Take a Hike

While getting out and breathing fresh spring air is always a good prescription, it seems especially attractive in 2021, as we begin finally venturing beyond our backyards. A safe, beautiful, nearby destination? For many, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail fits the description. 

It’s within an easy day’s drive for half the population in America, and it encompasses rivers, mountaintops, deciduous and coniferous forests, ponds and swamps, alpine meadows, and wildflower hillsides. It even embraces charming old Revolutionary War towns and picturesque farms, over 14 eastern states: Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. More than three million people hike at least some of the trail each year.

Depending on your geographic perspective, the Appalachian Trail either begins in Georgia, on 3,782-foot Springer Mountain, and ends in Maine, or the other way around. When I was growing up in New England, my conceit was that the famous trail started on Mount Katahdin, overlooking the green forests and northern lakes scattered around Baxter State Park. I climbed to the top of Mount Katahdin when I was 15, and my favorite backpacking meal was instant Kraft macaroni and cheese. Now you can serve up freeze-dried tortellini with rehydrated chunks of lobster.

McAfee Knob At sunset with Hiker

The Appalachian Trail is the longest designated walk in the world. If you’re planning to hike the whole 2,190 miles in one go—a bucket-list goal for many serious backpackers—keep in mind that only one in four who start out make it, and many who don’t are experienced and fit hikers. 

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On the other hand, the number who do succeed has risen substantially over time. As recently as the 1960s, only 38 people completed the long trek up the spine of America’s oldest mountain range each year; now more than 10,000 do it annually, and they come from all over the world. Most are youngsters to 50-year-olds, but two in their 80s once completed the hike and became prideful “2,000-milers.” 

A.T. in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Plan on living out-of-pack for five to seven months. That means following expert advice and packing light, with top-grade modern equipment, including a highly portable tent, a warm and lightweight sleeping bag, and clothing to withstand the stormy weather you’ll inevitably encounter, especially at elevation. There are plenty of towns along the way where you can resupply. Or call Uber Eats.

Experts recommend that you start your grand adventure among the lovely blossoming dogwood and redbud in Georgia, in April, where the pleasant, warm springtime is far ahead of still-icy northern Maine. This will put you on a trajectory to end at mile-high Katahdin (just 11 feet shy of 5,280 feet, to be exact) before frost strips the maples of their blazing red and yellow leaves come October.

A less physically demanding and, for many, much more feasible alternative would be to explore a discrete section of the Appalachian Trail—an adventure that might take you several days or, at most, a couple of weeks. You can station a second vehicle at your selected destination trailhead, or pay to have your vehicle shuttled forward and waiting for you. 

The trail is managed by the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the nonprofit Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The latter, which is based at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, is an excellent source of useful maps and everything you need to know about experiencing this crown of footpaths in the East. 

Myron Avery at Katahdin circa 1933

A Bit of History

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the conception of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. 

In 1921 Benton MacKaye, a professional forester and professor at Harvard, wrote a grand proposal titled An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning, in which he envisioned a skyline pathway for hikers and nature lovers stretching from New Hampshire’s Mount Washington to Mount Mitchell in North Carolina—a public outdoor oasis for the increasing masses of the eastern cities equivalent to the vast wilderness parks and forest lands of the West. The leafy corridor would link existing trails established by the Appalachian Mountain Club in Massachusetts and the Green Mountain Club in Vermont and expand southward. 

“Life for two weeks on the mountaintop would show up many things about life during the other 50 weeks down below,” MacKaye wrote. Away from the heat and sweat of industrialized lives, there would be “a chance to catch a breath, to study the dynamic forces of nature….Industry would come to be seen in its true perspective—as a means in life and not an end in itself.”