The Appalachian Trail is one of the most iconic hiking trails in the world. Due to its length and stunning scenery, people have flocked there since the trail’s completion in 1937. While 3 million people hike some part of the trail each year, a much smaller set of 3000 adventurous types attempt to trek the entire thing. Getting from start to finish in a single year (called a “thru-hike”) is no easy feat, and only about 10 to 15 percent of people who start out make it all the way. It’s not hard to see why: Thru-hikers must traverse 2193 miles across 14 states, not to mention managing the approximate 464,500 feet of elevation gain/loss along the way. That’s a lot of trail mix. Thru-hikers follow these white blazes from Georgia to Maine.
