The Appalachian Trail

or simply "The AT"

The AT is a public footpath across 2,160 miles of Appalachian Mountain ridgelines from Maine to Georgia. Roads that cross it for all but its northernmost 100 miles give ready access. The Trail is protected along more than 96 percent of its course by federal or state ownership of the land itself or by rights-of-way.

Two-inch by six-inch vertical white paint blazes mark the trail. A double blaze—one above the other—is placed before turns, junctions, or other areas that require that hikers be alert. Blue blazes mark AT side trails. Usually these lead to shelters, water supplies, or vistas.

Benton Mackaye, who envisioned and campaigned for the trail in the 1920s, recognized that "the ability to cope with nature directly—unshielded by the weakening wall of civilization—is one of the admitted needs of modern times." More than 70 years later, the AT pulls the imagination of millions stuck in the daily grind of the crowded eastern seaboard—and elsewhere. The trail beckons for us to get away. Spend a day, or a week, or a season on the trail.

Thru-Hiker Statistics from Recent Years

The estimated number* of thru-hikers leaving Springer Mountain per year reached a thousand around 1993. That year, about 160 of those finished the Trail. Within seven years, the number of starters had almost tripled, with an estimated 2,900 starters leaving Springer in 2000. 423 reports of completed northbound thru-hikes for 2000 have been received.

In 2001, an estimated 2,375 prospective northbound thru-hikers began at Springer Mountain. As of February 2002, 368 northbounders had reported their hike completions.

*The number of northbound thru-hikers starting from Springer Mountain, Georgia, is a rough estimate. ATC bases these numbers on a count taken at the Walasi-Yi Center at Neels Gap, 30 miles north of Springer Mountain. We assume a 20% drop-out rate between Springer and Neels Gap.

Download a table showing detailed 2,000-miler statistics for 1993-2001 (PDF, 32.6 KB).

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