The Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s priority in disaster response was locating all ATC staff, as several reside in impacted areas and were without power and ways to communicate. Thankfully, all ATC staff are safe and well, but as news came in from impacted areas, the immense scope and scale of devastation became apparent.

Reports began surfacing of thousands of blowdowns and uprooted trees, rendering the Trail impassable and even unidentifiable, with up to 90 percent tree canopy loss in isolated areas. In the hardest hit regions of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, bridges were washed away, shelters were smashed, and landslides buried sections of the Trail. The storm did not spare Georgia either, leaving the treadway littered with trees and debris. In its wake, Hurricane Helene left a complex and widespread patchwork of damage extending throughout the southern A.T.

To lead the ATC forward, an internal Helene Response Task Force was established with representatives from across the organization to identify immediate needs, prioritize trail and landscape assessments, and provide clear communications, both internally and externally. As part of the ATC’s response, appalachiantrail.org/Helene was launched to provide timely guidance and updates for visitors, volunteers, hikers, and ATC members.

Additionally, the ATC created the Appalachian Trail Resiliency Fund to gather resources needed to repair damaged Trail infrastructure, restore the surrounding landscape, and help A.T. Communities. The fund launched in October with commitments from members of the Board of Directors, individual donors including a generous $200,000 match from an ATC member, and partner contributions from AllTrails and BearVault.

The ATC is grateful for the early outpouring of support from the A.T. family following Hurricane Helene, and for our staff who have worked tirelessly in responding to this crisis while continuing to deliver on our mission and run day-to-day operations.

Together with the National Park Service and United States Forest Service, the ATC asks for grace and patience during this challenging time. The ATC is committed to providing support to our A.T. Communities, rehabilitating the Trail and landscape, and delivering on our promise of an open and continuous Trail.

Additionally, the ATC worked with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Trust for Public Land, and the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference to permanently protect 505 acres in Dutchess County, New York. The newly established Grape Hollow State Forest will act as a buffer to the A.T. corridor and will protect wildlife habitats and biodiversity in the region.

“This land conservation effort demonstrates what it takes to successfully safeguard the Trail and the world-renowned hiking experience it provides — private and public partners stepping up to protect the A.T.’s many threatened landscapes from development pressure,” says Rachel Lettre, the ATC’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Director. Because of collaborative efforts like these, future generations will have a chance to reconnect with nature in an increasingly urban area.

Photo by Dan Hale

By Dan Hale, Senior Natural Resource and Land Stewardship Manager, New England

On a very pleasant autumn week in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy partnered with the American Hiking Society and the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Western Massachusetts Chapter to host a “Volunteer Vacation” that involved camping and working together to maintain the boundary lines of the Appalachian Trail Corridor protected lands. We camped at the Pittsfield State Forest, where we shared hearty meals, sat around a campfire telling stories and toasting marshmallows, listened to owls hooting at night, and sipped hot coffee on brisk mornings.

Each day, we drove to a different section of the Appalachian Trail Corridor to maintain the boundary lines. With ten people total, we split into three groups and were able to cover a lot of ground. We cleared brush along the boundary lines, repainted the yellow blazes marking the line, put up boundary signs, and located the survey markers we call monuments at every 500 feet along the line. If a monument was covered by fall leaves, we searched for it like you would for buried treasure: with a map, compass, measuring tape, metal detector, and rock pick.

We enjoyed meeting some friendly volunteers, camping in gorgeous fall weather, and getting a lot of needed work done — maintaining 5.5 miles of boundary and finding 62 monuments in just three days!

© Trans Canada Trail, Union Eleven Photographers

In October, the 2024 World Trails Conference brought together more than 100 speakers from around the globe to Ottawa, Ontario, to discuss the theme, “Connection to people, places, and the planet.” Taking the stage on behalf of the ATC, Hawk Metheny, vice president of Trail Management, spoke in two breakout sessions alongside other industry leaders.

“It was an honor to represent the ATC at the World Trails Conference this year. I met trail organizations from around the world, and many wanted to know how it all works on the A.T.,” said Hawk. “They wanted to know more about the Cooperative Management System, volunteerism, land protection, agency partner relations, federal funding, impassioned supporters, and more. It confirmed for me, once again, that the Appalachian Trail’s success is well recognized and serves as an international model for other trails, wherever they are in their evolution.”

Unique perspectives were shared during the first panel, where Hawk was joined by Julian Gray, the chair of National Trails UK, Kevin Burke, director of design for Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., and representatives from Parks Canada to discuss Connection and Community: How Trails Bring Us Closer to Nature — And Each Other. Participants shared their successes and lessons of community and regenerative tourism trail projects, and insights on how trails can inspire meaningful engagement between people and nature.

Hawk also participated in the panel, Preserving the Path: Trail-Based Conservation in Rural and Urban Contexts, alongside speakers from Bhutan, Canada, and the United States. The discussion focused on strategies for meaningful conservation partnerships that benefit trails and the planet, from urban trail networks to trail tourism destinations, like the A.T.

