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Love Letters to the A.T.
For almost a century, the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) has inspired a lifelong passion for millions of hikers, volunteers, Trail crews, and many more visitors that wander onto the footpath and its surrounding landscape. In January, we gathered photos and stories about what you love most about the Trail, from chasing sunrises with rolling mountain views, to reading funny or inspiring messages in A.T. shelter journals, to caring for the Trail one blowdown at a time. Below are just a few stories about what made people fall in love with the Trail — and what keeps that love going strong today.
By Amber Adams Niven
How I Fell in Love with a Long Dirt Path (and more)
"It didn’t take long to feel like I truly belonged on the Trail. Being stripped of modern distractions felt like a much-needed reunion with mother nature."
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By Heather Warren
A Forty-Year Love
"Who knew that an overnight trip in the Smokies and a climb up Kuwohi, formerly called Clingmans Dome, would set in motion a fifteen-year section hike of the entire Appalachian Trail (A.T.), an even longer commitment to trail maintenance, and special times with the holy?"
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BY JOSH REYNOLDS
Building on a Love for the Trail
"While my 2010 trip on the Presidential Range kindled the spark for my relationship with the A.T., I think it was while working my first Konnarock Trail Crew season in 2017 that I really fell in love with the Trail."
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BY JOAN DELANO
Three Miles and a Forever Love
"You see I fell in love that day. I didn’t just hear about it or read about it; I met the Appalachian Trail for myself, and the meeting was wonderful."
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BY JANINE WILKIN
A Dash of Trail Community
"They say you never forget your first time. His trail name was “Greyhound” and I met him at Gravel Springs Hut, the first shelter you come upon when you enter Shenandoah National Park from the north. It was October and rain was driving on the tin roof."
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BY TERRY RICE
A Shenandoah Sunrise
"There isn’t just one story of how I fell in love with the Appalachian Trail; there are hundreds of them. I can’t say that I enjoy getting up in the dark but living by the rhythm of daylight was one of the things that captured me while I was on Trail."
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BY JOHN POTTER
A Love Through Time
"When my family lived in Alexandria, Virginia, we often spent weekends in Shenandoah National Park (SNP). These trips were mostly to the (no longer existing) Elkwallow Lean-To – about a half-mile down the A.T. from the Elkwallow Wayside and picnic area."
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By Erin Foley
A Love Recreated
"In 2014, I went on to thru-hike the A.T., and my favorite memory (among many) is when my dad hiked out to Lonesome Lake to meet me where my love for the Trail began."
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BY SARA LEIBOLD
Love Letter to the Appalachian Trail
"Memories of you fade into dreams. The sunsets in Shenandoah, the enchanted forests of Vermont, I even miss the foggy mountaintops of Tennessee. I want to be surrounded once more by rhododendron so thick I have to bend over to pass through."
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BY ED CARMIEN
The Spark to my A.T. Love
"Nine years ago I re-ignited a passion for the Appalachian Trail that first burned in me as a teenager in the late 1970s, when I fell far short of the resources required to undertake a thru-hike. Since 2013 I've walked our great national treasure, section hiking 700 miles from the Shenandoah National Park to Dalton, Massachusetts, and been full of wonder and joy the whole way."
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Photo Contest
Natural Beauty: 14 States, Unlimited Inspiration
Selected photos from the “Natural Beauty: 14 States, Unlimited Inspiration” photo contest, which capture the beauty and wonder of the Appalachian Trail and its surrounding lands.
Stories from the Trail
Why I Hike
Each year, millions of visitors are drawn to the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) and come away with memories, photos and stories to tell.
INSPIRED BY THE A.T.
The Trail is My Muse
From poems to sketches to illustrations, the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) has been a source of inspiration and creativity for a century.