Completion of the Appalachian Trail, August 1937

 For you Appalachian Trail history buffs: 

"Now the important thing to note is that the lowland areas were peppered with tote roads used in the timbering operations on the private forest lands.  The bulk of the AT in Maine was in private ownership.  These roads served as the first path for the AT to follow.  By August 14, 1937, the final 2 mile link of the AT was completed on the north slope of Spaulding Mountain making the trail one continuous footpath along the East Coast.

Myles Fenton was one of builders of last two miles in Maine (see ATN November 1987). Fenton was among 7 members of the CCC who blazed the last two miles of the AT.  He returned 50 years later to be recognized for his contribution to the trail.  Readers might want to get a copy of this issue since it highlights several of the trail wide 50 year celebrations! 

More details of the historic event are found in Field’s 1937 history of AT in Maine before the days of emails with the formality of letters:

“August 16, 1937. Leon P. Brooks, Principal Foreman, Camp P-66, Bridgton, Maine, to Myron Avery

Dear Sir:

Reference is made to a copy of your letter of August 7, sent to Mr. Billings. The Bridgton crew, under the supervision of Foreman Hicks, have been out on the trail for two weeks, including last week-end, therefore they are coming back out on August 20th to take the remainder of the week off to compensate for the overtime worked. They will return to the trail on Monday, August 23rd, at a point near the Ledge House.

If agreeable, and convenient with you, you could come to Bridgton and go up with the crew or meet them at Farmington about Monday noon.

The trail was completed to Bigelow Station on August 14, including the two miles of new construction. The present plan is to complete the trail then return and build the shelters. 

[Note: This is the official notification of the completion of the Appalachian Trail.] 

Any suggestions that you may see fit to offer will be carried out by Foreman Hicks. May we hope to see you on the 23rd of August? 

P. S. It would be well to telegraph me as to the time and place of your arrival.”

Source: History of the Appalachian Trail in Maine –1937 - Transcribed by David Field - Page 161

From this formal communication, it seems the authors did not or could not anticipate the historic significance of the date or the event! Additional lean-tos were to be built in Maine and the trail always needed clearing for foot travel.  About a year later in September 1938, the New England Hurricane devastated much of the AT and this required several years to reopen the full trail.  This, of course, was followed by the war years of the 1940s, and during a period where the demand for timber was great.  This meant that the roads were improved to reach the timber, and this in turn changed the character of the Maine Woods."

++++

Sound interesting?  Check out this book published by the Appalachian Trail Museum.

The Real Appalachian Trail BC.  Appalachian Trail Museum.

All proceeds go to the Museum.

Gene Espy, RIP, the 2nd AT Thru-Hiker

 Eugene Marion Espy

April 14, 1927 - August 22, 2025

The Real Appalachian Trail BC* Epilogue

 

Chapter 11 

Epilogue

faced with a dream

I looked at myself

I wondered how

or even why

it soon became me

and I it

I lived it all

and it was reality

today was already

yesterday

when it had passed

it had hardly begun

--- Don Hunger, 1975

Would I hike it again?  

When asked that after my trip, I replied without hesitation, NO!  Sure, there were some spectacular times, and I met some great people, but it was too soon to forget about the insects, screaming nettles, hunger pains, sore feet, back and knees, and perhaps realistically the financial cost.

And I had more adventures to tackle.  My higher education plans had been put on hold, so I started January out of synched with my classmates.  But it also meant though I started working full time after a winter graduation, getting a jump start on miscellaneous jobs before getting a “career” with the Boy Scouts of America at a time when scouting meant something.

But the time between 1975 and today has other stories to share, and most have nothing to do with the AT.

Earlier in this manuscript I wrote “It might seem that for most AT hikers, they are only concerned about MacKaye’s first two proposals, or are they?”  For the true story of the AT, we must credit the wisdom of MacKaye and others for a realistic story.  Sure, there is the Trail and hundreds of Lean-tos along the 2,200 mile path.  But as I have attempted to show there are also some cooperative agreements.  And we also see the resurgence of farm camps and the promotion of sustainable land management strategies in the corridor despite the incomplete nature of the Appalachian Greenway (1974).  There continues to be work on each of the four elements, especially since the latter two need the help of MacKaye’s regional planning philosophy.  We can then expect the AT Communities to contribute not to the hiking population but also the town’s resident population, in order to make these places people where want to live and work.  Adjacent to the semi-wilderness trail, we find hostels, shuttle services, restaurants, spas and other non-trail amenities that have become part of the present day experience; most of which had no role in the mid Seventies.

