History of the first Hikers: NoBo or SoBo
Even in the beginning of the Appalachian Trail, hikers had the choice of either going North or South bound on the trail. An interesting fact is that, even though today it is popular to be a north bounder or "NoBo," it used to be common to travel South bound. The idea of starting up at the northen most point and working your way downwards can seem like the logical choice when hiking the Appalachian Trail. The first few Thru Hikers of the AT chose different directions, assuming for different reasons. A well known NoBo was the first person to successfully finsih a Thru Hike, Earl SHaffer. Other Hikers that are known as being some of the first to go South bound, are the two hikers, Chester Dziengielewski and Martin Papendick, who finished their hikes in 1951. While Dziengielewski was hiking, he had atcually crossed paths and shared hiking tips with another first thru hiker of the trail, Gene Espy (North bounder).
Earl Shaffer, a World War II veteran that decided to hike the Appalachian Trail a few years after WWII was over to "walk off the war." Shaffer became the first official Thru Hiker to successfully hike the entire trail in 1948. Shaffer was a NoBo, or North Bounder, who had started his hike on April 4, and finished his hike on Mt. Katahdin on August 5.
In the Appalachian Trailway News September 1948 edition, there is an article that is titled "Continuous Trip Over Trail." This little section in the Trailway News announces the first ever Thru Hiker as a North Bound Hiker.