“The oxygen in the mountain air along the Appalachian skyline is a natural resource (and a national resource) that radiates to the heavens its enormous health-giving powers with only a fraction of a percent utilized for human rehabilitation.” This quote from Ben Mackaye captures the essence of how he saw the trail being used for health benefits. That word “rehabilitation” is key in how many trail hikers who suffered from addiction use the trial. Nothing help clean out your system like a strenuous hike in the woods.

Millions of people in America suffer from a substance addiction of some sort. While there are many different types of therapies that can help alleviate these addictions one of them is called Adventure therapy which the Appalachian trail is perfect for. The Addiction websites calls adventure therapy as a way to, “focus on using the outdoors to learn how to overcome challenges, both in the wilderness and in ordinary life.”

Many people have already used the Appalachian trail as a form of adventure therapy. A hiker named Heidi Jorg quit her job to hike the trail with her daughter as a way helping her get over her addiction. They hiked the trail as far as they could to help her get clean. Another Hiker used the trail as a way to recover from alcohol and drug addiction himself, but to also raise awareness for cancer treatment and addiction. He used social media to log his progress and raise donations.