Cumberland Valley A. T. Club

Thousands dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail each year, but only a few actually hike all 2,181 miles between Maine and Georgia. It takes them typically four to six months and five million plus steps over rugged, mountainous terrain to complete the journey through 14 states.  Those who become successful “thru hikers,” as these end-to-end hikers are known, owe their experiences to six pioneers who are being named to the first class of inductees to the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame.  “Some have hiked the entire length of the Appalachian Trail, and some multiple times. Some were instrumental in establishing the trail.  All have helped create the unique culture that exists on the Appalachian Trail today,” said Larry Luxenberg, president of the Appalachian Trail Museum Society -- sponsor of the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame.  Inductees in the charter class are:

Myron Avery (1899-1952) – If Benton MacKaye envisioned the trail, Avery built it.  He knitted the trail clubs together into a cohesive group, communicating by letter to volunteers up and down the Atlantic Seaboard.  He was the first person to walk the entire trail, pushing his ever-present measuring wheel in front of him.  His vision of the physical trail included a blazing system; he was responsible for the 2X6” white blaze, guidebooks and wide publicity.  He wanted the trail to be accessible to the “average tramper” (his words).  It was to be a “people’s trail.”

Gene Espy – In 1951, Espy became the second person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail.  His well known book, The Trail of My Life – the Gene Espy Story, has inspired many to follow in his footsteps. He was at the banquet to receive the honor of being inducted into the Charter Class of the Appalachian Trail Hall of  Fame.

Ed Garvey (1915-1999) - He thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1970, when it was still a fairly rare thing to do.  The popularity of his 1971 book, Appalachian Hiker, arguably did more to raise the awareness of thru-hiking than any other single event.  In his book, he carefully explained his preparations and gathered useful information along the way that would be of benefit to those who would follow in his footsteps.  Garvey also was instrumental in getting federal funds in the late 1970s to protect the trail, and he volunteered countless hours helping to build the trail while working in Washington, D.C.

Benton MacKaye (1879-1975) - He is the person who first proposed the idea of an Appalachian Trail in his 1921 article "An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning".  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 (now Conservancy), and appointed MacKaye as its "field organizer”.  Without his vision and inspiration, the Appalachian Trail would probably never have been built.

Arthur Perkins (1864-1932) - Perkins, an avid outdoorsman, spearheaded the effort to make Benton MacKaye's dream of the Appalachian Trail a reality. After MacKaye's initial inspiration in the early 1920s, work on building the trail had largely stalled by the middle of the decade.  Judge Perkins took up the cause of the A.T. and pushed it forward relentlessly in the mid and late 1920s.  Just as importantly, he inspired others to get involved, including Myron Avery.  Judge Perkins was also the second Chairman of the Appalachian Trail Conference (now Conservancy), serving from 1927 to 1930.  Unfortunately, just as he had revived interest in the A.T., he suffered a stroke in 1930 from which he never really recovered.

Earl Shaffer (1918-2002) - While Benton MacKaye developed the trail in concept and Myron Avery built the trail, it was Pennsylvania native Earl Shaffer who pioneered the concept of thru-hiking.  His notion of a 2,000-mile continuous wilderness foot expedition was unheard of until his initial “Walk With Spring” in 1948.  Before he did it, many thought it was physically impossible to hike the entire trail in one year. He hiked the entire trail again in 1965 and finally once more at age 79 in 1998. 

“These are pioneers who richly deserve being the first inductees to the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame,” Luxeneberg said. “Thousands of adventurers have since followed in their footsteps, taking journeys that have in many cases changed lives and redirected priorities.”

The Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony was part of the first Appalachian Trail Museum Festival held June 17-19 at Pine Grove Furnace State Park near Carlisle, Gettysburg and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.  During its first year, the museum attracted more than 8,000 visitors from 47 states and 18 countries. Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame inductees will be prominently recognized in the museum as well as on the Museum's website, http://www.atmuseum.org/.

Each class of Appalachian Trail Museum Hall of Fame inductees will include people who have made a major contribution to the Appalachian Trail, or otherwise have advanced the cause of the Appalachian Trail. Nominees will include pioneers who conceived of and developed the trail; those who organized or directed major trail organizations like the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Appalachian Trail maintaining clubs; longtime trail maintainers; leaders who promoted and protected the Appalachian Trail; hikers who have made significant accomplishments, and other persons who have enriched the culture or community of the Appalachian Trail by their association with it.