Among the many hiker memoirs and trail stories, this book is legendary, the acclaimed collection of first-person accounts from the original hikers' the ones who proved that it could be done and inspired generations to come.Stories of the original trailblazers and the first thruhikers Reprinted from the out-of-print Rodale 2-volume Hiking the Appalachian Trail (1975) New foreword by Dave Startzell, executive director of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy These are the stories of the earliest hikers, the ones who did it before it was the thing to do, when it was said to be impossible, and when a person was considered crazy to even try. Included in this new edition are some of the most famous names in the history of the AT: Benton MacKaye, Myron Avery, George Outerbridge, and Grandma Gatewood. Trailblazing in the 1920s and '30s and backpacking in the 1940s, '50s, and '60s was difficult: learn how they managed without ultralight equipment and the freeze-dried food available to contemporary hikers.
