According to an article at CNN published in 1998, Earl Shaffer was the
first hiker to walk the entire length of the Appalachian Trail.
"The trail was completed in 1937, and in 1948 Shaffer became the first
to hike the entire trail in one uninterrupted trip, drawing national
attention to the by-then- neglected footpath winding through mostly
public land in 14 states. Shaffer hiked the trail a second time in
1965."
CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/US/9808/03/briefs/first.hiker/
The first documented through-hike was made by Earl Shaffer of York, Pa.
"In August of 1937, the trail was completed to Sugarloaf Mountain in
Maine. The ATC shifted its focus toward protecting the trail lands and
mapping the trail for hikers. From 1938 to the end of World War II,
the trail suffered a series of natural and man-made setbacks. It is
said that a group of Boy Scouts from the New York metropolitan area,
with exceptional support such as trucked-in supplies, covered the
whole trail (at least among them) some time in this period. It may not
be clear whether any individual covered the whole route, nor whether
contemporaneous records exist, and it appears any surviving
participants are not pursuing credit. At the end of the war, the
damage to the trail was repaired, and the first documented
through-hike, by Earl Shaffer of York, Pa, brought a great deal of
attention to the project."
http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:l21YsXjwuvsJ:www.answers.com/topic/appalachian-trail+was+first+hiker+to+walk+the+entire+length+of+the+Appalachian+Trail&hl=es
From the Earl Shaffer Web Page:
"Earl V. Shaffer of Pennsylvania, writer and poet, naturalist,
dedicated environmentalist was the first person to thru-hike the
Appalachian Trail from end to end in one continuous journey."
http://www.earlshaffer.com/
Search terms used:
first hiker Appalachian Trail
I hope this is helpful!
Best regards,
Bobbie7 |
