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View of the Appalachian Trail at the top of Peter’s Mountain on the border of Virginia and West Virginia. Photo by Smithh05 on

Appalachian Mountain Trail: 10 Things you Should Know

The Appalachian Mountain Trail is a hiking trail that is located in the Eastern United States and extends almost 2,200 miles (3,540 kilometres) between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. This trail passes through fourteen major states in the United States. The trail鈥檚 conservators, Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) claim that the Appalachian Trail is the longest hiking-only trail in the world.

The Appalachian Mountain Trail idea was conceived by Benton MacKaye. Benton MacKaye was a forester who wrote his original plan known as 鈥淎n Appalachian Trail, A Project in Regional Planning鈥� shortly after the death of his wife in 1921. The idea of MacKaye was purposely for a grand trail that would connect a series of farms and wilderness work and study camps for city-dwellers along the Appalachian Mountains from the highest point in the North, Mount Washington and the highest in the south, Mount Michelle.

MacKaye鈥檚 idea of the Mountain Trail was publicised by Raymond Torrey with a story in the New York Evening Post under a full-page banner headline, 鈥淎 Great Trail from Maine to Georgia!鈥� Each year, more than three million people hike segments of the Appalachian Trail. Here are the ten things you should know about the Appalachian Mountain Trail:

1. The Idea of The Trail was Conceived by a Man After His Wife鈥檚 Death

The Appalachian Mountain Trail was an idea conceived by Benton MacKaye who was a forester. His original plan was known as An Appalachian Trail, A Project in Regional Planning that he brought up after his wife had died in 1921. The idea of Benton was to have a grand trail that would begin from the highest point on Mount Washington in New Hampshire to the highest point on Mt Mitchell in North Carolina.

It was to connect a series of farms and wilderness for work and study camps moreover for those people who dwelled in the city along the Appalachian Mountains. A year later, the idea of Benton MacKaye was aired to the public by Raymond Torrey with the story being published in the New York Evening Post with a full-page banner headline that read, 鈥淎 Great Trail from Maine to Georgia!鈥� Hiking was not the major thought Benton but the Trail later turned out to be a hiking trail.

2. The First Solo Woman To Complete a Trek was 62 Years in 146 Days, She Repeated the Trek Twice

The Appalachian Trail, which leads over 2,100 miles from Maine to Georgia, is seen here between Clingmans Dome and Double Springs Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Photo by Scott Basford on  

In 1936, the first person to walk through the trail was Myron Avery. Several other people took part in walking through the Appalachian Mountain Trail after it was officially established. A hurricane damaged a greater part of the trail in 1938 but was restored later and many people continued walking through the trail.

The first woman who walked through the Appalachian Mountain Trail in a single season was Peace Pilgrim in 1952 but her record was broken later. In 1955, a 67 years old Emma Gatewood became the first solo woman to complete the hike on the Appalachian Mountain Trail.

Emma Gatewood took 146 days to complete the northbound trek but this was not her final stop. She decided to repeat her achievement of solo trekking two years later and again in 1963 when she was seventy-five years old.

3. Trail Volunteers Worked with NPS to Map a Permanent Route for the Trail

In the first years after commissioning the trail, there were several challenges the Appalachian Trail Conservancy faced. Maintaining the trail, ensuring that there is good mapping and protecting it were major challenges that were faced initially. Political leaders and local leaders helped in ensuring that the trail was protected.

Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson was one of the big supporters of helping to protect the trail route. The National Trails System Act of 1968 designated Appalachian Trail as the first national scenic trail alongside the Pacific Crest Trail.

Trail volunteers worked alongside the National Park Service (NPS) to come up with a permanent route map for the Trail. NPS completed the purchase of all but a few miles of the Appalachian Mountain Trail.

4. Appalachian Trail is 3,540 Km Long With Extensions in Europe and Africa

Mount Guyot in the Great Smoky Mountains, looking south from the Appalachian Trail. Photo by Brian Stansberry on

The Appalachian Mountain Trail is among the longest hiking-only trail in the world that stretches for several kilometres. It is three thousand five hundred and forty kilometres passing between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. There is an international Appalachian Trail which is a 3,100-kilometre extension running northeast from Maine into New Brunswick ending at Forillon National Park.

However, this is a separate trail which has not been officiated as the Appalachian. Part of this international Appalachian Trail extends to Greenland, Europe and Morocco.

5. Bicycles, Horses and Pack Animals are Prohibited on the Trail

Some hikers love going to trails with their bicycles, riding horses and some with pack animals. However, hiking on the Appalachian Mountain Trail is different as hikers are expected to be on their feet to enjoy the longest trek.

Bicycles, horses and pack animals are prohibited from most of the Appalachian Mountain Trail with the reason for this prohibition of horses and pack animals being that they can be destructive to the well-kept trail by hard-working volunteers. However, animals and bicycles are allowed in the sections that follow the C&O Canal in Maryland and the Virginia Creeper Trail. Some short segments of the Appalachian Trail were built to ADA accessibility standards for wheelchair use.

6. There are Various Markers on the Trail for Navigation

Close to Hungry Mother State Park, you can also experience a section of the Appalachian Trail. Photo by vastateparksstaff on

Many people who have never hiked on the trail might have questions about how hikers go around without getting lost during the trek. The question is simple, for easier navigation without getting lost on the course, various markers lead adventurous hikers.

The Appalachian Mountain Trail is marked by white paint blazes which are 2 by 6 inches throughout its length. They help hikers stay on the course of the trail and not wander off the course and get lost.

Blue-shaped blazes are also used to lead hikers to shelters, viewpoints and parking areas. Initially, metal diamond markers with the AT logo were used with few of them surviving till the present day.

