Bill and Laurie took the plural form of their last name “Foot” as their trail name when they through hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1987. Known as Happy Feet, the couple says the hike was life-changing and inspired them to give back to the AT. “We became trail maintainers, we served on the board of directors for our local club and we lead hikes and...
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The wilderness of the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail can pose many risks to its visitors. Getting hopelessly lost or falling ill, wild animals and dangerous weather are all possibilities. But no risk is so ominous as the humble tick. That is, at least, according to Matt Graves of the National Park Service. “You would think it would be things like wildlife, raging rivers...
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The predictable pattern of a 25% increase each year has remained steady despite Hollywood’s recent attempts to bring more people out into the wild. Only about half of these hopeful thru-hikers will make it to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and one quarter will make it to Katahdin. The impact of the crowds decreases as the masses thin, but the southern 500 miles of the...
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Ever wonder how trails are built? Yes, built. Don’t feel bad if you’ve never stopped to consider that most trails aren’t simply created by people and animals walking across the same paths over and over. Modern recreational trails are actually designed, built and maintained as joint projects between park managers, trail professionals, and trail volunteers. Adding to their...
Learn MoreExperts on the Appalachian Trail said a handful of hikers in the Southern Appalachian region have come down with a stomach bug, and it’s a little earlier than usual. This is an unfortunate annual tradition on the AT. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy said a handful of hikers in the Smokies have come down with the stomach bug, with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea,...
Learn MoreThe Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club (RATC), and the United States Forest Service announced the opening of an approximately 1-mile relocated section of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) near Pearisburg, Virginia. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Friday, March 18, 2016 at the A.T. trailhead near historic Pearis Cemetery along VA Route...
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The Appalachian Trail splits the states of North Carolina and Tennessee through most of the breadth of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Hugging the state line as it traverses the rugged and remote ridges, the AT is a favorite destination for day hikers and thru hikers alike. There is a three and a half mile stretch from Newfound Gap to the summit of Mt. Kephart, and...
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Now a research biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, stationed at Virginia Tech, Jeff Marion’s specialty is Recreation Ecology, meaning he studies visitor impact to protected natural areas and consults with land managers to make visitation sustainable. By his account, he is one of four such scientists actively conducting research in the U.S., and he has mentored...
Learn MoreA landmark on the Appalachian Trail has crumbled. The stone wall of a barn built around 1800 came down last week, according to Roy Brubaker, district forester of Michaux State Forest. Known, probably incorrectly, as the “Hessian barn” – the three-story wall was a well-known curiosity for hikers on the Maine-to-Georgia trail. The site is located on Michaux Road in...
Learn MoreThe Appalachian Trail platform on the Metro-North Rail Line is merely a whistle-stop in Pawling, NY but it is from here that hikers from the metropolitan New York region are able to directly step onto the Appalachian Trail. And while New York has the only whistle-stop on the entire Appalachian Trail, it is testimony to Metro-North’s commitment to hikers that it offers...
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This journal follows Chris Quinn, aka The Esteemed Stooge, Sir Charles Guilons on his thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2013. Starting atop Springer Mountain in Georgia, Sir Stooge makes his way over more than 2,100 miles of earth to summit the beautifully lonesome Mount Katahdin in Maine. Along the way, he meets some great friends: from Tangy and Munchies in Georgia...
Learn MoreThe trio of do-gooders — Seth Orme, Joe Dehnert, and Paul Twedt — named their effort the Packing It Out initiative. Their goal was the removal of more than 1,000 pounds of litter as they hiked from Georgia to Maine. They hit the trail in March, and by August 15th had met the goal. To remove this much debris they relied on the help and generosity of good samaritans who...
Learn MoreWith a hiking pole in one hand and pruning shears in the other, Ron Dobra picked his way along the Appalachian Trail, snipping overhanging branches and making note of eroding soil. For the past 20 some odd years, he has helped maintain the popular hiking trail, which spans from Georgia to Maine and is seeing more foot traffic each year. “The entire length of the AT —...
Learn MoreNorth Carolina native Nancy Weaver has always loved the outdoors, so camping and hiking seemed natural to her. In more than forty years of hiking sections of the Appalachian Trail, Weaver, now 88, has learned a few things: be prepared for rain and the occasional bear, pack lightly, and expect kindness from strangers. “Trail Magic,” they call it, and it comes...
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A Story of the Appalachian Trail In the winter of 2013 filmmaker Chris Galloway set out to thru hike the Appalachian Trail starting on Springer Mountain, Georgia and walking over 2,000 miles to reach Mount Katahdin, Maine. In the course of his seven month trek, Frost (as he came to be known on the trail) trudged through deep snow drifts on the Smoky Mountain crest,...
