The Appalachian Trail is a 2190 mile trail. The distance of the trail can change annually due to reroutes, with the southernmost terminus being Springer Mountain Ga. Katatdin Mountain in Baxter State Park, Maine, is the northern terminus. The AT passes through 14 states. Virginia is the longest at approximately 550 miles. West Virginia has the least miles at approximately 4 miles. West Virginia houses the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harper’s Ferry. Kuwohi Mountain, formerly known as Clingmans Dome, is the highest elevation on the trail at 6643 ft.
The AT was conceived by forester Benton Mackaye in 1921. Mackaye’s vision was a “super-trail” acting as a refuge from industrialization. Myron Avery took over the leadership of the AT conference in the 1930s. Avery pushed for a strictly hiking focused trail. This put him at odds with Mackaye who had a more philosophical vision. The first section was completed in 1923 at Bear Mountain, New York. The complete trail was finished in 1937 by the Civilian Conservation Corp.
Earl Shaffer completed the first thru hike of the AT in 1946, proving that the trail was viable as a single journey. Before Shaffer, hikers would only hike sections at a time. Grandma Gatewood in 1955, at the age of 67, became the first woman to thru-hike the AT. Gatewood did her hike with minimal equipment. Her journey brought massive publicity to the trail.
Today the trail is managed by the National Park Service, USDA Forrest Service, local state agencies, and The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC). There are over 4000 volunteers that help with the maintenance of the trail.
There were 3000 to 3500 hikers that attempted to thru-hike the AT in 2025. According to the ATC about 850 finished the 2190 miles. The ATC ask that over night hikers, section and thru-hikers register their hikes so they can gain valuable insight into trail use trends, although you are not required to register your hikes. Thru-hikers can pickup a thru-hiker hang tag which helps to provide essential data to the ATC. Fellow thru-hikers also identify each other through these tags.
The original concept of a thru-hike was a continuous journey from one end of the trail to the other. In the 21st century the requirement has been relaxed to recognize a thru-hike as a hike of the entire trail in a 12 month period.
I hope you found this blog informative and interesting. Look for my next post that will explain how hikers approach the epic journey of 2190 mile hike!
Nehemiah 9:6: “You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens… the earth and all that is on it… They all worship you”.
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