About the Appalachian Trail

Before I get into blog posts about my preparation, I would like to present a bit of information about the Appalachian Trail (the A.T.) itself. Who, What, Where, When, Why, How type of stuff.

Benton MacKaye

The Appalachian Trail was conceived of in 1921 by a man named Benton MacKaye (pronounced to rhyme with “sky”). In a journal, he published an article called An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning. It described a series of shelters and community groups (work/study camps and food/farming camps). These would be connected together by a footpath through the Appalachian Mountains. He envisioned the plan as creating an environment where urban city dwellers could come to escape the rat race of city life. In an increasingly industrialized civilization, it would be a place for people to re-connect with and learn about nature.

Myron Avery

MacKaye’s plan generally went nowhere until a man named Myron Avery read MacKaye’s article. Although MacKaye’s philosophies regarding rampant urbanization did not resonate with Avery, the idea of a continuous footpath through the Appalachian Mountains did. He began assembling a small army of volunteer trail maintainers and builders, many of them coming from already existing local hiking clubs. Avery was known for being demanding, but fair – he’d never ask others to do something he would not do himself. His relentless drive and determination paid off. In 1937, just 16 years after MacKaye’s article was published, The Appalachian Trail was declared complete.

The resulting fusion of these two different persons creates quite an interesting origin story for the A.T. MacKaye had the vision, while Avery had the drive, determination and connections to make it happen. Sadly, Avery’s tireless effort resulted in many broken friendships – including that of MacKaye himself. It has been said that Avery created two trails; one of broken friendships and one through the mountains.

At the time, and some say still, the realization of the A.T. was the single largest volunteer effort ever undertaken. The governance of the trail is a fascinating combination of government/private partnership. At present, federal agencies own 99% of the actual land occupied by the trail, while a non-profit organization maintains and promotes the trail. That organization is called the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, or ATC for short.

Today, the A.T. is enjoyed by many different types of hikers. We have Day Hikers who live (or travel) close to a trail head. They will drive, park and go for a day hike along a portion of the A.T. Many of those day hikes are in pursuit of superior views from the mountain tops. Then we have Section Hikers who enjoy the A.T. by hiking and camping for several continuous days. Finally, we have Thru Hikers who attempt the entire length of the A.T. in one go. Only about 25% of attempted thru-hikes are successful. Will I be one of them?

A lot of MacKaye’s vision resonates with me. I have taken many weekend backpacking/camping trips in my life.  A common thread through all of them is that I feel rejuvenated after spending some time in nature. Even though I bring modern conveniences with me into the forest, there is still something that “feels right” about being out in nature. Perhaps it is just a difference of environment. Perhaps it is re-inventing daily activities, tailored for camp. But perhaps there is some energy between us and nature which is missing while dwelling in the cities.