Creating the Appalachian Trail, America’s Footpath

By | January 4, 2019

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A hiker hikes along a section of the Appalachian Trail on Sunday, August 6, 2017. Source: (Staff photo by Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

Outdoor adventurers, hikers, thrill-seekers, and people looking to escape the modern world have the ultimate bucket-list destination…the Appalachian Trail. The 2,175 continuous footpath winds through 14 U.S. states and extends from Mount Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia. Like the trail itself, the history of the Appalachian Trail is long and diverse. It began with an idealist in a tree in 1921 and ends with the final land acquisition just a few years ago. 

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Benton MacKaye. Source: (thetrek.co)

The Trail was the Brainchild of an Idealistic Forester

Benton MacKaye, the first forester for the U.S. Forest Service, according to legend, was sitting in a tree on Stratton Mountain in Vermont, dreaming of a vast Utopian wilderness trail flanked by farming camps and idyllic communities. He viewed this plan as a refuge from the crowds and bustle of the big East Coast cities. He formally proposed his idea in the October 1921, issue of the Journal of the American Institute of Architects. A columnist for a prominent New York newspaper supported the idea and wrote about the proposed trail numerous times, building support for the project.