The trail is currently 2,179 miles. That number fluctuates due to rerouting. It covers 14 states, stretching from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mt. Katahdin in Maine. The trail snakes through the mountains of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and finally Maine.
The idea for the trail was first proposed by Benton MacKaye in 1921. He wanted there to be a place where people could escape the congestion of cities all along the East Coast. Myron Avery later joined the project, and he aggressively led it to completion in 1937. In 1968, Congress passed the National Trails System Act, officially making the AT a National Scenic Trail.
The AT wasn't originally intended to be hiked all at once. The idea was that people could get spend a day in nature. The first person to thru-hike the trail was Earl Shaffer, a war veteran. He completed his hike in 1948 and became known as "the Crazy One." However, thru-hiking didn't really gain popularity until the 1970's. Another beloved hiker was known as Emma "Grandma Gatewood." She hiked the trail in 1955 at the age of 67.
There is roughly 2,000 people that attempt a thru-hike every year. Generally, only about 1 in 4 actually finish. You'll find all sorts of people on the trail: recent high school and college grads, career burn-outs, mid-life crisisees, retired folks, and kids with their parents. The oldest person to complete a thru-hike was 81 and the youngest was 6.
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