An elderly man drove into a crowd of AT hikers in Damascus, Virginia injuring about 60 people, there were no fatalities. During the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival the last car in the line, a ’97 Cadillac, suddenly sped up and plowed through the parade route. The driver was participating in the parade, [ more... ]

A couple in Northern Virginia recently bought a bed and breakfast with the hope of converting part of it into a hostel that would cater to hikers on the Appalachian Trail. Their dreams did not go over well with the local city board, which voted 4-to-1 to deny their permit to open a hostel. Among [ more... ]

Did you know that Earl Shaffer, the first Appalachian Trail thru-hiker in 1948 made the trek after telling friends he was going to “walk off the war” after getting home from WWII? His belief, widely shared among the outdoorsy community, is that spending time in nature offers significant psychological and spiritual benefits. Today, a group [ more... ]

Trail maintenance volunteers at the Max Patch mountain bald on the AT at the Carolina/Tennessee border arrived to find that some ATV riders had knocked down fences and carved paths and ruts along a section of trail. Dwayne Stutzman, one of three volunteers who adopted this A.T. section, says, “In almost 20 years as a [ more... ]

The man who heaped more press coverage on the Appalachian Trail than any other human being has announced that he plans to marry his mistress. This is the woman Mark Sanford was off visiting when his wife famously explained his mysterious absence by saying he was “hiking the Appalachian Trail.” True love prevails; I hope [ more... ]

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the Appalachian Trail’s completion, but the truth is that the trail is a constant work in progress, with trails shifting left or right and land transferring from private to public ownership. A Washington Post article estimates that 99% of the trails 250k acres that stretch up the Eastern U.S. [ more... ]

The International Appalachian Trail runs through the U.S., Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and all the way to Europe. While the Appalachian Mountains and hill people don’t make it through Ireland and Britain into Spain, the name the IAT does, though the trail is rambling, not really marked, and no one really knows where or how long [ more... ]

Vacation days about to expire but you’re one of those people who can’t stand to not be at work? Yeah, me either. But on the off chance that you are, why not take a working vacation? Each year Appalachian Trail groups host work weeks where folks give up vacation to escape from their families and [ more... ]

You’re familiar with the Appalachian Trail. It’s the place your friend of a friend hiked barefoot and a former southern governor claimed to be hanging out during his affair with a woman in South America. But are you familiar with the North Country National Scenic Trail? The North Country trail runs from North Dakota into [ more... ]

Were you on the Appalachian Trial in Virginia during August last year? Police might want to talk to you. Scott Lilly’s body was found on Aug. 12, 2011 just off the trial; the corner says he died of asphyxiation, though they’ve been unable to figure out why. Foul play is suspected as all of his [ more... ]