In 1948, WWII veteran Earl Shaffer decided to "walk the Army out of his system" by hiking the full length of the Appalachian Trail, Georgia to Maine, in one season. At the time, no one had attempted it, and the Appalachian Trail Conference didn't think it could be done. Not only did he complete it, setting the standard for generations of thru-hikers to follow, but he did the walk twice more in his life, the last time at the age of 79.
posted by Miko on Jul 21, 2009 - 36 comments

Blood on the Mountain; part 2. In 1981 Randall Smith killed two hikers along the Appalachian Trail and served 15 years for second-degree murder. Two months ago Scott Johnston and Sean Farmer were camping along the trail when a man walked into their campsite. It was Randall Smith. And he was carrying a .22. [more inside]
posted by kirkaracha on Jul 9, 2008 - 76 comments

"It’s a cliché among hikers that there are as many ways to hike the trail as there are people who hike it. Most start at Springer Mountain in Georgia and end at Katahdin in Maine; a few start in Maine and head south. Purists walk every 2,167.1 miles of the trail marked by white rectangular blazes painted on the trees. Blue blazers take short cuts on side trails marked with blue. Yellow blazers hitchhike ahead along roads. And then there are the pink blazers. Pink blazers pursue women."
posted by jessamyn on Aug 28, 2006 - 155 comments

It's that time of year - time for thru-hikers to start the Appalachian Trail! Last year, over 1700 hikers started the hike with only 352 completing the 2,200 mile walk from Springer Mtn, Georgia to Katahdin, Maine. Given that walking the AT takes about six months, most hikers start in March and April so they can finish before winter sets in. With town spread out along the trail, many hikers keep online journals - probably some of the few blogs where what you had for breakfast and what the weather was like make for interesting topics.
posted by borkus on Feb 29, 2004 - 23 comments