One of the things about the Appalachian Trail that makes it unique is that it’s OLD, at least in terms of recreational trails. Vermont’s Long Trail, which goes up the spine of the Green Mountain State, is older by a few years, and the White Mountains and Hudson Valley have trail networks that predate both, but the Appalachian Trail is still the granddaddy of long-distance hiking trails.
The idea for it came about in the early 1920s, when a government forester named Benton MacKaye proposed it as a connector between a series of wilderness and farm camps set up in the mountains to provide rest, vocational training, education, and escape for America’s city dwellers. It’s a classic project from the age of regional planning, along with America’s first highways and regional park systems and such. And the amazing part is that it went from idea to actuality in just 16 years, being completed in 1937. Even more amazingly, it was built almost all by volunteer labor, with help from the Civilian Conservation Corp. In fact, it’s still maintained by volunteer labor.
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