Heartwood

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

The Appalachian Trail is a long-distance hiking trail in the eastern United States that extends nearly 2,200 miles from its southern terminus at Springer Mountain in Georgia to its northern terminus at Mount Katahdin in Maine. It winds through 14 states and is one of the longest hiking trails in the world. A popular site for both day hikers and backpackers, it draws more than 3 million visitors each year. Only a small portion of those are thru-hikers like Valerie, however: Fewer than 1,000 people typically hike the entire trail in one season. Along with the Continental Divide Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, it is considered part of the United States’ “triple crown” of hiking, and many accomplished thru-hikers set their sights on completing all three.

The Appalachian Trail was completed in 1937, although improvements and changes are made each year. The trail is managed by multiple different clubs and volunteer organizations, as well as by the National Park Service, the US Forest Service, and the nonprofit Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Much of the trail runs through wilderness, taking hikers into dense forests, up and down mountains, across streams and rivers, and through rocky, hard-to-traverse terrain.