The World Trails Conference is a bi-annual global forum that attracts leaders from the global trail sector to inspire meaningful conversations about the future of trails and their impact on communities, nature, and well-being. This year’s conference was the largest in the event’s history with over 400 registered participants and representatives from 34 different countries.

Jayanna Killingsworth is an alumnus of Prescott College’s Environmental Studies program and a current Ph.D. candidate in their Sustainability Education program. Through Yale’s Environmental Fellowship Program (EFP) she was placed with the ATC from May through August of 2024. Killingsworth spent twelve weeks exploring ways in which the ATC can improve the messaging and information available to the public around accessibility on the Trail. In a Q&A with Michelle Presley, Communications Manager at the ATC, she discussed this important project.

ATC: What are some of the specific goals or objectives of your project?

After doing a deep dive into the existing literature, historical data, and guiding documents of the ATC and the broader A.T., I took three distinct approaches to my overarching exploratory objective: a content analysis of the current ATC website, a curriculum development project to create a new training video for ATC staff and volunteers, and field observations at portions of the Trail built to be wheelchair accessible.

ATC: In your experience so far, what have been some of the challenges and successes in promoting accessibility on the Appalachian Trail?

One of the more unique challenges to promoting accessibility is the sheer size of the A.T. and the nature of the cooperative management model. In learning about the combination of land types, regulatory bodies, best practices, legacy, current concerns, and future goals, I found a repetitive theme when it comes specifically to the promotion of accessibility: the premise of “who” the A.T. is geared toward. The legacy of the Trail has maintained a focus on thru-hikers (which, of course, are part of the foundational DNA of the A.T.), but the conversation should be broadened to consider that there are and have been people of all abilities who have traversed the Trail, as well as the many people —of varying abilities — who would just enjoy a day in nature.

The biggest success for me was witnessing the genuine efforts and care from the ATC staff and volunteers who I had the pleasure of working with. These individuals showed time and time again that they are very aware of the challenges, and work hard within their capacities to be inclusive changemakers. The level of compassion that I experienced is an organizational success for the ATC that I was proud to be a small part of.

ATC: Why do you think it’s important for National Scenic Trails like the Appalachian Trail to be accessible to people with disabilities?

Time spent outdoors is beneficial for a person’s well-being, and that is paramount for everyone! When we look at the numbers, in the U.S. alone, 1 in 4 adults have some form of disability. By 2030, there will be an additional 8 million adults over the age of 65. My understanding of these statistics means that accessibility needs will only continue to grow. That, in turn, takes me back to the imperative that accessibility on public lands should always be considered in conjunction with the environmental protection of those lands. There are many examples that show how both environmental and social considerations make up the larger dialogue of accessibility.

ATC: Could you share a memorable moment or story from your time with the ATC so far?

There are many moments that will be fondly remembered from this fellowship opportunity, but I think one that stands out was my visit to the ATC headquarters in Harpers Ferry. It was a beautiful and temperate day when I arrived. Inside there was a variety of activity — parents with their children who were getting ready to get sworn into the Junior Rangers program, people adding to their ATC passport stamp collection, and one person arriving to claim their place as another completed thru-hiker! We toasted to them with sparkling apple cider before I headed off to meet with ATC staff to discuss A.T. communities and affinity groups. We had a wonderful and informative chat that reinforced what I mentioned earlier about the care and consideration that staff members are taking when they are considering accessibility.

ATC : How can the general public, including hikers and volunteers, contribute to making outdoor spaces more inclusive and accessible?

Since many of us in the general public recreate with our friends and family, I can infer that many of the hikers and volunteers probably do too. Because of that, I feel that we should all be considering how outdoor spaces could be more inclusive and accessible to ensure — at a minimum — that those who are close to us are able to experience more of nature. For us all to be able to make these considerations, it is so important that information about the topic is broadly and easily available in multiple forms. Examples of different forms of information include websites, brochures, signage, networking, formal workshops, and informal gatherings.

ATC: What roles do partnerships and collaborations play in advancing accessibility initiatives along the Trail?

I was told a great saying in a workshop some years back that I find fitting for this question: It takes multiple seeds to plant a garden. To me, this quote speaks to various strengths, attributes, diversity, and cohesion within a specified growing space. Just as with a garden, having a variety of partnerships and collaborations that all have similar foundational goals can only strengthen the roles that each of them takes toward the advancement of accessibility. This could be in the form of knowledge sharing, aligning strategic goals, and creating spaces for the members of the different partners to come together for brainstorming and planning sessions.

ATC: What advice would you give to someone who wants to explore the Appalachian Trail but has accessibility concerns or limitations?

I wholeheartedly believe that knowledge is power, so the main piece of advice I can give to anyone with accessibility concerns or limitations is to absorb all the information about the Trail that you can. Each individual has a good idea about what they are capable of doing and what goals they have set for themselves, so finding the necessary resources to help guide them will be vital to their success. Building off of that, people should not be afraid to ask questions. The ATC website is a great resource for finding information and connecting with staff and volunteers who can answer their questions.

Osborne Farm. Photos by Jayanna Killingsworth