The Appalachian Trail straddles the Tennessee/North Carolina state line for hundreds of miles. A particularly scenic day hike on the AT is the four mile stretch from Newfound Gap to Charlies Bunion, a remote and rugged outcropping that sits on the ridge between the states. Along this sharp ridge you will pass magnificent views of the Carolina Smokies to the southeast,...
Learn MoreThe U.S. Forest Service announced the recent completion of work to repair the scenic Max Patch area of the Appalachian Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest. “Working with Forest Service personnel, dozens of volunteers donated close to 300 hours of service to help restore this popular site, and we’re grateful for their help,” said Acting District...
Learn MoreWhen Europeans go “backpacking,” many ditch the gear and stay in the rustic, ubiquitous—and full service—mountain hostels called “huts.” That experience is rare in the United States—but America’s premier hut system is 125 years old this year. Scattered for 56 miles along the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (view the interactive map) in New Hampshire’s White...
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About 99 percent of the Appalachian Trail resides in a protected corridor on National Park Service (NPS), National Forest Service or state-owned land. This lengthy acquisition process began back during the Johnson and Carter administrations. Every once in a while, for various reasons, the AT has to be moved — relocated — within the corridor. Moving a hiking trail from...
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The third class of honorees will be inducted into the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame on Friday, June 7, at the third annual Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Banquet at the Allenberry Resort in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania. Charter Class Hall of Fame honorees, elected in 2011, were Myron Avery, Gene Espy, Ed Garvey, Benton MacKaye, Arthur Perkins and Earl Shaffer. Members...
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They left Springer Mountain, Ga., on March 17, and for the first two weeks, the weather was miserable in ways they never imagined. During their first full day on the Appalachian Trail, they hiked into a severe thunderstorm that brought hail and tornado warnings. Nighttime temperatures dipped into the teens, and as they crossed the Georgia-North Carolina line, they...
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Registration is now open for the 2013 Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) Biennial conference, scheduled for July 19-26, at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. The event is hosted by the five southern Appalachian Trail (A.T.) maintaining clubs and convenes Trail managers, hikers, and fans to celebrate and conserve the iconic National Scenic Trail....
Learn MoreSevere norovirus outbreak on the Appalachian Trail between Hot Springs and Erwin, NC. 50% of hikers sick. Shelters and privies reported contaminated by sick hikers. Avoid the area or at least the shelter / public areas. The virus is transmitted by fecally-contaminated food or water; by person-to-person contact; and via aerosolization of the virus and subsequent...
Learn MoreArdenia Gaines knew she was in trouble. The weather had started to change as she hiked alone in the Appalachian Mountains in eastern Tennessee. Temperatures that March day had dipped into the 20s, winds were howling to 50 mph, and snow was falling. Gaines also knew that better conditions lay past the tip of the mountain, about 3 miles away. She was determined to make it...
Learn MoreFranklin, NC will celebrate its love for Appalachian Trail hikers with the annual April Fools Trail Days festival on Saturday, March 30, timed to coincide with the wave of A.T. hikers passing through the region at the beginning of their long journey to Maine. The day-long celebration in downtown Franklin will bring together hikers, locals and visitors, featuring...
Learn MoreDuring the next several weeks, thousands of people will leave from Springer Mountain in Georgia and begin the 2,184-mile trek to Maine along the Appalachian Trail. For some, the trip is a lifelong dream. They have meticulously planned what to bring, where to stop, how many miles they want walk each day. They have queued up their own resupply boxes, packed with fresh...
Learn MoreA public outcry of disgust helped the Forest Service wrangle at least some of the suspected off-road vandals destroying a beloved hiking spot along the Appalachian Trail. Tina Tilley, Appalachian District Ranger with the U.S. Forest Service, said that several individuals were issued citations for resource damage at Max Patch, a scenic mountain bald along the Appalachian...
Learn MoreA few hundred headstrong hikers complete the Appalachian Trail each year, and most end their journey at Millinocket to sign to a ceiling tile at the Appalachian Trail Cafe, as is tradition. It was no different for 8-year-old Asher Molyneaux of East Machias, who in 2010 became the second youngest hiker to walk the entire 2,200-mile footpath from Georgia to Maine. His...
Learn MoreIn his nearly 20 years as a volunteer Appalachian Trail maintainer at Max Patch, a beloved mountain bald in Madison County, NC, Dwayne Stutzman has never seen such brazen, senseless vandalism. “This is the first time we’ve had any bad situations up there,” said Stutzman, a volunteer trail maintainer with the Carolina Mountain Club, who lives with his wife in Asheville....
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A Knoxville-based hiking club has earned national recognition for making big improvements to the backcountry trail shelters in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Smoky Mountains Hiking Club’s backcountry shelter crew recently received the 2012 Southeast Regional George B. Hartzog Jr. Award for outstanding volunteer service based on the...
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The view from the Appalachian Trail in Avery County, NC just got a little sweeter, for centuries to come. The Asheville-based Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy recently purchased 260 acres visible from the Appalachian Trail and from the overlook at the Rhododendron Gardens on Roan Mountain, which sits on the North Carolina-Tennessee border. Located in the middle...
Learn MoreHikers of the Appalachian Trail (AT) have a new shelter where they can rest their bones. The U.S. Forest Service today announced the completion of the Long Branch Shelter, located in the Standing Indian Basin in the Nantahala National Forest. “Thanks to a lot of hard work and donations from partners, hikers of the AT can now seek shelter from the elements in a new...
Learn MoreOne aspect of the hike often not considered is the path itself. This, after all, is the fabled Appalachian Trail, which extends some 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine, and one takes for granted that even though the path rose and fell sharply with the undulating terrain – calling these sections “MUDs and PUDs” for “mindless ups and downs and pointless...
Learn MoreThe length of the Appalachian Trail, a famous footpath that spans from Georgia to Maine, is constantly changing. During this past hiking season, the official length was 2,184.2 miles. For many thru-hikers, it was 2,184 miles to mend blisters, create a trail name, meet challenges and explore the wilderness. But for one Maine couple, it was 2,184 miles to learn about each...
Learn MoreLong before the Puritans of the Plymouth Colony laid a lasting religious claim to the Appalachian peaks, Eastern Woodland Indians claimed those heights as the first residences of the supernatural beings of their religious traditions. Then the Puritans arrived. Colonists seeking religious independence from established churches and the religious mainstream moved into...
Learn MoreA river with a history of ferry boats and Civil War battles may one day provide a new route for hikers who finish the Appalachian Trail to continue south until they reach the Gulf of Mexico, a national conservation group says. Leaders envision the Chattahoochee River as a way to allow Appalachian Trail hikers to reach the Gulf either on trails along its banks or in a...
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The Trail to Every Classroom (TTEC) program is a professional development program for K-12 teachers that provides educators with the tools and training for place-based education and service-learning on the Appalachian Trail (A.T.). Launched in 2006, in partnership with the National Park Service, the program offers educators resources needed to engage their students in...
Learn MoreIt’s something most of us don’t often have the time or the courage to do, but one Middle Tennessee man gave up his job and home in exchange for a backpack, walking shoes and the open trail. Jim Boatwright spent the last five and a half months walking along the Continental Divide Trail from Mexico to Canada – a trip that spanned more than 2,700 miles....
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. My regular hiking companions have designated me the lead hiker, so I suppose that makes me the slowest Meanderthal. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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