York's Earl Shaffer among inaugural Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame inductees
GARDNERS -- York native Earl Shaffer has been inducted into the brand-new Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame at the Appalachian Trail Museum in Adams County.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 Shaffer and the other five pioneers who are part of the first Hall of Fame induction class.
"Some have hiked the entire length of the Appalachian Trail, and some multiple times," stated Larry Luxenberg, president of the Appalachian Trail Museum Society -- the sponsor of the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame -- in a news release. "Some were instrumental in establishing the trail. All have helped create the unique culture that exists on the Appalachian Trail today."
Inductees in the charter class are:
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.
Myron Avery (1899-1952) -- If MacKaye envisioned the trail, Avery built it.
The Appalachian Trail - News
York's Earl Shaffer is pictured at Mount Katahdin in Maine, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. (Photo courtesy of Earl Shaffer Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
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Hundreds of volunteers and other supporters will gather this weekend at the Appalachian Trail Museum to celebrate its first year in operation. "It far exceeded our expectations in every conceivable way," said Larry Luxenberg, president of the museum
Appalachian Trail Museum Society inductees first six honorees into ...
Gene Espy, who in 1951 became the second person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail and then wrote a book â The Trails of My Life â about the experience that inspired thousands of others to follow in his footsteps, was presented with a commemorate hiking staff as one of the first six inductees into the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame.
The Appalachian Trail Museum Society , Gardners, on Friday inducted the inaugural class of a half-dozen men into the new 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 society.
The inductees are:
Gene Espy in 1951 became the second person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail and then wrote a book – The Trails of My Life – about the experience that inspired thousands of others to follow in his footsteps.
The late Earl Shaffer was a York County native who in 1948 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.” He hiked the entire trail again in 1965 and finally once more at age 79 in 1998.
The late Myron Avery worked tirelessly to make the trail accessible to the “average tramper, knitting the various local trail clubs together into a cohesive group and 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.
The late Ed Garvey, another early thru-hiker, in 1971 wrote the book, “Appalachian Hiker,” which likely did more to raise the awareness of thru-hiking than any other single event. He 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.
The late Benton MacKaye was the person who first proposed the idea of an Appalachian Trail in his 1921 article “An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning” He was responsible for convening and organizing the first Appalachian Trail "conference" in Washington, D.C., in 1925.
The late Arthur Perkins, an avid outdoorsman, spearheaded the effort to make 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.
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Hey I do it on the Appalachian Trail with style, am I qualified to be SCs next Gov? 
": I'd love to hike ALL of the Appalachian Trail! That's on my bucket list." 
I'd love to hike ALL of the Appalachian Trail! That's on my bucket list.
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Appalachian Trail Conservancy
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, formerly known as the Appalachian Trail Conference, has been responsible for building and maintaining the 2175 mile Appalachian National Scenic Trail since 1925. Run by volunteers, the ATC works in coordination with federal, state, and local agencies in 14 states from Georgia to Maine. Find information on hiking the trail and volunteering, ATC programs, AT history, fun facts, and trail stories.
National Park Service: Appalachian National Scenic Trail
Provides maps and information for the 2174-mile Appalachian Trail. The AT is a footpath that travels across the ridgecrests and valleys of the Appalachian Mountains, from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Katahdin in Maine.
Appalachian Trail - Wikipedia
Encyclopedia article on the 2174 mile Appalachian Trail. Provides trail history, information for hikers, and details about the trail in each of the 14 states it passes through.
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