Obtaining the Appalachian Trail experience can be done by all, whether you are in exceptional shape or whether you are a person with a disability. Though many thru-hike, the process of trekking all 2,190 miles, this was never the intention behind Benton MacKaye's Appalachian Trail. MacKaye wanted to provide the average American the opportunity to retreat from their daily labors while promoting recreation and recuperation in the great outdoors. He had three major goals in mind while conceiving an Appalachian Trail. The first was to promote recreational opportunities, the second was to offer health and recuperation through the mountain air, and lastly to supply additional opportunities for employment.

Although there have been numerous hikers who have successfully thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail with a disability, one does not need to complete it in its entirety to experience what the trail has to offer. Harold Allen, contributor to the trail's creation and a promotor of land protection, explained "the Appalachian Trail should be remote for detachment, narrow for chosen company, winding for leisure, lonely for contemplation, the Trail leads not merely North or South, but upwards to the body, mind, and soul of man." As you can see, the Appalachian Trail is more about one individually taking part in a personal, emotional, and transformational experience. Spending time on the Appalachian Trail, no matter the length of time or the adventures one encounters, allows for much of MacKaye's visions come to life.

"The camp community is a sanctuary and a refuge from the scramble of every-day worldly commercial life. It is in essence a retreat from profit. Cooperation replaces antagonism, trust replaces suspicion, emulation replaces competition. An Appalachian trail, with its camps, communities, and spheres of influence along the skyline, should, with reasonably good management, accomplish these achievements."  ~ Benton MacKaye