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It seemed reasonable to start our trek by typing "appalachian trail." We located an official site from the National Park Service. There, we rapidly discovered the pertinent facts required for an answer to your question. The trail is:
a 2,167-mile (3,488 km) footpath along the ridge crests and across the major valleys of the Appalachian Mountains from Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in north Georgia. [It] traverses Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia... Thru-hikers hike the entire length of the Trail in one season.
We wondered how many months there are in a trail season and if we could find more about strategies, time guidelines, or cost of planning a hike. We followed a link to the web home of Appalachian Trail Conference, a volunteer organization that recently celebrated its 75th birthday as advocate and caretaker of the historic, interstate trail, and located a page about Thru-Hiking. Several thousand hikers attempt the 2,000+ miles each spring, roughly 3 in 20 finish the course. Most trekkers start in North Georgia and travel northbound. It generally takes about five to seven months to complete the trail. We rambled through seven complete
sample itineraries with descriptive titles like "Head-start: April," "Leapfrog," and "Cool Breeze." Some of these routes are non-linear and require flips in direction, so that walkers benefit by avoiding extremes of heat and cold, and can reach different regions at their optimal season -- bug-free, balmy, or blooming. The scenic Appalachian Trail category in Yahoo! offers an abundance of travelogues, photo journals, testimonials, and resources from all kinds of hikers: vegans, dog-walkers, wildflower lovers, and other
web enthusiasts who are keeping alive forester Benton MacKaye's original 1921 dream. Looking for maps, guidebooks, and more? Visit the Ultimate Trail Store of the ATC.
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