Learn MoreToday, at 5:25pm on top of Springer Mountain, history was made. Heather ‘Anish’ Anderson just set the record for the fastest unsupported hike of the 2,285-mile Appalachian Trail, finishing in 54 days, 7 hours, and 48 minutes. She averaged about 42 miles a day over the course of the trail. History repeats itself, and so does Anish. In 2013, Anish set the record for the...
Learn MoreThe entirety of the AT in Great Smoky Mountains National Park goes from Fontana Dam in the south to Davenport Gap in the northeast. While it’s just a small section of the full Georgia-to-Maine trail, the part of the trail in the Smokies is 71 miles long. It usually takes about a week to complete. Backpackers need to get reservations and permits from the park service in...
Learn MoreTennessee Valley Authority will begin maintenance work on Fontana Dam on Monday, Sept. 21, 2015. Work is planned to continue through March 30, 2016. During this time, the dam will be closed to vehicle traffic. The dam will remain open to foot traffic. Hikers will need to walk behind the visitors center and then up the steps to access the dam. If you are planning a hike...
Learn MoreIn September 1990, a couple hiking the Appalachian Trail planned to celebrate a birthday at the Thelma Marks Shelter on the trail on the mountain overlooking Duncannon, Pennsylvania. However, when Biff and Cindi Bowen arrived at the shelter on Sept. 13 after a meal in Duncannon, they immediately turned around and headed back into town. The couple had discovered the...
Learn MoreThe Appalachian Trail is the country’s most famous footpath. Stretching 2,189 miles from Maine to Georgia, it attracts three million hikers each year—including over 2,000 thru-hikers. That number is expected to grow with the release of the Hollywood blockbuster A Walk in the Woods starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. Will crowds swamp the A.T. or help save it? The...
Learn MoreThe Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania is “where boots go to die,” and “lots of people leave Pennsylvania limping and bruised.” After traversing all 220 miles of the AT in the Keystone State, both statements are indeed accurate. The reason is entirely geological, owing to the amazing jumble of rocks of all types, sizes and shapes – known scientifically as felsenmeer –...
Learn MoreWhen Jackson Spencer set out to tackle the Appalachian Trail, he anticipated the solitude that only wilderness can bring — not a rolling, monthslong frat party. Shelters where he thought he could catch a good night’s sleep while listening to the sounds of nature were instead filled with trash, graffiti and people who seemed more interested in partying all night,...
Learn MoreThe question arises: why are the three most famous accounts of hiking three of the world’s most famous long-distance trails written by people who did not hike the whole distance? The loneliness and skull-bound nature of a long-distance hike fits quite nicely with the thinking out, if not the actual writing, of books. The dusty back aisles of Amazon are glutted with...
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Chimney Tops is one of the more popular destinations in the Smokies because of its central location, rugged beauty, and challenging access. And challenging it is. While short in distance, the trails that lead to the summit of Chimney Tops are steep and strenuous. Accessible from two trails, one below that climbs from Hwy 441 to the top, and one above that drops down from...
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Shenandoah National Park protects 79,600 acres along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains between the Shenandoah Valley to the west and the foothills of the Virginia Piedmont to the east. The Appalachian Trail follows in close proximity to Skyline Drive, the park’s popular tourist road. Most weary thru-hikers, on the trail since Georgia, find the week-long, 105-mile...
Learn MoreEvery summer, they trek through New York on their way from Georgia to Maine — a scruffy bunch whose determination to hike the entire Appalachian Trail finds them pushing through the Hudson Valley in July and August. For many, the roughly 2,189-mile trip is the culmination of a dream. Others aren’t sure why they’re doing it. But most know they couldn’t manage the hike...
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“Sputnik” had just emerged from the most remote stretch of the Appalachian Trail – 100 miles of Maine “wilderness” with no stores, towns or even paved roads – when he paused to consider a different ending to the life-changing trek he was about to complete. Behind him lay 2,170 miles worth of footsteps stretching from Georgia to this spot on Abol Bridge offering two...
Learn MoreThe Appalachian Trail north of Damascus, Virginia, follows a portion of the Virginia Creeper Trail, a popular 35-mile rail trail, before climbing into the high country of grassy bald summits and spruce-fir forests of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, which contains 5,000 acres of terrain over 4,000 feet in elevation. At 5,729 feet, heavily forested Mount Rogers...
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. 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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