What is the Appalachian Trail?
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 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. The Trail passes through parts of 14 states and includes more than 90 miles of elevation change over its full course. Because of ongoing relocations (largely designed to reroute the Trail onto public lands) the length of the Trail changes every year. 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 Vermo
The Appalachian Trail is a 2,160 mile, well marked, uninterrupted trail along America’s eastern coast. It winds its way thru 14 states along the Appalachian Mountains. The trail was originally the route thru the mountains from one town to another . The trail grew longer and longer as people from each town made new routes to other towns. Eventually, the trail grew some 2,000 miles from Maine to Georgia The trail itself was the idea of visionary Benton Mackaye, (an architect from the 1920’s) though todays trail is much longer than he had envisioned. Mackaye formed the Appalachian Trail Conference(A.T.C.) in 1925, and with friends, petitioned to have trail construction begun. In 1935 more than 1,900 miles of trail had been completed. The first man to complete the entire trail was Myron Avery (A.T.C.President for 20 years). The trail (only 2,025 miles in 1936) is longer today, and is maintained by various non-profit organizations and clubs along the trails length from state to state.
