Benton MacKaye's Proposed Map

The history of the Appalachian Trail goes all the way back to the year 1921, when a man named Benton MacKaye announced his idea for crafting "an Appalachian Trail". MacKaye wanted the people who lived and worked in busy cities, to be able to escape to the mountains. He believed experiencing the outdoors was an essential part of life and that breathing in the fresh air would better ones soul. To MacKaye, this retreat would provide solutions to the "problems of living" society was enduring, especially those caused by the recent conclusion of World War I like high prices and rising unemployment.

In 1925, MacKaye's proposal gained enough support and the Appalachian Trail Conference was created. The next few decades were filled with countless debates on the trail's creating over issues mainly surrounding land acquisition, who was to be in charge, and protection of the land. Today, the Appalachian Trail is run by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and its numerous partners like the National Park Service and stretches 2,190 miles long from Georgia to Maine. Millions trek the trail each year, some go for a day, some for a few weeks, and those known as thru-hikers, for as long as it takes to complete the entire trail.