Summer is of course the busiest season on the Appalachian Trail — and not just because of the hikers. The challenges posed by heat and bugs never deter our volunteers and professional crews, who shift into high gear, tackling maintenance projects that make the Trail a safer, and more enjoyable, experience for us all. The ATC’s conservation staff members are hard at work managing the spread of invasive species, monitoring the health of forests, and improving habitat for native plants and wildlife including those that are threatened or endangered.

The annual meeting is an opportunity to come together as a community to discuss the future of the ATC and recommit to educating and empowering current and future caretakers of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.).

The results of the 2024 Board of Directors election will be announced at the meeting. The slate of candidates will be published on the ATC website prior to the meeting, and all members whose membership is current as of August 1, 2024, are eligible to vote. Members will receive an email to cast their ballot online.

For more information, visit appalachiantrail.org/2024meeting.

Although Bryson’s book served as the catalyst for four members of the Uribe family to undertake long-distance hikes, it was not their introduction to the A.T. Gina recalls visiting the Smoky Mountains and climbing Charlies Bunion when she was a child. Her dad pointed out a sign showing that the trail they were on went all the way to Maine. “We had done just a tiny portion of a trail that kept going and going,” recalls Gina. She later took her own children, Matthew and Stevie, on hikes in the Smokies when the family was living in Florida.

Named the 2024 Bird of the Year by the American Birding Association, the golden-winged warbler dwells in two worlds. All neotropical migratory birds nesting in North America and wintering in Latin or South America remind us that we are linked on one life-giving blue planet spinning around the sun.

Teens are powerful voices for stewardship. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy partners with several organizations to activate these voices and set into motion a ripple effect of stewardship, inclusive connection, and skill development. The ATC’s investment in youth programs is critical to cultivating the next generation of stewards through a shared connection and sense of belonging on the A.T. Not only do program participants learn about nature and the outdoors, but they come to understand the important role that the A.T. plays in conservation and how those lessons relate to their communities at home.

Forest Ambassadors

This April, the ATC and its partners welcomed thirty students — in grades eight through eleven — from thirteen schools across Georgia and Metro Atlanta counties to serve as NextGen Forest Ambassadors. NextGen is an entirely free program for students who undergo a rigorous application process, and provides transportation and some essential outdoor gear, as well as a small stipend upon successful completion of a stewardship project. Now in its seventh year, NextGen has been hosted by the ATC’s partner for youth engagement, the Georgia Mountains Children’s Forest Network, and is run as a partnership with the ATC, Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, US Forest Service – Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, The Greening Youth Foundation, Georgia Mountain Research and Education Center, West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, and Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards.

That may sound absurd since I’ve backpacked over 1,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail. Certainly, there were many times along the A.T. when I reveled in having everything I needed in a pack on my back. But, for me, it also meant long, uncomfortable miles lugging a too-heavy pack, followed by a sleepless night crammed into a shelter.

Fortunately, I discovered that I could enjoy an easier way to tackle the Trail as a day hiker. I’d start at one trailhead with a small daypack, sustain a good pace, then leave the Trail for the comforts of an inn or motel, a hot shower, and a solid meal prepared by someone other than me. I’ve hiked over 1,100 miles of the A.T. as a day hiker.

My love affair with the A.T. began in 1970. As a fifteen-year-old Eagle Scout, I backpacked 300 miles of the Trail with a fellow Scout. We started in Maryland and passed through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Our final destination had been Maine, but my buddy’s leg injury truncated our plans.

I was eight years old on my first hike of the Appalachian Trail up to McAfee Knob in Virginia. Over 20 years ago, I didn’t run into anyone else on this section of Trail, but that’s impossible now. In addition to the drastic increase in hikers, the nature of the Trail has changed significantly over time.

The entirety of Mount Rogers high country was once covered in red spruce forests aside from some high-elevation bogs and wetlands. Then, during the 19th and 20th centuries, widespread logging reduced the spruce forests by half. Now the Mount Rogers high country is known for large open areas and “wild” ponies. There was even a time when American chestnut reigned champion of eastern forests, white ash groves speckled Virginia mountains, and eastern hemlocks grew larger than 40 inches in diameter. It is hard for me to imagine how different the A.T. of the past is from the Trail we know and love today.