Appalachian Trail- The Beaten Path

Product Features Previously seen on public television Hear the amazing story of the trail s creation with rare historical footage of Benton MacKaye and Myron Avery Includes a never-before-seen interview with the trails creator Benton MacKaye See film of President Roosevelt at the Appalachian Trail Meet some of the amazing people who have thru-hiked the trail, including the first person to do it, Earl Shaffer, and blind hiker Bill Irwin Special features include extended interviews with blind hiker Bill Irwin and Shenandoah historian Darwin Lambert Product Description It goes through 14 states, from Maine to Georgia, and it is one of the longest continuously marked footpaths in the world at about 2,180 miles. It is the Appalachian Trail a tribute to nature that took more than 15 years and countless arguments to complete. In Appalachian Trail: The Beaten Path, previously seen on public television, meet the people behind the trail, including the man who came up with the idea Benton MacKaye and the man who, in the end, made it happen Myron Avery. In 1921, MacKaye published an article about his idea for a series of camps along the ridge of the Appalachian Mountains...with a trail connecting them. But it would take the ambition of lawyer Avery to make MacKaye s dream a reality. Unfortunately, the two men did not always agree on what the trail should be, and in Appalachian Trail: The Beaten Path, see how MacKaye s original idea ultimately turned into one of the longest trails in the world. Plus, hear from some of the trail s most famous hikers: Earl Shaffer, a World War II veteran, was the first person to thru-hike the entire distance of the trail in 1948. He would go on to complete the trail two more times, completing the final hike just two weeks before his 80th birthday. And Bill Irwin is the only blind hiker to have completed the Appalachian Trail, which he did with his seeing eye dog Orient.