Wednesday, March 19, 2008

March is the beginning of Appalachian Trail season

March is the traditional starting month for folks embarking on a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. The southern terminus of the trail is right here in Georgia-- on Springer Mountain, to be precise. The northern terminus is 2,175-miles north on Mount Katahdin in Maine.

Every year hundreds of hikers attempt a thru-hike. Many are out for an adventure of a lifetime, some just love hiking and others are out to prove to themselves that they can do it. But two hikers are hoping to make a difference on a larger scale. They hope to raise $150,000 for Keep America Beautiful. People can donate to their cause via their website Trek Against Trash. Donors are encouraged to give a penny per mile for a modest total of $21.74.

A thru-hike takes a lot of planning so most of you reading this shouldn't make a thru hike attempt until next spring. In the meantime, there are 75 miles of AT in Georgia with many opportunities for day hikes and short overnights.

Here are some online resources to help you:

Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, Inc.

Appalachian Trail Conservancy

American Hiking Society

Georgia Backpacker






1 comment:

Andrew said...

Something that avid Georgia backpackers might be interested in...there are several groups trying to get the official "start" of the AT moved to Alabama! Check it out...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89022308