Is there an end to hiking the Appalachian Trail?  Sure, there are those who climb Katahdin and then move on with their lives.  Others, like me, finish the trail at some mid-point, in my case Jacobs Ladder (US Route 20) in Massachusetts.  That road, some thirty miles east, became my first mailing address after graduating from SIU-C.  Talk about Coincidence!

And still others tackle the AT again or some other long distance trail while they have the momentum, time, energy and/or money to do so.

For me, I returned to college and after some ups and downs finally graduated in December 1978 (or was it January 1979) with a BS degree in Geography and Environmental Planning and really not sure what to do next.  I did get a job that I held down for four years as a Camp Ranger for the Boy Scouts of America.  It was fun but after some hard tasks, like digging up a broken frozen water line in the winter, I realized it was not a career.  

During that time with the BSA, I began to travel some more, tried my luck at dating, and on New Years Eve, while doing a solo for Outward Bound on the south slope of Mt. Moosilauke (NH), I made the decision to return to school to work on a Masters.  I only needed a year since I had been going to night school for a couple of years.  I really liked school this time, so I applied to six new grad schools for a Ph.D.  I got accepted at 3, and 2 offered funding.  I first thought of water resources, but Prof. Scott at Towson State University advised me to go into recreation, my real passion.  Wise advice!

So I attended the Association of American Geographers Conference (now American Association of Geographers) at Washington DC and met my future mentors from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.  After another graduation, my parents took me to Baltimore’s Little Italy for dinner.  I worked one last summer for the Boy Scouts as the Program Director for Cresap’s Trail in Western Maryland at the Lilli-Aaron Straus Wilderness Area, now a state park in Maryland protected for all to enjoy.

Up to this point each chapter represents a couple of weeks of trail hiking.  This one on the other hand will reflect nearly 50 years.

During my time at SIU, I had the great opportunity for outdoor recreation in Illinois and Missouri.  With winter mountaineering skills under my belt from Outward Bound, I summited several peaks in the winter Whites.  Closer to school, we paddled the Ozark National Scenic Riverways and explored the many caves.  I studied the Desolation Wilderness in California on an extended trip with one of my SIU Mentors and today, some 40 years later, have reconnected with Dr. Ken Chilman.  Ken was instrumental in getting me exposed to academic conferences. First at the Southeastern Recreation Research Symposium (SERR) and later linking me with the crew who organized the Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium (NERR) in the north.  And I had a summer research assistantship with the National Park Service in an effort to quantify recreation quality.  

I also met Lee Ann and we moved to Western Mass and US Route 20 again.  Initially local conferences like Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium (now NERRA), and The New England St. Lawrence Valley Geographical Society kept me academically connected with leisure, tourism and recreation enthusiasts.  I also began to do international travel, often tied to presenting research at conferences like ISSRM (Belize, Vancouver, Vienna, Italy) and others (Martinique, Tortola, Switzerland, Iceland, UK).  These trips were a blast and very inspiring.

Early in the nineties, I answered an ATC call for volunteers to undertake the task of corridor monitoring on miles of newly acquired corridor (trailway) lands where volunteers would discover encroachments, illegal motor vehicles and other problems that damaged the AT “greenway” experience.  I was also recruited to begin cultural resource monitoring for some of the historic structures found along the AT.  These experiences got me back on the trail, often bushwhacking in the woods enticing the explorer in me.  Always a teacher, I prepared a volunteer manual for others and challenged my students to enter the woods.

And then Covid hit the world.

After being forced to teach online for a year, I decided to call it quits and retire at age 65.  Once it became safe to travel, we headed back to Carbondale to settle again in Southern Illinois with the Shawnee National Forest in our backyard.

My story traced the history of a 100 year Appalachian Trail.  Beginning with a dream of MacKaye and concluding with this book.  Sandwiched in between was my 2,000 mile hike.

This story had plenty of bumps and dips, since at no time in history had anything like this been proposed and executed.  The story is unique and full of surprises.  There are good times and bads. Successes and failures.  And like any revolutionary idea, it has taken time to mature.

Have we met MacKaye’s goals? Probably not, but then again 2020 is quite different from 1920.  Is the backpacker preparing for the hike today, anything like those in my era, let alone Earl Schaffer’s time?  Heck no.  

