The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is one of the classic hikes within the National Park System/NPS

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is arguably the world’s most iconic long-distance trail. It falls and rises, swaggers and turns, following meanders for 2,185 miles from Mount Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia.

Along the way (either north to south or south to north) you’ll pass urban areas, vestiges of wilderness, and some of the 260 huts that you might call home at day’s end. The beauty of this, and other long-distance trails, is the variety of each section of the trail. Do the whole thing in one fell, multi-month swoop, or pick away at it.

Leaving Springer Mountain in the spring and finding yourself atop Mount Katahdin months later requires an understanding employer, a pair or two of good boots, strong will, and the wanderlust to see what’s just over the rise. It’s a great milestone break between high school and college, college and a job, or post-kids and retirement.

So popular is this trail with folks who have done either the entire walk or simply bite-sized portions that there’s a website dedicated to them—the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association. Check out this group, as it offers some great resources, such as the Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers’ Companion. This book, small enough to stash in your pack, provides a rundown of “details on shelters, water sources, post offices, hostels, campgrounds, lodging, groceries, restaurants, outfitters, and other related services along the Trail.”

Hike end-to-end and you’ll pass through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Shenandoah National Park, and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. It’s a one-of- a-kind.

Helpful Books

* A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Bryson

* Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail, by Jennifer Pharr-Davis