Wednesday March 10, 2010

Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail, is a 2,174 mile (3500 km) marked hiking trail in the eastern United States, extending beween Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. Along the way, the trail also passes through the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

The trail is currently protected along more than 99 percent of its course by federal or state ownership of the land or by right-of-way. Annually, more than 4,000 volunteers contribute over 175,000 hours of effort on the Appalachian Trail, an effort coordinated largely by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) organization.

In the course of its journey, the trail crosses the tops of several of the Appalachian Mountains, running, with only a few exceptions, almost continuously through wilderness.

Throughout its entire length, the AT is marked by 2 by 6 inch (5 by 15 cm) white paint blazes. Side trails to shelters, viewpoints and parking areas use similarly-shaped blue blazes.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) is a non-profit membership organization whose volunteers and club affiliates protect and maintain the Appalachian Trail

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