I kinda’ hoped that MacKaye had updated his thesis prior to his death in 1975 shortly after my 2,000 mile hike.  But that is unrealistic.  Afterall, I was the post-Earth Day crush on the trail.  And today we have the current social media crowd anticipating their adventure.  There is simply no way MacKaye could have completely anticipated the evolution of his dream.

And here I type my thoughts by re-reading my trip diary, the AT guides, books and tales of hikers from the same period and viewing my limited collection of scanned 35 mm slides.  It is through these visual and written narratives, that I have been able to recapture the on-site, or on trail phase of the AT hike.

Today, I am enjoying the Recollection Phase of the Recreation Experience, and boy oh boy, is it fun.  I have tried to share the fun with the reader, but I also needed to describe the not-so-fun times.  It is the 50 year period, from the first introduction to the Trail to today, that I have emerged from the ultimate liminal experience resulting into what I am today.  This is a post-experience phase, in which the recreationists recall many important moments of the whole experience. I hope I can share this experience with you, my friends and relatives.

Thank you.

Suggested Readings

Bristow, R. S. and I, Jenkins. (eds.) (2022). Spatial and Temporal Tourism Considerations in Liminal Landscapes. Routledge.

Bristow, R. S., J. Judkins, and J. Schottanes. (2022). Appalachian Trail Communities: a 100 year model of regional planning. Chapter 2 in Slocum, S. L., Wiltshier, P., & Read IV, J. B. (Eds.). Transformations in Protected Area Management and Gateway Communities: Alternative Approaches to Tourism and Community Engagement (pp. 10-23). CABI.

Clawson, M., and J.L. Knetsch. (1966). Economics of Outdoor Recreation. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.

Jenkins, I and R. Bristow. (2024). Sensory Tourism: Senses and SenseScapes Encompassing Tourism Destinations. CABI.

Satterthwaite, A. (1974).  An Appalachian Greenway: Purposes, Prospects and Program.  Prepared for the Appalachian Trail Conference.

Get your copy and support the AT Museum here.  Only $14.95!

 

The Real Appalachian Trail BC

Read a bit of the History on the Appalachian Trail.

 

The Real
Appalachian Trail BC*

  

Robert S. Bristow

Bob, the Happy Hiker 1974-75

 

*Before Cell Phones 

 

$14.95 

The Appalachian Trail Museum

1120 Pine Grove Road

Gardners, PA 17324

Contents

 

Preface	ii
Acknowledgements	v
The Real Appalachian Trail BC, Before Cell Phones	1
Brief History of the Appalachian Trail	19
Georgia, Food	53
North Carolina / Tennessee, Gear	73
Virginia / West Virginia, AT Towns	101
Maryland / Pennsylvania, Section Hikers	129
New Jersey / New York, Urban Sprawl	151
Connecticut / Massachusetts, Volunteers	175
Vermont / New Hampshire, On Trail Lodging	193
Maine, Wilderness	209
Epilogue	229

+++++++++++

All Proceeds from Sale go to the AT Museum.

 

Appalachian Trail Historic Bibliography

 Interested in the History of the AT, especially from the 1970s?  Try this list edited from my AT Book.

The Real Appalachian Trail BC.  Appalachian Trail Museum.

All proceeds go to the Museum.

Appalachian Trail Bib

 

Adkins, L. (2009). Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail. Menasha Ridge Press and ATC.

Adkins, L. (2009). Images of America: Along Virginia’s Appalachian Trail.  Arcadia Publishing.

Adkins, L. (2014). Along the Appalachian Trail New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Arcadia Publishing.

Adkins, L. M. (2015). Along the Appalachian Trail: West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Arcadia Publishing.

Adkins, L. (2016). Images of America: Along the Appalachian Trail, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.  Arcadia Publishing.

Adkins, L. (2016).  Along the Appalachian Trail: Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.  Arcadia Publishing.

Alt, J. (2007). A Walk for Sunshine, 2^nd edition. Dreams Shared Publications.

Appalachian Trail Conference. (1939). Guide to the Appalachian Trail in New England. Publication no. 13. ATC.

Appalachian Trail Conference. (1971).  Guide to the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smokies, The Nantahalas, and Georgia. Publication no. 23, 3rd edition.  ATC.

