Appalachian History

Until Earl Shaffer actually did it, experts believed that a hike of the entire Appalachian Trail in one continuous trip was impossible.

On July 10, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History opened "Earl Shaffer and the Appalachian Trail," an exhibition that focuses on the fulfillment of Shaffer's childhood goal of hiking the Trail.

Featured items on display in the Albert H. Small Documents Gallery include Shaffer's trail diary from his pioneering hike, photographs he took along the trail, the maps he used and the boots he wore. The documents and artifacts will be on display through Oct. 30.

Earl Shaffer had no expert advice, no previous footsteps to follow, or even guidebooks to help him. He started his walk in April 1948 at Mount Oglethorpe, GA, and completed the Trail four months later at Maine’s Mount Katahdin. Shaffer kept a diary, along with photographs taken along the way, to prove to skeptics that he had really accomplished what he claimed.

Except for occasional times when Shaffer joined another hiker or group, he walked alone. Stopping to camp at night, his only companion was his "little black notebook."

Shaffer used the diary to record his progress, detail animal and bird sightings, talk about people he met, vent his frustrations and errors, and jot down poetry.
When Shaffer began his hike, his only maps were the road maps issued by service stations. The Trail itself was often obscured by natural growth, and trail markings were often faded or missing, forcing him to bushwhack through overgrown areas.

Shaffer's diary describes frequent episodes of taking wrong turns and going miles off course. His supplies were minimal, and he even mailed his tent home only a few days after starting out. "Most people," he wrote, "never in all their lives sleep under the open sky, and never realize what they are missing."

Shaffer at trail's end, atop Mt. Katahdin.

Shaffer completed two more hikes of the Appalachian Trail, the last in 1998 at the age of 79. After his pioneering walk in 1948, he devoted much of the rest of his life to activism on behalf of the Appalachian Trail and of parks and wilderness areas.

Earl Shaffer went on to write books and poetry, present slide lectures about his experiences, and help with the physical maintenance of the Trail. His advice remained popular and valued among would-be Trail hikers. In possibly the greatest homage to Earl Shaffer's historic feat, hundreds of hikers every year repeat his Appalachian Trail journey.


source http://americanhistory.si.edu/documentsgallery/index.html



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"Extensive national playgrounds have been reserved in various parts of the country for use by the people for camping and various kindred purposes. Most of these are in the West where Uncle Sam's public lands were located. They are in the Yosemite, the Yellowstone, and many other National Parks - covering about six million acres in all. Splendid work has been accomplished in fitting these Parks for use. The National Forests, covering about 130 million acres - chiefly in the West - are also equipped for public recreation purposes.

"A great public service has been started in these Parks and Forests in the field of outdoor life. They have been called "playgrounds of the people." This they are for the Western people – and for those in the East who can afford time and funds for an extended trip in a Pullman car. But camping grounds to be of the most use to the people should be as near as possible to the center of population. And this is in the East.

"It fortunately happens that we have throughout the most densely populated portions of the United States a fairly continuous belt of under developed lands. These are contained in the several ranges which form the Appalachian chain of mountains. Several National Forests have been purchased in this belt. These mountains, in several ways rivaling the western scenery, are within a day's ride from centers containing more than half the population of the United States. The region spans the climate of New England and the cotton belt; it contains the crops and the people of the North and the South.

"The skyline along the top of the main divides and ridges of the Appalachians would overlook a mighty part of the nation's activities. The rugged lands of this skyline would form a camping base strategic in the country's work and play."

---Benton MacKaye, “An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning.”

Benton MacKaye (1879-1975) was the first person to propose the idea of the Appalachian Trail, which he did in October of 1921. He grew up in Shirley Center, Massachusetts, reading the work of American naturalists and poets and taking long walks in the mountains of Massachusetts and Vermont. MacKaye sometimes claimed that the idea for the trail was born one day when he was sitting in a tree atop Stratton Mountain in Vermont.

Throughout his professional career MacKaye worked for a number of Federal bureaus and agencies, which included the U.S. Forest Service, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the U.S. Department of Labor.

MacKaye was responsible for convening and organizing the first Appalachian Trail conference in Washington, D.C., in 1925. That gathering of hikers, foresters, and public officials embraced the goal of building the Trail. They established an organization, called the Appalachian Trail Conference, appointed MacKaye as its "field organizer," and named Major William Welch, manager of New York's Harriman Park, as its first chairman. The Appalachian Trail Conference became the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in 2005.


Sources: Benton MacKaye, “An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning.” Journal of the American Institute of Architects 9 (Oct. 1921): 325-330.

www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.jkLXJ8MQKtH/b.786749/k.D5F9/History.htm

related post: "Emma Gatewood, 67, walks Appalachian Trail solo"


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Perry and Emma Gatewood’s oldest daughter Helen was already 20 years old in 1928, and the other children weren’t far behind. So Emma Gatewood became “Grandma Gatewood” to her immediate family long before the rest of the world knew her by that title.

Throughout the 30s, 40s and 50s she continued raising her 11 children and four of her grandchildren at the family farm in Gallia County, Ohio. With no means of transportation, Grandma Gatewood would simply walk two, three, four or five miles for her visits.

Then in 1955 at the age of 67, Grandma Gatewood made a journey that gained nationwide attention. Seeing a "National Geographic" article about the Appalachian Trail, and discovering that no woman had ever hiked its entire length, Grandma Gatewood decided to set out on an adventure. Amazingly, she made her arrangements and started in Maine on the hike without as much as a word to her family about her plans.

Unfortunately this first try ended abruptly when her glasses were accidentally broken, forcing her to return home. "I thought it would be a nice lark," she said, adding "It wasn't."

But finally, in 1957, she successfully hiked the trail all the way from Maine to Georgia, and if that wasn't enough she hiked it again in 1960, and then again at age 75 in 1963, making her the first person to hike the trail three times (though her final hike was completed in sections).

Gatewood never carried more than 20 lbs of gear and food during her hikes. She simply did not believe in expensive state of the art paraphernalia. "Most people today are pantywaist," she observed. Grandma G. traveled light, toting simply a blanket, plastic sheet, cup, first aid kit, raincoat, and one change of clothes. Her footgear was also plain, just an old pair of tennis shoes: "Head is more important than heel." And there were no freeze dried hiker meals for her. Her hiking diet consisted mainly of dried beef, cheese and nuts, supplemented by wild food she would find along the way.

On the design of the Appalachian Trail: "For some fool reason, they always lead you right up over the biggest rock to the top of the biggest mountain they can find."

sources:
www.answers.com/topic/grandma-gatewood
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandma_Gatewood
http://www.hockinghills.com/i_grandm.htm


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