Five Things You Didn't Know About the Appalachian Trail

Appalachian Trail near Janes Bald

The Appalachian Trail is the largest and longest running volunteer conservation project in the world. Volunteers clear the trail, touch up blazes and clear fallen logs. Ninety-seven percent of the work is run by volunteers. Thousands of volunteers contribute roughly 220,000 hours to the Appalachian Trail every year.
Every year, more than 2,000 hikers attempt the Appalachian Trail. Only one in four succeed.
Every year, 4.5 tons of equipment are dumped (or mailed back home) at a former Inn on the trail that lies a few days into the hike in Georgia. That’s about four and a half pounds per hiker.
The total elevation gain of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail is equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest 16 times. There is more uphill hiking in Maine alone than the summit of Everest.
The Appalachian Trail summits 191 mountains in New England, including Mount Washington where winds can hit 200 MPH.

Trail sign