What is the Appalachian Trail?

In 1921, a forester from Connecticut named Benton MacKaye conceived of the idea of  a "great trail from Georgia to Maine."  A continuous footpath was completed in 1937.  In the years following many people helped make the Appalachian National Scenic Trail a reality.  Today it crosses through national parks and national forests as well as private land.   It is managed by the the National Park Service and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

The trail follows the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine beginning at Spring Mtn, GA and and on Mount Katahdin ME.  It is approximately 2185 miles long.  The path is quite fixed except for minor changes that occurs because of rerouting through new public land or around problem areas.  The trail passes through the states of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia,West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

The ecology of the trail is quite varied ranging from eastern hardwoods on the lower slopes, to subalpine areas covered with evergreens, to the "balds" which are above treeline.  There is great plant species variance as one goes from  from south to north.

Wildlife is plentiful with foxes, raccoons, opossums, bears, wild boar, deer, hundreds of species of birds, rattlesnakes,  all common along the route.

In April the weather will be spring-like but in the higher elevation cooler temperatures down to freezing are to be expected.  Rain and thunderstorms are a regular occurrence.  In the North, later in summer, near winter conditions are occasionally experienced.