Appalachian Trail

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VOICE ONE:

I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

A view from the Appalachian Trail. (Picture - NPS)

And I'm Steve Ember with
EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today, we tell about one of the
most popular walking paths in the United States, the Appalachian
Trail.

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VOICE ONE:

One of the most popular activities enjoyed by Americans is
spending time in forests and walking along paths through the
country. This activity, called hiking, has led to the creation of
paths throughout the United States. Some of these paths, or trails,
are short. Some are only a few kilometers. Others are many hundreds
of kilometers.

One of the longest is the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. The
trail is the first completed part of the National Trails System. The
trails system was established by Congress and the President in
nineteen sixty-eight.

VOICE TWO:

The Appalachian Trail is more than three thousand four hundred
kilometers long. It starts in the northeastern state of Maine and
ends in the southeastern state of Georgia. The trail goes through
fourteen states.

They are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West
Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia.

The path takes walkers through the Appalachian Mountains. They
extend from the Canadian Province of Quebec to the southern American
state of Alabama.

VOICE ONE:

The Appalachian Mountains are among the oldest on Earth. They
first began forming about one thousand million years ago. During the
millions of years since then, the mountains were changed and
reformed by the forces of water and wind. Ice also changed the
mountains, making many of them smaller and digging valleys and lakes
among them. Many different kinds of trees grow along the trail. And
many different kinds of animals live in the forests along the trail.

Land along the trail is protected by the federal government and
by state governments. Some parts are not protected by the government
directly. Instead, they are protected by legal agreements with
private owners willing to permit people to walk across their
property.

VOICE TWO:

Walkers on the Appalachian Trail pass through some of the great
valley systems of the mountains. They can look down into these
beautiful valleys and see farms and forests stretching across the
land for many kilometers. Farmland in the valleys is rich and
productive. And some of the great events in American history took
place in the valleys. For example, one of the great battles of the
American Civil War was fought in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.

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VOICE ONE:

The Appalachian Trail was the idea of Benton MacKaye. Mister
MacKaye first proposed creating the trail in nineteen twenty-one.
Although there were many separate trails in different parts of the
eastern United States, most of them were not connected. In nineteen
twenty-five, representatives of several private organizations met in
Washington, D.C. and formed the Appalachian Trail Conference.

Their idea was to create a trail connecting the two highest
mountains in the eastern United States -- Mount Washington in New
Hampshire, and Mount Mitchell in Georgia. It was another five years
before development of the trail began, under the direction of Myron
Avery. Seven years after Mister Avery took control of the project,
the Appalachian Trail was completed. This happened on August
fourteenth, nineteen thirty-seven.

VOICE TWO:

Creating the trail was a difficult job that involved the work of
many thousands of people. But there were no public celebrations or
events to observe its opening. Public knowledge of the trail grew
slowly. Today, it is one of the most famous trails in the world.
However, it is not the longest hiking trail. Two others in the
western United States are longer. They are the Pacific Crest Trail
and the Continental Divide Trail. Still, the Appalachian Trail is
the most famous.

VOICE ONE:

Mountain areas along the Appalachian Trail. (Picture - NPS)

People from around the world come
to see the natural beauty of the mountains, lakes, rivers, and
valleys near the Appalachian Trail. The trail makes it possible to
see much of this beauty without having to see cities, towns, and
other parts of the modern world. Instead, people can see many places
along the trail that look very much the way they did before humans
arrived many thousands of years ago.

This is one of the main reasons why the Appalachian Trail is so
popular among Americans, especially those living in the eastern
United States. The trail is not far from most of the major cities
along the eastern coast, such as New York, Philadelphia, and
Washington, D.C. It provides a place where people from these cities
can leave behind the worries of modern life to enjoy the peace and
beauty of nature.

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VOICE TWO:

Most people who use the Appalachian Trail go mainly for short
walks that last for less than a day. Many of them want to look at
the different kinds of plants and animals that live along the trail.

For many other people, the Appalachian Trail provides a chance to
spend several days camping and hiking. They walk along the trail
carrying all the things they will need to survive for several days.
These hikers carry food, cooking equipment, water, sleeping bags and
temporary shelters called tents.

VOICE ONE:

In New Hampshire's White Mountains, there are special camps along
the Appalachian Trail where people can stay. The Appalachian
Mountain Club operates these camps. The club is one of the
thirty-two groups that belong to the Appalachian Trail Conference.
Volunteers in these groups supervise and operate the Appalachian
Trail through a cooperative agreement with the National Park
Service.

The Appalachian Mountain Club has about ninety thousand members.
It is the oldest conservation organization in the United States.

VOICE TWO:

The Appalachian Mountain Club operates several camps along ninety
kilometers of the trail. Each camp provides hikers with shelter,
beds and food. Each camp is located about a day's walk from the next
one.

These camps are so popular that it is necessary to request to
stay at one a year ahead. It is especially difficult to find a place
in such camps during summer weekends.

Many people hike along the trail to such camps with their
families. Writer Eileen Ogintz is one of those people who stayed at
an Appalachian Mountain Club camp with her family. She found it very
different from what her family does every day at home. She and her
family had to hike up a mountain path in the rain to get to their
camp. There are no radios or televisions. So families spend time
talking with each other. After two days in the wilderness, her
family enjoyed the experience.

VOICE ONE:

The Ogintz family's two days on the Appalachian Trail is similar
to the experience of many people. The first part is difficult. But
the rewards of experiencing nature are very satisfying. This may be
enough for most people. But there are some people who want more than
just a day or weekend on the trail. These people try to walk from
the beginning of the trail to the end.

They usually start at Springer Mountain in Georgia in the early
spring. Generally, they hike the more than three thousand four
hundred kilometers to Mount Katahdin in Maine in five to six months.

VOICE TWO:

One person who tried to walk the Appalachian Trail is writer Bill
Bryson. Mister Bryson tells the story of his long walking trip in
his humorous book "A Walk in the Woods." However, he and his friend
did not complete the trip as planned.

At the end of their long trip, Mister Bryson and his friend asked
each other how they felt about the experience and if they were sad
to leave the trail. After thinking about it for a while, the two
agreed that they were both happy and sad about ending their trip.

Mister Bryson said he was tired of the trail, but still very
interested in it. He became tired of the endless forests, but felt
great wonder at their endlessness. He enjoyed the escape from
civilization, but wanted its comforts.

At the end of "A Walk in the Woods," Bill Bryson suggests that
his experiences on the Appalachian Trail changed the way he looks at
life and the world.

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VOICE ONE:

This Special English program was written by Oliver Chanler. It
was produced by Mario Ritter. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in
VOA Special English.