Appalachian Trail Conference. (1972).  Guide to the Appalachian Trail in Central and Southwestern Virginia. 6^th Edition. ATC.

Appalachian Trail Conservancy. (1972). Guide to the Appalachian Trail in Massachusetts and Connecticut. 2^nd Edition. ATC.

Appalachian Trail Conservancy. (1972). Guide to the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire and Vermont. ATC.

Appalachian Trail Conference. (1987). Early Trail Builder Recalls CCC Effort. Appalachian Trailway News, page 9-10.  ATC.

Appalachian Trail Conference. (1988). Member Handbook.  ATC.

The Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association. (2025). The Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers’ Companion. ALDHA.

Avery, M. (1931).  Appalachian Trail Middle Atlantic States. Appalachia, 13(3), 325-330.

Avery, M. (1932). Appalachian Trail, Maryland. Appalachia. 19(2), 318-319.

Avery, M. (1932). Appalachian Trail, Southern Virginia. Appalachia, 19(1), 161-165.

Avery, M. (1933). Maine and the Appalachian Trail. In the Maine Woods page 97-104 https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/railroad_pubs/12/

Avery, M. (1935). The Appalachian Trail. Scientific American, 153(1), 5-7.

Avery, M. (1935). The Skyline Drive and the Appalachian Trail.  Potomac Appalachian Trail Club Bulletin, January 1935.

Avery, M.  (1936).  The Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania’s South Mountain. Supplement to October 1936 Bulletin of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. Washington DC.

Avery, M. (1937).  The Silver Aisle: The Appalachian Trail in Maine. Books and Publications. 106. https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/books_pubs/106

Avery, M. (1940). Major Relocation in Virginia.  Appalachian Trailway News.  1(5), 32-33.

Avery, M. (1948). Avery letter to Shaffer, November 27, 1948. ATC Archives.

Bacon, J.; Manning, R.; Graefe, A.; Kyle, G,; Lee, R.; Burns, R.; Hennessy, R.; Gray . (2002). Security along the Appalachian Trail. In: Todd, Sharon, comp., ed. 2002. Proceedings of the 2001 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-289. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 326-332.

Bates, D. (1987). Breaking trail in the central Appalachians – a narrative. Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.

Beck, L. (2020). Exploring the Social Effects of Increased Hiker Use at the Northern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail. The University of Maine.

Berkshire Hills Conference. (1939). The Berkshire Hills, Members of the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration for Massachusetts. Funk & Wagnalls Co.

Bristow, R. S. (1988).  The Influence of Spatial Structure on Hiking Participation. Proceedings of the Ninth National Trails Symposium.  E. Gaby, ed., Athens, GA:  USDA-FS. In Helen, GA. September 1988.

Bristow, R. S. (1998). Volunteer-Based Recreation Land Management.  Parks and Recreation.  August. pp. 70-76.

Bristow, R. S. (2019). Appalachian Trail Cultural Resource Stewardship Manual prepared for the Appalachian Trail, Berkshire Chapter AT Committee, Appalachian Mountain Club.

Bristow, R. (2019). Altruistic Adventure Voluntourism: help manage the park you visit. in Jenkins, I.  Adventure Tourism (pp. 145-154). CABI. 

Bristow, R. S. (2022). Herding 6,000 Volunteers.  Chapter 9 in Holmes, K., L. Lockstone-Binney, K. Smith & R. Shipway (eds.) Handbook of Volunteering in Events, Sport and Tourism (pp. 112-121). Routledge.

Bristow, R. S., and A. Therien. (2019). Discovering archaeological landscapes in parks and protected areas. North American Archaeologist.   (40)2: 99–115.  

Bristow, R. S., J. Judkins, and J. Schottanes. (2022). Appalachian Trail Communities: a 100 year model of regional planning. Chapter 2 in Slocum, S. L., Wiltshier, P., & Read IV, J. B. (Eds.). Transformations in Protected Area Management and Gateway Communities: Alternative Approaches to Tourism and Community Engagement (pp. 10-23). CABI.

Bristow, R. (2025).  The Real Appalachian Trail BC.  Appalachian Trail Museum

Buckley, B. (1975). Appalachian Trail Journey. Outskirts Press.

Burch Jr, W.R. (1979) Long distance trails. The Appalachian trail as a guide to future research and management needs. Long distance trails. Symposium on the Appalachian Trail, 11-13 October, 1977. Yale University, New Haven, CT. 

