Founding the Trail

Benton MacKaye dreamed up the Appalachian Trail, and Myron Avery turned that dream into a 2,000-mile trail. Their competing visions of what kind of trail the AT should be continue to be at the heart of discussions about the trail today. Should it be a true wilderness experience? Or should it be easily accessible to as many people as possible? In this episode, we tell the story of MacKaye’s and Avery’s roles in making the trail what it is today, and why their differing visions for the trail permanently fractured their relationship.

Full transcript and show notes available at greentunnel.rrchnm.org.