{"id":6917,"date":"2010-12-28T18:39:10","date_gmt":"2010-12-28T23:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=6917"},"modified":"2022-06-29T06:15:43","modified_gmt":"2022-06-29T11:15:43","slug":"appalachian-trail-counties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/appalachian-trail-counties\/","title":{"rendered":"Appalachian Trail Counties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For a long time I\u2019ve wondered what would happen if a county counter<\/a> hiked the Appalachian Trail. I know that\u2019s not a normal curiosity. I\u2019m not the type of person to move in lockstep with everyone else though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, I am not interested in walking the Appalachian Trail. I am sure the wonders and hardships a hiker would experience on this truly memorable personal journey of physical endurance would provide a lifetime of memories. Of course that’s a great thing, it’s just not for me. I don’t even want to drive<\/em> that far. No I simply wanted to see what the map would look like after someone might complete the hike. So naturally I created one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The County Path<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Appalachian<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A more useful map, and an interactive one to boot, is provided by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Appalachian Trail is officially the Appalachian National Scenic Trail but sometimes it’s shortened all the way down to AT. It stretches an impressive 2,179 miles (3,507 kilometres) through fourteen states from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. Thru-hikers will attempt to cover every mile in a single season. Most of them will fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, but not always, they will start in Georgia and hike north. They\u2019ll catch the warmth of a southern spring at the beginning of their journey. Then they’ll avoid the worst of the summer heat later on as they move into New England. This feat of endurance can last five or six months, or even longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a thru-hiker is a purist (e.g., sticks to the white paint blazes with no shortcuts) — and for this exercise let\u2019s call him oh I don\u2019t know, maybe let’s call him Steve<\/a> — then Steve would be able to mark 87 counties on his county counting map. If he were a county counter. Which he is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Spotlight on 1 of 87<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I could focus attention on any of those 87 counties. Nonetheless, I think I\u2019ll select only one of them as the closest thing to an AT geo-oddity. That’s Jefferson County, West Virginia (map<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Appalachian<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n