Carroll, R. (2014). 2,000 Miles Around the Tree of Life: A Naturalist Hikes the Appalachian Trail. Peace Corp Writers.

Carolina Mountain Club. (2003). History of the Carolina Mountain Club. Ashville, NC.

Chamberlin, S. (2010). To Ensure Permanency: Expanding and Protecting Hiking Opportunities in Twentieth-Century Pennsylvania.  Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, 77(2), 193-216.

Chase, J. (2004). Backpacker Magazine's Guide to the Appalachian Trail. Stackpole Books.

Chew, V. C. (1988). Underfoot: A Geologic Guide to the Appalachian Trail. ATC.

Clement, J. (1974). Account Of My Hike on The Appalachian Trail From Georgia To Maine.  https://atmuseum-journals.weebly.com/1974.html

Comey, A. (1925). The Appalachian Trail Conference. Landscape Architecture Magazine. 15(3), 195.

D’Anieri, P. (2021). The Appalachian Trail: A biography. Haughton Mifflin Harcourt.

Dacey, G. (1928). The Appalachian Trail. The Mentor 16(7), 3-10.

Davis, Z. (2012). Appalachian Trials.  Self-Published.

Decker, S. (2020). The Appalachian Trail Backcountry Shelters, Lean-tos, and Huts. Rizzoli.

Eaton, WP. (1926). Guiding the Tramper: The Example of Mount Everett Reservation in the Berkshires.  Landscape Architecture Magazine. (17)1:1-7.

Eaton, WP. (1928). From a Berkshire Mountain Top: A Plea for the Planning of Holiday Regions.  Landscape Architecture Magazine.  (18)2, 93-105.

Federal Register 9 Oct 71, Vol 36, n 197, part II pp 19802-19893.

Field, David B. (2019).  History of the Appalachian Trail in Maine 1937. 6. https://digitalmaine.com/history_of_the_appalachian_trail_in_maine/6

Fisher, R. and D. Durrance. (1972). The Appalachian Trail. National Geographic Society.

Fisher, R. and S. Abell. (1988), Mountain Adventure: Exploring the Appalachian Trail.  National Geographic Society.

Flack, J and H. Flack. (1981). Ambling and Scrambling on the Appalachian Trail.  ATC.

Foster, C. H. (1987). The Appalachian National Scenic Trail: A Time to Be Bold. Appalachian Trail Conference.

Fox, J. and P. Gerhard. (1964). Non-Stop Georgia to Maine.  Appalachian Trailway News, 25(1), 9.

Fondren, K. (2016).  Walking on the Wild Side. Rutgers University Press.

Fondren, K. M., & Brinkman, R. (2022). A comparison of hiking communities on the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails. Leisure Sciences, 44(4), 403-420.

Fortunato, D. (1984).  2000 Miles on the Appalachian Trail. Self-Published.

Fulton, K. (2013). Hikers’ Stories from the Appalachian Trail. Stackpole Books.

Freeman, S., Lawhon, B., Newman, P., & Derrick Taff, B. (2021). Food storage on the Appalachian trail: A theory of planned behavior approach to understanding backpacker bear canister use. Journal of Interpretation Research, 26(2), 73-95.

Garvey, E. (1971). Appalachian Hiker: Adventure of a Lifetime. Appalachian Books.

Georgia Appalachian Trail Club. (1995 revised). Friendships of the Trail: The History of the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club 1930-1980. Cherokee Publishing Company.

Goldenberg, M., Hill, E., & Freidt, B. (2008). Why individuals hike the Appalachian Trail: A qualitative approach to benefits. Journal of Experiential Education, 30(3), 277-281.

Gómez, E., Freidt, B., Hill, E., Goldenberg, M., & Hill, L. (2010). Appalachian Trail hiking motivations and means-end theory: Theory, management, and practice. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 2(3), 260-284.

Hare, J. (1975). Hiking the Appalachian Trail. Vol 1 & 2. Rodale Press.

Hayek, B. (1995).  Stepping back in time: a Hike through history on the crest of Maryland’s South Mountain, Appalachian Trailway News. 56(1):29-33.

Hill, E., Goldenberg, M., & Freidt, B. (2009). Benefits of hiking: A means-end approach on the Appalachian Trail. Journal of Unconventional Parks, Tourism, & Recreation Research, 2(1), 19-27

Hirsohn, D. (1986).  The Appalachian Tale: The Adventures of the Poetry Man. Canyon Publishing Company.

