Today’s episode is bittersweet because we have reached the end of our hike. After three years and 50 episodes, we are wrapping up The Green Tunnel with something a little different. Every episode of The Green Tunnel has focused on some aspect of the history of the Appalachian Trail, but today we’re looking forward. What will the AT’s future look like? How will the trail evolve? What will the greatest challenges be for the trail we all love?
May 07, 2024•27 min•Season 3Ep. 14
On today’s episode of The Green Tunnel , we are exploring a central reason why hikers head to the Appalachian Trail in the first place, to see wildlife. We’ll also talk about how the animals along the trail are changing the way hikers experience the AT and the ecology of the mountains the AT passes through.
Apr 23, 2024•33 min•Season 3Ep. 13
What long-distance AT hiker hasn’t dreamed of reaching that sign on the summit of Katahdin at the end of their hike? Today, we are headed to the top of the mountain to explore the history of the iconic sign.
Apr 09, 2024•14 min•Season 3Ep. 12
The Appalachian Trail winds its way through Appalachia which is a place where people make sense of their world through stories. Stories of their lives in the mountains. Stories of the land and its riches. Stories, both fiction and non-fiction, about their journeys. In this episode of The Green Tunnel, we are exploring the history of writing about the Appalachian Trail.
Mar 26, 2024•31 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Did you know a significant number of hikers confess their sins in the logbook in the shelter on Priest Mountain? Why do they do this and what do they confess? Find out on today’s Iconic Locations episode.
Mar 12, 2024•12 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Benton MacKaye wanted to be sure that anyone who chose to spend a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks on the trail would have the opportunity to really get away from civilization. However, most of the lands MacKaye hoped to route his future trail through were in private hands, owned either by individuals or corporations. If an Appalachian Trail was really going to be built, then its leaders would have to find a way to reconcile their desire to build a trail with the rights of private landowner...
Feb 27, 2024•28 min•Season 3Ep. 9
The Delaware Water Gap is one of the most breathtaking spots along the entire Appalachian Trail and has been a favorite subject of landscape painters since at least the middle of the 19th century. It's an important marker for northbound hikers, but it's also a torturous landscape that many hikers call "Rocksylvania."
Feb 13, 2024•9 min•Season 3Ep. 8
There is no better way to turn a good hike into a bad hike than taking a wrong turn and hiking miles out of your way. Especially if that means you climbed an extra mountain or two. Today, we are exploring the history of blazing, signing, and mapping the trail from Georgia to Maine.
Jan 30, 2024•31 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Bear Mountain Bridge sits just north of the oldest section of the entire Appalachian Trail and on today's Iconic Location episode we are what was once the world’s longest suspension bridge.
Jan 16, 2024•10 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Today we’re going back to the earliest days of the Appalachian Trail to learn more about the critical role that the Civilian Conservation Corps played in making the trail a reality.
Dec 12, 2023•32 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Have you ever wondered who Charlies Bunion was named after or why there are two balds with the same name? On today’s Iconic Location episode, we are exploring the mystery of Charlies Bunion.
Nov 28, 2023•13 min•Season 3Ep. 4
The American Chestnut was one of the most magnificent trees in North America. On today’s episode of The Green Tunnel , we’re going to explore how it lived, how it died, and how – with the help of scientists, non-profit organizations, and passionate volunteers – it just might repopulate the Appalachian Mountains once again.
Nov 14, 2023•36 min•Season 3Ep. 3
While no one has ever seen a dragon along the Appalachian Trail, hundreds of thousands of hikers have seen a dragon’s tooth. Viewed from a distance this geological formation looks like one very large, very snaggly fang sticking up out of Cove Mountain.
Oct 31, 2023•9 min•Season 3Ep. 2
This season the history we’re starting with is really, really old. We are exploring the geological history of the rocks and mountains the Appalachian Trail runs through. We will also answer the age-old question, are the mountains actually getting taller?
Oct 17, 2023•25 min•Season 3Ep. 1
On Tuesday, October 17th, The Green Tunnel will be back with Season Three! This season we’re exploring the natural history of the Appalachian Trail. We’ll dig deep into the trail’s geological past, climb chestnut trees, follow some critters down unexpected paths, and consider the history of the trail’s future. We’ll also highlight iconic locations across the trail, from the Priest Shelter in Virginia to the Kennebec River Ferry in Maine. We’ve interviewed historians and scientists, hikers and au...
