World War II veteran Earl Shaffer was the first person to complete hiking the Appalachian Trail. When Shaffer began his journey at Mount Oglethorpe in Georgia, he intended it as a self-care retreat ...

The number of hikers who have registered plans to attempt the Appalachian Trail in 2025 is down nearly 30% compared with last ...

Thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail is all about getting back in touch with nature, finding freedom from the restraints of ...

Ever thought about hiking the longest, hiking-only footpath in the world? It’s right here in the U.S., passing through the eastern Appalachian Mountains. The elevation gain of the Appalachian Trail ...

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Every year, thousands of hikers will look to take on the Appalachian Trail (AT). The trail spans just over 2,100 miles. However, not everyone who begins the hike will ...

The first time Tara Dower set out to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, in 2017, she had a panic attack. She felt alone and overwhelmed just eight days after setting off from the trail’s southern ...

The Earl Shaffer Foundation is planning a 75th anniversary celebration on Saturday, Aug. 12, at the Appalachian Trail Museum. It will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the museum, located at 1120 ...

HOT SPRINGS - As Hot Springs celebrates its annual Appalachian Trailfest event, some of the long-running festival's founders look back on the man who broke the mold in thru-hiking. This year marks the ...

It wasn’t that long ago that aspiring thru-hikers had to explain what, exactly, they were doing planning to hike something like the Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail. The kinds of distances ...

Two York High faculty members, five students and at least one alumnus gathered around Earl Shaffer’s bed in April 2002. They had traveled to the Lebanon Veterans Administration Hospital to induct this ...

For most AT thru-hikers, Katahdin is the finish line. For Will French, it was the halfway point on a 25-year, 4,320-mile journey along the prehistoric spine of the Appalachians. Will French didn’t ...

Each year, only about one out of every four hikers who set out to complete the Appalachian Trail reaches that goal. A thru-hike means traversing nearly 2,200 miles, across 14 states, in a single ...