Hooke, D. (1987). Reaching that Peak: 75 years of the Dartmouth Outing Club.  Phoenix Publishing.

Irwin, B. and D. McCasland. (1991). Blind Courage. Ulverscroft.

Johnson, T. (2021). From Dream to Reality: History of the Appalachian Trail. ATC.

Johnson, T.  (2020). PATC History, available at https://www.patc.net/docs/About%20PATC/History-PATC-14Aug2020byTomJohnson.pdf

Joyner, L. (2015). Hiking through History: Civil War Sites on the Appalachian Trail.  ATC.

Kelly, M. (2023). Virginia’s Lost Appalachian Trail.  The History Press.

Kephart, H. (1931). Camping. National Sportsman, April 1931. 52-54, 56-57.

Keystone Trails Association. (1970). Guide to the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania. 2^nd Edition. KTA.

King, B. (2012). The Appalachian Trail: Celebrating America's Hiking Trail. Rizzoli Publications.

Kyle, G., Graefe, A., Manning, R., & Bacon, J. (2004). Predictors of behavioral loyalty among hikers along the Appalachian Trail. Leisure Sciences, 26(1), 99-118.

Kyle, G., Graefe, A., Manning, R., & Bacon, J. (2004). Effects of place attachment on users’ perceptions of social and environmental conditions in a natural setting. Journal of environmental psychology, 24(2), 213-225.

Laker, D. (1975). My Three Appalachian Trail Hikes, (pp. 64-267) in Hare, J. (ed). Hiking the Appalachian Trail.  Rodale Press.

Leonard, R. (1979). Protecting the Long Trail Resource: A Problem Analysis in Burch Jr, W. R. Long distance trails. The Appalachian trail as a guide to future research and management needs. Long distance trails.  Symposium on the Appalachian Trail, 11-13 October, 1977. Yale University.

Lillard, D. (2002). Appalachian Trail Names: Origins of the Place Names Along the AT. Stackpole.

Littlefield, J., & Siudzinski, R. A. (2012). ‘Hike your own hike’: Equipment and serious leisure along the Appalachian Trail. Leisure studies, 31(4), 465-486.

Logue, V., & Logue, F. (2004). The Appalachian Trail hiker: Trail-proven advice for hikes of any length. Menasha Ridge Press.

Luxenberg, L. (1983).  In New York, the A.T. is 60 years old.  Appalachian Trailway News. 44(1), 8-9.

Luxenberg, L. (1994). Walking the Appalachian Trail.  Stackpole Books.

MacKaye, B. (1921). An Appalachian Trail: A project in regional planning. American Institute of Architects.  9(10), 325-330.

MacKaye, B. (1927). Outdoor Culture: The Philosophy of Through Trails. Landscape Architecture Magazine. April. 17(3), 163-171.

Maine Appalachian Trail Club. (1969). Guide to the Appalachian Trail in Maine. Publication No. 4. 7^th Edition. MATC.

Manning, R. E., Valliere, W., Bacon, J. J., Graefe, A., Kyle, G., & Hennessy, R. (2000). Use and users of the Appalachian Trail: a source book. Harper’s Ferry, WV: The National Park Service.

Manning, R. E., Valliere, W., Bacon, J., Graefe, A., Kyle, G., & Hennessy, R. (2001). Use and users of the Appalachian Trail: A geographic study. In In: Kyle, Gerard, comp., ed. 2001. Proceedings of the 2000 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-276. Newtown Square, PA: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 115-120 (Vol. 276).

Marx, K. (2020). Blogging Wildlife: The Perception of Animals by Hikers on the Appalachian Trail. Routledge.

Mittlefehldt, S. (2013). Tangled roots: the Appalachian trail and American environmental politics. University of Washington Press.

Molyneaux, P. (2013). A Child’s Walk in the Wilderness.  Stackpole Books.

Montgomery, B. (2014). Grandma Gatewood's walk: The inspiring story of the woman who saved the Appalachian Trail. Chicago Review Press.

Mueser, R. (1998). Long-Distance Hiking:  Lessons from the Appalachian Trail. Ragged Mountain Press.

