A.T. Incidents

I n 1968, the National Trails System Act recognized the Appalachian Trail as the nation's first national scenic trail and authorized funds to protect the entire route with public lands, either federal or state. The A.T. traverses 8 national forests, 6 units of the national park system, 14 states, and more than 80 counties.

The National Park Service (NPS) has over-all responsibility for the Trail through its Appalachian Trail Park Office (ATPO). Actual operations affecting use of the Trail are shared responsibilities of the National Park Service, the Forest Service, various agencies in the 14 states through which it passes, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC (tm)), and affiliated hiking clubs.

Volunteers and local clubs built and have maintained the Trail since its beginning, and the principle of cooperative management has linked trail-maintaining clubs, federal agencies, and state governments for 70 years. Recognizing this, the National Park Service in 1984 delegated to ATC the day-to-day responsibility for managing the lands through which the Trail is routed.

ATC can provide keys to access-road gates, detailed Trail maps, and help in hiker search and rescue. This is accomplished through the work of dozens of club volunteers, ridge runners, caretakers, four field offices, and its headquarters in Harpers Ferry, W.Va.

Serious crime is rare but occasionally occurs on the Appalachian Trail. State and local authorities generally have full jurisdictional rights and responsibility to investigate and prosecute felonies and serious misdemeanors on the Trail, including on National Park Service-owned lands. Petty offenses, such as illegal camping, hunting, and off-road vehicle use, are violations of state and federal regulations and best handled by park and forest game officers. State and local law enforcement officers can gather information and serve as witnesses in those cases.

The Chief Ranger of the Appalachian Trail Park Office coordinates the federal response to crimes on NPS lands. Law-enforcement rangers from nearby NPS areas often assist the ATPO and local or state officers in investigation of Appalachian Trail-related crimes.

The state forest agency is generally responsible for managing wildland fires, although often local fire companies are first on the scene. Federal fire-fighting resources can be called upon in the case of large, multi day wildfires on government lands.

ATC and Trail-club volunteers often assist local and state agencies by posting fire-season and fire-closure notices at trailhead bulletin boards.

Responsibility for SAR varies by the state. In some states, the state police agency has the primary responsibility, while in others, the county sheriff or local fire company chief is responsible. Authorities should remember that ATC representatives and Trail-club volunteers can provide valuable assistance during SAR operations, including maps, guidebooks, keys to gates, and information about hikers and Trail conditions.

Benton MacKaye in a 1921 magazine article originally proposed the idea for the Appalachian Trail. The Trail is 2,160 miles long from Georgia to Maine. In 1968, the National Trails System Act established the Appalachian Trail as the nation's first national scenic trail. Along the way, it crosses federal, state, and local public land. It is also a unit of the national park system.

A thru-hiker is someone who is hiking the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine (a north-bounder) or from Maine to Georgia (a south-bounder). It takes the average thru-hiker about 5-7 months to complete the Trail and usually costs about $3,000.

Thru-hikers are generally well-educated, and many are either retired professional people or recently graduated young adults. About one in five is a woman.

Most thru-hikers have a Trail name, a nickname similar to a CB-radio handle. It is common for thru-hikers to keep journals, and they often can tell you where they were and who they were with on a certain date.

Thru-hikers may look scruffy, dirty, and smell bad. Serious hikers will have high-quality camping gear and outdoor clothing typically made of high-tech fabrics. Serious hikers may spend $2,000 or more on their equipment. They will be self-contained with a large backpack, sleeping bag, and cooking gear.

By contrast, a non-hiker using the Appalachian Trail may be dressed in cotton street or work clothing and inexpensive shoes or boots. They may not know about Trail names or have knowledge of points north and south on the Trail. They may carry their belongings in a haphazard manner with duffel bags or blanket rolls.

Appalachian Trail Park Office
National Park Service
Harpers Ferry Center
Harpers Ferry, WV 25425

phone: (304) 535-6278
fax: (304) 535-6270
24-hour emergency number: (800) 732-0911

Appalachian Trail Conservancy PO Box 807 Harpers Ferry, WV 25425 phone: (304) 535-6331 (304) 535-2200 fax: (304) 535-2667 e-mail:	New England Regional Office PO Box 312 Lyme, NH 03768-0312 phone: (603) 795-4935 fax: (603) 795-4936 e-mail:
Central & SW Virginia Regional Office PO Box 10 Newport, Virginia 24128 phone: (540) 544-7388 fax: (540) 544-7120 e-mail:	Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia Regional Office PO Box 2750 Asheville, NC 28802 phone: (828) 254-3708 fax: (828) 257-4263 e-mail:
Mid-Atlantic Regional Office PO Box 381 Boiling Springs, PA 17007 phone: (717) 258-5771 fax: (717) 258-1442 e-mail:

Reprinted from a National Park Service brochure. Permission was obtained to post it here.

Last Revised: March 08, 2007