Appalachian Trail

Northbound hikers on the Appalachian Trail reach the Kennebec River at mile 2037.6 (as of 2015.) This is the widest unbridged water crossing on the trail, 70 yards wide, with a swift and powerful current. As a result of upstream damn releases, …

What do all of these hikers have in common? Beside hiking the AT, we all contributed chapters to a new book published by Stackpole, called Hiker’s Stories from the Appalachian Trail. Amanda “Veggie” Redpath Amanda, Jarrod “Hansel” and Becca “Gretel” Schlenker  Bruce …

Hiking the Appalachian Trail, bit by bit, or section hiking, has taught me many lessons. Here are of few of the most important ones I’ve learned over the years. 1. The people make the Appalachian Trail. While the hiking and scenery along …

Gen dropped me off in Rockfish Gap at the bottom of the access trail to Shenandoah National Park (SNP) and I started hiking up the train to the self-registration kiosk, about a mile away. This section of trail was about 110 miles …

Anyone who says the Virginia doesn’t have rocks is a liar. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear that the stretch of trail from Rt 60 (outside Buena Vista, VA) to Rockfish Gap (outside of Waynesboro) was really in New Hampshire. Gary, …

“I don’t think we’re going to make it to Sunset Field,” I said, to Ken, my trail shuttle driver. The mist on the Blue Ridge Parkway was so thick there was no way we’d make it over Apple Orchard Mountain. “Let me …

“A hiker that can’t eat is a hiker who can’t hike,” said Ken Wallace, the trail shuttle driver who’d come and fetched me off the Appalachian Trail just below Apple Orchard Mountain. After a two days of a stomach bug, I was …

Resupply and Mail Drops Mail drops are a common way for long distance hikers to resupply on a long hike. Thankfully, post offices here in the states and abroad will hold packages for pickup by hikers and people who are just passing …

This backpacking gear list is for a three week Appalachian Trail section hike I’ll be taking from mid-April through early May, starting in northern Virginia and heading north. I’m not exactly sure what how much mileage I’ll cover but it should be somewhere …

My friend Martin from England is a serious hiker and backpacker with many big UK walks under his belt. Having just finished hiking the 100 Mile Wilderness together (which as epic), I decided that I’d take him for a jaunt up Mt Washington …

When Benton Mackaye first proposed the Appalachian Trail (see An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning), he envisioned a place where urban workers could spend their free time outdoors in order to recuperate from the drudgery of factory life. However, if …

Hiking in the Northeastern United States? Then you better get used to hiking on tree roots because we have a lot of trees! Seriously, hiking on tree roots can be quite a surprise if you’re not used to them. They get really …

The Maine Appalachian Trail is a tough, tough place to hike. There are lots of mountains and mud and rocks and roots, but the weather is just so unpredictable and nasty! I got a taste of that (again) when I backpacked from …

History’s Lessons for Today’s World I love the history behind the Appalachian Trail and how it came into being. It’s amazing how an army of volunteers and organizers coalesced behind Benton Mackaye’s original vision for the Appalachian Trail and established a trail …