Newman, P., Manning, R., Bacon, J., Graefe, A., & Kyle, G. (2002). An evaluation of Appalachian Trail hikers' knowledge of minimum impact skills and practices. In In: Todd, Sharon, comp., ed. 2002. Proceedings of the 2001 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-289. Newtown Square, PA: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 163-167. (Vol. 289).

Nickell, R. (1990). Megalopolis Spawns dedicated Trail Volunteers.  Appalachian Trailway News, 51(2),11-18.

Niedzaliek, C. (2003). A Footpath in the Wilderness: The Early Days of PATC.  Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.

NY-NJTC. (1938). Guide to the Appalachian Trail in New York and New Jersey.  Publication No. 2. 2nd Edition. Shenandoah Publishing.

NY-NJTC. (1972). Guide to the Appalachian Trail in New York and New Jersey.  Publication No. 2. 7^th Edition. Walker and Company.

NY-NJTC (1995). Vistas & Vision – A History of the New York – New Jersey Trail Conference, Available from https://www.nynjtc.org/content/trail-conference-history

New England Trail Conference. (1933).  Guide to the Appalachian Trail in New England.  Publication 21. Boston.

National Park Service. (2015). Foundation Document, Appalachian National Scenic Trail,  USDI, NPS.  Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/appa/getinvolved/upload/APPA-Foundation-Document-2015.pdf

New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources.  (nd).  White Mountain National Forest Shelter System.  Material for National Register of Historic Places.  USDA-FS Website https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd649771.pdf

Olson, Big Bob. (2018). Hiking the Appalachian trail – One section at a time. MLE Press.

Ozmer Report (1930). PATC Bulletin No. 23. Washington DC. Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.

Poff, R., Cleinmark, J., Stenger-Ramsey, T., Ramsing, R., & Gibson, F. (2013). Outdoor ethics and Appalachian trail hikers: An investigation of leave no trace practices. Kentucky Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 155.

Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. (1960). Guide to the Appalachian Trail: Susquehanna River to the Shenandoah National Park. 5^th Edition. PATC.

Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. (1972). Guide to the Appalachian Trail: Susquehanna River to the Shenandoah National Park. 8^th Edition. PATC.

Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. (1970). Guide to the Appalachian Trail and Side Trails in the Shenandoah National Park. 7^th Edition. PATC.

Pray, J. (1923). Beauty in Trails, An Address Before the New England Trail Conference. January 19, 1923, NETC Publication no. 9.

Rogers, A. G., & Leung, Y. F. (2020). Smarter long-distance hike: How smartphones shape information use and spatial decisions on the Appalachian Trail. International Journal of Wilderness, 26(2), 88-103.

Ross, C. (1982).  A Woman’s Journal, with 120 illustrations. ATC.

Ryan, J. (2019). Hermit The Mysterious Life of Jim Whyte.  Maine Authors Publishing.

Ryan, J. H. (2017). Blazing ahead: Benton MacKaye, Myron Avery, and the rivalry that built the Appalachian trail. Appalachian Mountain Club Books.

Sands, M. (2000). Appalachian Trail in Bits and Pieces.  ATC.

Satterthwaite, A. (1974).  An Appalachian Greenway: Purposes, Prospects and Program.  Prepared for the Appalachian Trail Conference.

Shaffer, D. (2016). Connecting Humans and Nature: The Appalachian Trail Landscape Conservation Initiative. The George Wright Forum, 33(2), 175-184.

Shaffer, E. V. (2000). Walking with spring: The first thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Appalachian Trail Conference.

Shaffer, E. (1948). Earl Shaffer’s Appalachian Trail Hike Diary.  Smithsonian Institution, Archives Center.

Sherman, S. and J. Older. (1977). Appalachian Odyssey: Walking the Trail from Georgia to Maine. Open Road Distribution.

Slayton, T. (Ed.). (2009). A Century in the Mountains: Celebrating Vermont's Long Trail. Green Mountain Club.

Sternberg. R. (1987). Groups unite to restore White Cap summit. Appalachian Trailway News. July/August, p18-19.

Strackeljahn, A. (2023).  All in One Roll: An Historical Account of Thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1983.  The Appalachian Trail Museum.

Strain, P. M. (1993). The Blue Hills of Maryland: History Along the Appalachian Trail on South Mountain and the Catoctins. Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.

Sutton, A. and M. Sutton. (1967). The Appalachian Trail: Wilderness on the Doorstep.  Lippencott Co.

Walker, B. (2008). Skywalker: Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail. Indigo Publishing.