7. Hikers Trek Through 14 Major States of the United States

Initially, the Appalachian Trail used to traverse many hundreds of miles of private property but in the present day, 99 per cent of the trail is public. The trail usually passes through fourteen states.

Appalachian Mountain Trail begins in Georgia which has one hundred and twenty-one kilometres of trail. The Trail In Georgia includes the southern terminus at Springer Mountain at an elevation of 3,782 feet. The highest point of the trail in Georgia is at 4461 feet on Blue Ridge Mountain. In North Carolina, the trail is 154 kilometres not including more than 320 km along the Tennessee state line.

It enters from Georgia at Bly Gap, ascending peaks such as Standing Indian Mountain, Mount Albert and Wayah Bald. The trail goes on by Nantahala Outdoor Centre which is located at the Nantahala River Gorge and the Nantahala River crossing. Appalachian Trail then passes through Tennessee which has 114 km, not including the more than 320 km along the North Carolina state line.

The highest point of the trail in Tennessee runs just below the summit of Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park along the North Carolina and Tennessee state line at 6,643 feet. In Virginia, the trail is 885.6 km which includes more than 32 km along the West Virginia state line.

Passing through the Virginia trail is usually challenging to northbound thru-hikers due to the climate as the section gets wet because of the spring thaw and heavy spring rainfall. West Virginia is another state that the Appalachian Trail passes through. Here, there is 6.4 km of the trail excluding 32 km along the Virginia state line.

The trail goes through the town of Harpers Ferry which is the headquarters of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The psychological midpoint of the trail鈥檚 length is the Harpers Ferry although the actual midpoint of the trail is about 121 km further north in southern Pennsylvania. Maryland has 66 km of the Appalachian Mountain Trail with elevations ranging from 70 to 573 metres.

The majority of the trail runs along the ridgeline of South Mountain in South Mountain State Park where hikers are required to stay at designated shelters and campsites. The Appalachian Mountain Trail also passes through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire and ends in Maine.

8. Hikers Can Encounter Friendly and Vicious Animals along The Trail

Deer fawns on the Appalachian Trail, August 2018. Photo by Chalice Keith on

Hikers have had encounters with various species of animals along the Appalachian Mountain with some being friendly animals that do not attack humans. The American black bear is among the largest animals on the trail but they rarely confront hikers. Bear sightings are not that common except in Shenandoah National Park and portions of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Some hazardous animals along the trail are venomous snakes which include the Eastern timber rattlesnake and copperhead. The good thing is that they are found in drier, rockier sections of the Appalachian Mountain Trail. The copperhead鈥檚 range extends north to the New Jersey-New York state line while the rattlesnakes are found in Connecticut and as far north as New Hampshire.

Large mammals which hikers come across include deer, elk which were reintroduced in the Smoky Mountains and moose which are found in the vicinity of Massachusetts. Small mammals along the trail include beaver, squirrel, river otter, chipmunk, porcupine, bobcat, two fox species, boar, woodchuck, raccoon and coyote. The bird species hikers come across include wild turkey, ruffed grouse, mourning dove, raven, two species of Eagle, wood duck, three species of owl, warblers and three species of hawk.

9. There are Several Campsites for Hikers Along the Trail

Many people who have never hiked along the Appalachian Mountain Trail might have worries about where hikers spend their nights while on the trek. The answer is simple, there are several campsites along the trail to provide shelter for the hikers. Most hikers do carry a lightweight tent, tent hammock or tarp which they use while on their hiking trek.

There are more than two fifty shelters and campsites that are available for hikers which have various names like lean-tos in Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut, huts in Shenandoah National Park or Adirondack shelters. They are generally open, three-walled structures with the wooden floor but some shelters have more complex structures. The shelters are usually spaced a day鈥檚 hike or less apart and are usually located near a water source and with a privy. These sections have spaces for tent sites as some might get full while some hikers might prefer sleeping in their tents rather than in the shelters.

At these shelter points, full-service lodging and meals are offered to the hikers during the winter months. The Fontana Dam Shelter in North Carolina is commonly known as the Fontana Hilton because of its decent amenities including flushable toilets and the proximity to an all-you-can-eat buffet and a post office. The self-service season is available during the fall which extends through spring and winter in several AMC huts.

10. The Appalachian Trail is Relatively Safe but There are Some Hazards Encountered

View From Cat Rocks On The Appalachian Trail. Photo by Chenda Ngak on

The Appalachian Mountain Trail is considered relatively safe for hikers who want to trek through it. However, most hikers have got injured in incidents that are consistent with comparable outdoor activities. Some of the hazards encountered by hikers are related to weather conditions, human error, plants, animals, diseases and hostile humans encountered along the rare trail.

The bears, snakes and wild boars majorly pose the greatest threat to the safety of hikers. The huge number of rodents and bugs along the trail pose the threat of exposing hikers to illnesses. Some fewer scenarios are instances of foxes, raccoons and other small animals which might bite the hikers and pose the risk of rabies and other diseases. In 1993, there was one case of hantavirus, a rare but dangerous rodent-borne disease which affects the lungs that one hiker contracted but he fully recovered and hiked the trail thereafter.

One of the major considerations for hikers is the weather. The best hiking season on the Appalachian Trail starts in mid-to-late spring when the conditions are more favourable in the south. Temperatures can soar up to extremes of 38 鈦癈, there are spells of low temperatures, strong winds, hail or snow storms as well as prolonged rainfall that undermine stamina and reduce supplies.

Learn more about the 15 facts about the Appalachian Mountain Trail here.