Mildren Norman Ryder (1908-1981) was the first woman to thru hike the Appalachian Trail in 1952. Ryder, hiking with her friend Richard Lamb, began at Mount Oglethorpe in Georgia, hiked north to the Susquehanna River, then traveled to Maine, where she and Lamb hiked south to the Susquehanna. Along the way, they detoured north to the Canadian border in order to hike the Long Trail in Vermont from end to end, thereby adding more than 270 miles to their thru hike. Their choice of route meant that Ryder and Lamb were also the first successful "flip flop" thru hikers.

Following her traverse of the Appalachian Trail, Ryder adopted the name Peace Pilgrim and spent the rest of her life walking all over the United States and Canada--more than 25,000 miles--promoting peace.