteran name Earl Shaffer. Several thousand people have followed in Earl's steps, and even more have completed the Trail over a period of years ("section hiking"). In 1998 Mr. Shaffer, nearly 80 years old, again hiked the entirety of the trail.Trail hikers who attempt to complete the entire trail in a single season are called "thru-hikers"; those who traverse the trail during a series of separate trips are known as "section-hikers". Rugged terrain and cold weather during the spring and fall make thru-hiking difficult. Most thru-hikers walk northward from Georgia to Maine, and generally start out in early spring and follow the warm weather as it moves north. These "north-bounders" are also called NOBO (NOrthBOund) or GAME (Georgia(GA)-to-Maine(ME)), while those heading in the opposite direction are termed "south-bounders" (also SOBO or MEGA).Traditionally, only about 10% to 15% of those who make the attempt report to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy that they completed it. However, since 2001, the number of people starting out in Georgia to do a thru-hike (or at least registering to do so) has dropped considerably, yet the number of people reporting that they have completed a thru-hike has remained approximately the same. This has resulted in an apparent increase in the completion rate to 29% (as of 2006). The ranger¢s station at Amicalola Falls (the beginning of the 8.3-mile (13.4 km) approach trail to Springer Mountain changed the policy on hiker registration at about the same time.As the Appalachian Trail was explicitly designed to be hiked, it includes resources to facilitate hikers. Some are common to trails throughout North America, while some are unique to the Appalachian Trail. The trail is much more frequently hiked south to north (i.e. Georgia to Maine) than vice versa. Hikers typically begin in March or April and finish in late summer or early to late fall of that particular year. Many hikers will break down the mileage into halves or thirds, so that they can have the best weather, which typically occurs between May and September.The trail has more than 250 shelters and camp sites available for hikers. The shelters, sometimes called lean-tos are generally open, three-walled structures with a wooden floor, although some shelters are much more complex in structure. Shelters are usually spaced a day's hike or less apart, most often near a water source (which may be dry) and with a privy. They generally have spaces for tent sites in the vicinity. Shelters are generally maintained by local volunteers. The trail crosses many roads, thus providing ample opportunity for hikers to hitchhike into town for food and other supplies. Many trail towns are accustomed to hikers passing through, and thus many have hotels and hiker-oriented accommodations. Some of the most well-known trail towns are Monson, Maine; Harpers Ferry, West Virginia; Damascus, Virginia; Hot Springs, North Carolina; Erwin, Tennessee; Duncannon, Pennsylvania; Port Clinton, Pennsylvania; and Hanover, New Hampshire. In the areas of the trail closer to trail towns, many hikers have experienced what is sometimes called "trail magic," or assistance from strangers through kind actions, gifts, and other forms of encouragement. Trail magic is sometimes done anonymously. In other instances, persons have provided food and cooked for hikers at a campsite.The Appalachian Trail at a Glance¢¢        The Appalachian Trail, completed in 1937¢¢        Is a privately managed unit of the national park system¢¢        Is the nation's longest marked footpath, at approximately 2,178 miles ¢¢        Is the first completed national scenic trail, designated in 1968¢¢        Crosses six other units of the national park system¢¢        Traverses eight national forests¢¢        Touches 14 states               Georgia has 75 miles (120 km) of the trail               North Carolina has 88 miles (142 km) of the trail               Tennessee has 293 miles (472 km) of the trail               Virginia has 550 miles (885 km) of the trail               West Virginia has 4 miles (6 km) of the trail               Maryland has 41 miles (66 km) of the trail               Pennsylvania has 229 miles (369 km) of the trail               New Jersey has 72 miles (116 km) of the trail               New York has 88 miles (142 km) of trail               Connecticut has 52 miles (84 km) of the trail               Massachusetts has 90 miles (145 km) of trail               Vermont has 150 miles (241 km) of the trail               New Hampshire has 161 miles (259 km) of the trail               Maine has 281 miles (452 km) of trail ¢¢        Houses more than 2,000 occurrences of rare, threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant and animal species at about 535 sites¢¢        Crosses numerous state and local forests and parks¢¢        Is maintained by 30 trail clubs and multiple partnerships Fun facts about the Appalachian Trail¢¢        Lowest elevation: 124 feet ¢ near the Trailside Museum and Zoo at Bear Mountain, New York ¢¢        Highest elevation: 6,625 feet ¢ on Clingmans Dome in Tennessee ¢¢        There are 165,000 blazes along the length of the Trail.¢¢        More than 10,000 people have reported hiking the length of the Trail¢¢        It takes approximately 5 million footsteps to walk the entire length of the Trail ¢¢        More than 6,000 volunteers contribute about 200,000 hours to the Appalachian Trail every year