Nantahala Gorge, photographed by George Masa in the early 1930s. The Appalachian Trail crosses the Nantahala River in the Gorge, before climbing back up to a series of 5,000 foot summits on either side of the river.

A hand drawn map of the Appalachian Trail where it crosses Wayah Bald in the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina, made by Asheville, NC photographer George Masa (Masahara Izuka). Masa was instrumental in helping Appalachian Trail Conference chairman Myron Avery determine the final route of the Appalachian Trail and appropriate names for locations in Western North Carolina. This is just one of a number of maps Masa drew by hand for Avery's use in the early 1930s.

The original southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail was at the summit of Mount Oglethorpe in Georgia. Shortly after the decision was made to extend the Trail to this mountaintop, a monument was constructed at the terminus in memory of Jame Oglethorpe, the founder of the Georgia colony. Dedicated in 1930, the monument was moved about 20 miles to the northeast to the town of Jasper, Georgia in 1958 after the terminus of the Trail was moved to Springer Mountain in order to avoid the encroachment of several large chicken farms on the Trail.

This photograph was taken by Japanese-American George Masa (1881-1933), one of America's most important outdoor photographers. Masa Knob in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is named for him.