Warren, M. and S. Kocher (1979).  The Appalachian Trail.  Graphic Arts Center Publishing Co.

Waterman, L., and G. Waterman. (2019). Forest and crag: a history of hiking, trail blazing, and adventure in the Northeast Mountains. SUNY Press.

Yahner, T. G., Korostoff, N., Johnson, T. P., Battaglia, A. M., & Jones, D. R. (1995). Cultural landscapes and landscape ecology in contemporary greenway planning, design and management: a case study. Landscape and urban planning. 33(1-3), 295-316.

Zarnoch, S. J., Bowker, J. M., & Cordell, H. K. (2011). A mixed-modes approach for estimating hiking on trails through diverse forest landscapes: the case of the Appalachian Trail. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 41(12), 2346-2358.

 

Miscellaneous

 

Memorandum of Agreement Between the National Park Service and The United States Forest Service for the protection of the Appalachian Trailway.  15 October 1938.  ATC Archives.

University of Maine Raymond H. Fogler Library Special Collections Department. Transcript of a sound recording in MS 608, WLBZ Radio Station Records, Bangor, Maine, 1931-1973.

 

Backpacking Books

Clawson, M., and J.L. Knetsch. (1966). Economics of Outdoor Recreation. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.

Douglas, W. (1961). My Wilderness: East to Katahdin.  Doubleday & Co.

Fletcher, C. (1964). The Thousand Mile Summer in Desert and High Sierra.  Howell-North.

Fletcher, C.  (1968). The Complete Walker: The Joys and Techniques of Hiking and Backpacking. Knopf.

Hawthorne, N. (1882). The Great Stone Face and Other Tales of the White Mountains. Houghton, Mifflin & Co.

Lacy, D. and K. Roenke. (1998). Walking through time: heritage resources within the Appalachian Trail corridor. In: H. Vogelsong, (Ed.) Proceedings of the 1997 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium; 1997 April 6 - 9; Bolton Landing, NY. (pp. 171-173). Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-241. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station.

Roenke, K. & Lacy, D. (1998). Our wilderness heritage: a study of the compatibility of cultural and natural resource management. In: Vogelsong, Hans G., comp, ed. Proceedings of the 1997 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium; 1997 April 6 - 9; Bolton Landing, NY. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-241. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 199-200.

Sands, S. (1971).  The Backpacking Boom. The New York Times. May 9, 1971.

 

 

Appalachian Trail Meals, BC

 What did hikers eat on the Appalachian Trail, BC, that is Before Cell Phones?

In a time when dehydrated food was available, but costly and there were only a few freeze dried items, like coffee.  Here is my shopping list.

Most Breakfasts                                                                 Cost

Granola                                                                                  $0.79 pound prepared hot or cold

General Mills Breakfast Squares *                                  $0.85 for four

or Pop Tarts would work                                                        $0.39

Instant Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, Maypo                     $051-0.55 for 8/10

Instant Breakfast (sometimes)                                          $0.65 for a 6 pack

Powdered Milk quart (for cereal, and pudding)             $0.39

Freeze dried coffee                                                             $1.00 +/-

 

Lunches / Snacks

Peanut butter in glass Jar                                                   $1.33 28 oz

Crackers (saltines)                                                               $0.39-0.47

Honey                                                                                    $1.04 16 oz

Cheese                                                                                   $0.59 8oz

Beef jerky, Slim Jim                                                           $1.00

M&M                                                                                     $1.33 16 oz

Peanuts                                                                                  $0.63 12 oz

Raisins                                                                                   $0.71-0.77 15 oz

Pillsbury Space Food Sticks *                                          $1.00+/-

 

Dinners

Mac & cheese                                                                      $0.29 box

Cup-a-soup                                                                           $0.45-0.53 4 pack

Vegetable soup (Lipton)                                                     $0.53

Rice (instant)                                                                        $1.19 28 oz

Gravy                                                                                     $0.21

Lipton dinners *                                                                  $0.85

Instant pudding                                                                    2 for $0.33 or 0.39

Wyler’s drink (bug juice) *                                               $0.29

Tea after dinner    (McCormick, of course)                     cheap

 

The items marked with an asterisk* are no longer available. 

Read more of this history in

Bristow, R. (2025).  The Real Appalachian Trail BC.  Appalachian Trail Museum.

All proceeds go to the Museum.