Appalachian Trail Research Paper

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How is The at Deteriorating and What Can Save it?

Can you imagine hiking 2,000 miles only stopping to sleep, eat, and drink? So many people do this every year. They hike the Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail is a 2,181 miles backpacking tail from Georgia to Maine that is being broken down because of overuse, a problem that is motivating organizations to step in and improve the conditions of the trail. As a result of the huge popularity, the trail is deteriorating and dying. Because of the increase in temperature in the atmosphere parts of the trail will never be hiked again. People need to know how important the trail they are hiking is and what needs to be done to save it. The landscape needs to be protected and the land needs to be …show more content…

On March 3, 1925 about 24 outdoor enthusiasts met at a Hotel in Washington DC to talk about creating the trail. This Group was The Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Benton MacKaye founded the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Appalachian Trail because he thought it would be good to have a long trail for hikers to go on. He created the ATC in 1925 and the Trail was founded in 1937. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has been an all volunteer organization since it was founded. When the trail was finished it took a few years but the popularity skyrocketed (Our History) (Greenspan). Many people began to hike sections of the trail in what is now called “Section Hiking”. It took eleven years for someone to try to hike the trail all the way in one go. This today is called a “Thru-Hike”. The first person to attempt a Thru-Hike was Earl Shaffer a World War II veteran who wanted to “hike the Army out of his system”. Shaffer would hike the trail 2 more times in his life and write a memoir. The Trail reaches across 14 states and has a Total Elevation gain equivalent to Climbing Mount Everest 16 times …show more content…

The two main organizations the Appalachian Trail Conservancy is working with are The National Park Service and The United States Forest Service and Department of Agriculture. The National Park Service has created a Management Plan that explains the most important part of the trail, the problems the trail faces, and what is needed to stop those problems. All three of these organizations: The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, The National Park Service, and The US Forest Service are working together to try to engage volunteers in helping fix the problems on the trail (Landscape

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