| The Appalachian National Scenic
Trail is a 2,159.1-mile foot trail along the ridge crests and across the major valleys of
the Appalachian Mountains from Katahdin in the central Maine wilderness to Springer
Mountain in a designated wilderness area in north Georgia. It was designed, constructed,
and marked in the 1920s and 1930s by volunteer hiking clubs joined together by the
Appalachian Trail Conference (ATC), but it wasn't until 1968 that the National Trails
System Act made the Appalachian Trail a linear national park and authorized funds to
surround the entire route with public lands, either federal or state, protected from
incompatible uses. The trail traverses Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia,
Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. The goal is to maintain the entire Trail
environment as a place for everyone to hike, backpack, or otherwise enjoy the Appalachian
mountains and wildlands, while at the same time conserving the natural, scenic,
historical, and cultural resources of this one-of-a-kind park. Primary use is by weekend
or short-term hikers. "Thru-hikers" generally start from the South in early
spring and hike the entire length in 5 to 6 months. More than 98% of the Hiking Trail is
now on public land and two-thirds of the population of the US live within 550 miles of it.
Western North Carolina's part of the trail follows
the NC/ TN boundary then winds through the Pisgah National Forest in
North Carolina with views of the southern Appalachians and Great Smoky Mountains.
The most primitive section of the trail and the
highest of the entire route is through the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park, with 70 crest-line Trail miles, Beyond the Great Smokies comes the
Yellow Creek-Wauchecha-Cheoah Mountain areas, which are difficult to traverse because of
steep elevation changes. Next is the outstanding Nantahala National
Forest section, with 4,000-foot gaps and 5,000-foot peaks. |
