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BRO’s Massive and Important Guide to the Appalachian Trail—the Southern Half—digs deeper into the country’s longest ribbon of dirt. Our guide includes interviews with thru-hikers, training tips, detailed descriptions of the best section hikes, and a mile-by-mile map of trail highlights.
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Forget the emotional, mental, and physical strength it takes to tackle 2,175 miles of hiking—even if we were strong enough to tackle such an endeavor, who has the time? But just about everybody has the time for a section hike, whether it’s a brief one-day getaway, a weekend jaunt, or a week-long excursion. The following [...]
Second A.T. Thru-Hiker Gene Espy Recalls 1951 Trek 82-year old Gene Espy is recognized as the second person ever to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. In 1951, at the age of 24, Espy hiked from Georgia to Maine, taking four months to complete the 2,000-mile journey. Espy recently wrote The Trail of My Life, a book [...]
A.T. Physical Exam Four-Year Study to Assess A.T. Health A hefty $1.15 million grant from NASA was recently awarded to examine the Appalachian Trail’s entire ecosystem. University of Rhode Island Professor Yeqiao Wang estimates the project will take four years as he uses a combination of satellite imagery and on-the-ground field observation to monitor the [...]
A.T. Chef Dishes Tips and Best Backpacking Recipes Georgia backpacker Glenn McAllister couldn’t stomach another pre-packaged concoction on the trail, so he began making his own. He now runs the website backpackingchef.com, where he provides free recipes and blogs about his cooking experiences while section-hiking the Appalachian Trail. All of McAllister’s dehydrated meals are one-pot [...]
Davenport Gap to Hot Springs, N.C. April 30-May 2 This 38-mile weekend backpacking trip starts on the edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and heads north to the town of Hot Springs. The highlight of this trek is crossing Max Patch Bald, an incredibly scenic grassy mountain meadow. tehcc.org James River Face Wilderness, Va. [...]
Watch a documentary that crams five and a half months of thru-hiking into 20 fast paced minutes of footage.
What, you mean you can’t quit your job and spend six months hiking the Appalachian Trail from end to end? You’re not alone. Most people can’t upend their lives for a really, really long backpacking trip. Instead, they attack the A.T. in sections, knocking off precious miles year after year until they become official [...]
He’s 65, wears hearing aids, hails from Boston originally, did his time in the military, and now devotes his life to taking care of the Appalachian Trail and the people who hike it. Bob Peoples, owner of Kincora Hikers’ Hostel in Hampton, Tennessee, is one person that every thru-hiker should shake hands with. What’s it [...]
Only half of those who start the 2,175-mile A.T. trek make it to Harper’s Ferry, W.Va., and only half of those reach Katahdin. Most never even make it out of Georgia. Randy Motz and his wife, Georgia Harris, spent five years preparing themselves physically, mentally, and financially for their 2006 thru-hike. They trained, tested gear, [...]
Care Bear and Growler’s Excellent AdventureIn 2008, two recent college grads who had never been backpacking attempted to thru-hike the A.T. Brandon “Care Bear” Winters and Drew “Growler” Alexander spent 97 days in the wilderness, made it all the way from Georgia to Vermont, and hiked more than 1,600 miles before an injury and hiking [...]
Winton Porter owns Mountain Crossings, an outfitter and hostel strategically placed 31 miles from the southern terminus at the Walasi-Yi Center in North Georgia. By the time thru-hikers reach Porter’s doorstep, most of them realize they have no idea what they’re doing and turn to Porter for help. Porter and his staff sort through and [...]
It is the most honored and storied footpath in the world. It stretches 2,175 miles from Georgia to Maine, and some people hike it from end to end. Shelters along the trail allow you to sleep and commune with mice. But that’s about all that most people know about the Appalachian Trail. BRO’s Massive and [...]