Oct 03, 2023•2 min
Planning section hikes can take a lot of work. Luckily, every section hiker out there has a go-to podcast to help with that planning. Julie Gayheart hosts the “Jester” Section Hiker podcast and there is no better resource for anyone interested in section hiking the Appalachian Trail. Today, Julie walks us through what it takes to hike the Connecticut section of the trail.
Aug 22, 2023•30 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Today we’re headed to Florida. While the AT doesn’t run through Florida, the state has a lot of great trails, including the Florida Trail. And one of the best ways for you to learn about the FT is by listening to Orange Blaze . This podcast highlights the experience of hikers along the Florida Trail and is hosted by Misti ‘Ridley’ Little.
Jul 18, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 17
When the Appalachian Trail project began, volunteer clubs up and down the length of the trail committed themselves to first scouting, then building, and then maintaining the trail. In the last episode of season two, we are digging into the critical role women played in the early years of the AT. They played such a big role, some trail clubs limited the number of women allowed to join.
May 30, 2023•21 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Today, we’re hiking on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, to the site of Fontana Dam. It’s the tallest dam east of the Rocky Mountains. Constructed in the 1940s, the dam and its resulting reservoir flooded four towns and affected the daily lives and memories of many people. So, why was the dam built and what lies beneath the cool blue waters of Fontana Lake? Further Reading: “Fontana Dam, N.C.,” Appalachian Trail Conservancy “The History of Fontana Village,” Fontana Village Resort and M...
May 16, 2023•13 min•Season 2Ep. 15
The Appalachian Trail is a much more diverse place in 2023 than it was as recently as 20 years ago. But if you spend much time on the trail, you know it’s still a pretty white place. There are many stories about the challenges faced by members of marginalized communities who hike the AT, and we need a lot more research to better understand how the history of the trail and the history of race are closely interwoven. On today’s episode, attorney Krystal Williams of Maine and historian Phoebe Young...
May 02, 2023•40 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Long before Harpers Ferry, Virginia became the emotional halfway point for Appalachian Trail thru hikers, it was the site of one of the most important events in 19th century American history. In the fall of 1859, the abolitionist John Brown and 22 of his compatriots attacked the federal arsenal there, hoping to spark an insurrection against slavery in the American South on the eve of the Civil War. On today's episode, historian Jonathan Earle of Louisiana State University explores Brown's raid o...
Apr 18, 2023•13 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Throughout its history, the Appalachian Trail has been a place many hikers go for peace, for inspiration, for community, for physical challenge, and in some cases, as a sort of personal spiritual journey. In our show today, we’re taking a close look at the history of these inner motivations to hike.
Apr 04, 2023•21 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Have you ever wondered where the center point of the Appalachian Trail is? If you guessed Center Point Knob, Pennsylvania you would be wrong. But it was the location of an infamous crime. Well sort of.
Mar 21, 2023•8 min•Season 2Ep. 11
On this special episode of The Green Tunnel , Dakota Jackson, Director of Visitor Experience at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, talks with Mills Kelly about his new book, Virginia's Lost Appalachian Trail . Dakota and Mills explore the process of digging up the story of Virginia's Lost AT in the archives, and in the memories of the people who remember it. We hope you enjoy this deeper dive into the history of the old section of the trail, and learn a little about how historians recover and in...
Mar 07, 2023•32 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Today, we’re going to tell you a story from the earliest days of the Appalachian Trail, a time when trail scouts were still trying to find a complete route north or south through what was sometimes unmapped wilderness. It’s a story about a 300-mile-long section of the Appalachian Trail you almost certainly have never heard of.
Feb 21, 2023•34 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Today we're exploring one of the more famous trail towns along the Appalachian Trail, Damascus, Virginia.
Feb 07, 2023•11 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Hikers don’t often realize they’re passing through the traditional homelands of many Indigenous nations. In today’s episode, we’re focusing on some of the Indigenous lands the Appalachian Trail runs through as a way of helping to recover at least some of the Indigenous history along the trail’s route.
Jan 24, 2023•27 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Today, we explore one of the most infamous sections of the Appalachian Trail. Get ready for the ups and downs of Northern Virginia's Roller Coaster.
Dec 13, 2022•9 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Today, we’re going to be talking about something everybody does, but not everybody’s comfortable discussing. There’s no nice way to say this, other than to just get right to it. Today’s episode is about pooping along the Appalachian Trail. And yes, even that has a history.
Nov 29, 2022•30 min•Season 2Ep. 5
The AT originally ran right through Monson, Maine, fueling its economy, but when the trail was moved and things threatened to change, the community established itself as a hiker haven.
Nov 15, 2022•8 min•Season 2Ep. 4
