Celebrating the 2024 2,000-Milers

Northbound: 772
Southbound: 34
Flip-Flop: 73
Section Hikers: 117

Above: Frank “Ironman” Brummer, Section Hike: “Just super grateful for the ATC and all the volunteers.”

Every year,

thousands of people embark on the adventure of a lifetime: setting out to hike all 2,190+ miles of the Appalachian Trail. In 2024, 996 hikers celebrated the completion of the journey, and gained recognition as official 2,000-Milers by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. A 2,000-Miler is anyone who’s completed the full Trail, whether in a single 12-month span (a thru-hike) or as a series of section hikes.

A Note from “Chickpea,” NOBO ’24

For me, the idea to thru-hike was born when I was 16, on a family backpacking trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. It took me 20 years to realize the dream, and in 2024 I completed a northbound thru-hike. The journey itself is complete, but any 2,000-miler will tell you that the time spent on the Trail is forever with you, a touchstone that remains even when you’re back to “normal” life.

If you’ve ever stepped foot on the A.T., you know the feeling: of relief, of community, of peace. It’s “a footpath for those who seek fellowship with the wilderness,” but also a footpath for those who seek fellowship with other people. On the Trail, so much of what keeps us divided in regular life is stripped away. I was honored to meet so many amazing fellow travelers on my journey. Thank you to everyone who walked with me for a few steps or a few miles, who chatted with me over dinner at camp, or relaxed together at a hostel. I talked to day hikers, section hikers, people who have been hiking the Trail for decades or who were stepping foot on it for the first time. And words can’t really express the gratitude I have for my fellow thru-hikers, who know what it takes to get all the way there.

Congratulations to everyone who finished the Trail in 2024. To those who have more miles to go: I’m so excited for you. You get to continue on your journey and make the most of what remains.

I can’t imagine a world without the Appalachian Trail in it, and all the people who love the Trail. Thank you for being one of them.

Genevieve “Chickpea” Andress NOBO ’24
Relationship Marketing and Membership Director
Appalachian Trail Conservancy

Congratulations to ALL of the 2024 2,000-milers! See the full listing at appalachiantrail.org/2000miler.

Mary “Restless” Montigny, Northbound Thru-Hike

a woman wearing a large backpack and holding trekking poles smiles while sitting on a large cliff boulder

Teresa “Lightning” Gadient , Flip-Flop Thru-Hike

a woman holds her trekking poles aloft and smiles for a picture while standing at the entrance of a partially enclosed bridge overlooking a large creek

Eric “Cheeto” Liu, Northbound Thru-Hike

a man holds his hands up, both signaling #1, as he sits atop the end trail marker on Mt. Katahdin

Timothy “Guinness” Cain, Northbound Thru-Hike “The kindness I experienced on the trail was truly AWESOME. If you have lost faith in humanity, hike this trail!”

back view of a man, wearing a backpack and hiking gear and holding a single trekking pole up in one hand while hiking along a flat boulder filled terrain

Chloe “Cricket” Andrie, Section Hike “The Appalachian Trail has changed my life.”

candid shot of a woman smiling while standing beside an Appalachian Trail caution sign

Ethan “Fly Lord” O’Reilly, Southbound Thru-Hike

a man dressed in hiking gear kneels on one knee in front of an Appalachian Trail plaque affixed to a ground boulder, the hiker smiles while holding a supply container aloft

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