Best of the Appalachian Trail: Overnight Hikes

Leonard M. Adkins has been intimately involved with the Appalachian Trail for several decades. He has hiked its full length five times and lacks just a few hundred miles to complete it for a sixth. He has maintained a section of the Trail near McAfee Knob and was a ridgerunner for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. He has also served as an A.T. Natural Heritage Site Monitor, aiding the conservancy and the National Park Service in overseeing the welfare of rare and endangered plants. In addition, he has served on the boards of directors of the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club and the Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club. Among other long-distance trails Leonard has completed are the Continental Divide Trail from Canada to Mexico, the Pacific Northwest Trail from Glacier National Park to the Pacific Ocean, and the Pyrenees High Route along the border of France and Spain. In all, he has walked more than 20,000 miles exploring the backcountry areas of the United States, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and the Caribbean. Leonard is the author of 20 books on travel and the outdoors. His Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail was presented the National Outdoor Book Award, while The Appalachian Trail: A Visitor’s Companion received the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award. He has also written more than 200 articles for magazines such as Blue Ridge Country, Backpacker, Islands, The Roanoker, and Blue Ridge Outdoors. Along with his thru-hiking wife, Laurie, he lives in Virginia, within easy striking distance of the A.T. You may learn more about his adventures at habitualhiker.com. Victoria and Frank Logue hiked the entire Appalachian Trail in 1988 and have returned again and again to hike its many sections on day and overnight hikes. Frank has also served on the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s Board of Managers. In addition, they have continued to hike out west and abroad, including Israel, Jordan, France, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, and England. They live in Georgia, where Frank works as an Episcopal priest and as an assistant to the bishop of Georgia. Victoria, a writer of fiction and nonfiction, recently published her fourth novel. Currently, they love visiting and hiking with their daughter, Griffin, in Arizona.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionMaineMAINE TRAIL TABLERainbow LakeNahmakanta Lake to Abol BridgeCooper Pond to Nahmakanta StreamBarren–Chairback RangeLittle Wilson and Big Wilson FallsMoxie Bald, Bald Mountain, and Horseshoe CanyonBigelow Range LoopSaddleback RangeHike of the Five PondsBemis Range LoopThe BaldpatesMahoosuc RangeNew HampshireNEW HAMPSHIRE TRAIL TABLEGentian PondThe Northern Presidential RangeZealand Falls, Ethan Pond, and Webster CliffsFranconia Ridge and Lonesome LakeWestern New HampshireVermontVERMONT TRAIL TABLEEastern VermontPico PeakKillington PeakLittle Rock Pond to Clarendon GorgeStratton Mountain and Lye Brook Wilderness LoopMassachusettsMASSACHUSETTS TRAIL TABLEMount Greylock LoopFinerty Pond to Benedict PondJug End, Mount Everett, and Sages RavineConnecticutCONNECTICUT TRAIL TABLEHousatonic River to Ten Mile HillNew YorkNEW YORK TRAIL TABLEShenandoah Mountain to Bear Mountain InnHarriman State ParkNew JerseyNEW JERSEY TRAIL TABLEPochuck Crossing and Wallkill ValleyKittatinny MountainsDelaware Water Gap and Kittatinny MountainsPennsylvaniaPENNSYLVANIA TRAIL TABLEWind Gap to Delaware Water GapBlue MountainThe Pinnacles and Pulpit RockHawk Rock and the Cumberland ValleySouth MountainMarylandMARYLAND TRAIL TABLEAnnapolis Rock to Pen Mar ParkWest Virginia and VirginiaWEST VIRGINIA AND VIRGINIA TRAIL TABLESouth and North Marshall LoopStony Man and Big MeadowsSouthern ShenandoahMill Creek and Humpback MountainThree Ridges LoopBald Knob to The PriestThunder Hill to Jennings CreekDragons Tooth, McAfee Knob, and Tinker CliffsAngels Rest and Dismal Creek FallsVirginia Highlands TraverseFairwood Valley and Mount Rogers LoopTennessee and North CarolinaTENNESSEE AND NORTH CAROLINA TRAIL TABLEIron Mountain TraverseGrassy Ridge and The Humps TraverseBald MountainsState Line TraverseMax Patch and Hot SpringsMount Cammerer LoopMount Collins and Clingmans DomeRussell Field, Spence Field, and Rocky Top LoopNorthern Nantahala TraverseWayah Bald and Siler BaldStanding Indian LoopGeorgiaGEORGIA TRAIL TABLETray Mountain WildernessTesnatee Gap to Woody GapBlood Mountain LoopWoody Gap and Springer MountainSpringer Mountain and Three Forks LoopAppendix: Trail-Maintenance ClubsIndexAbout the AuthorsAbout the Appalachian Trail Conservancy