This spring an estimated 1,500 backpackers will set out from Springer Mountain, Georgia with ambitions of following the Appalachian Trail 2,175 miles to Mt. Katahdin, Maine. If past is any indication of future, fewer than 400 hikers will complete the journey this year.
Most northbound thru-hikers start in March or April. When they cross Fontana Dam into Great Smoky Mountains National Park, they have completed 160 miles (7%) of the “A.T.” So arduous is the terrain, that at this point, about half have already quit.
Still, notable waves of thru-hikers trod through the park between late March and early May. Many use the road junction at Newfound Gap to travel down to Gatlinburg or Cherokee to resupply, eat some very large meals, and get in a little R & R.
Seventy-one miles of the A.T. pass through the Smokies, and the trail reaches its zenith here, 6,625′, just below the summit of Clingmans Dome.
Not everybody who sets foot on the A.T. is a thru-hiker; in fact, most aren’t. Over three million people hike a piece of the trail every year. If you would like to be one of them, a good place to start in the park is Newfound Gap at the Tennessee/North Carolina state line. To learn more, stop by Sugarlands Visitor Center and see the AT exhibit.