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.

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Maine



MAINE TRAIL TABLE

Rainbow Lake

Nahmakanta Lake to Abol Bridge

Cooper Pond to Nahmakanta Stream

Barren–Chairback Range

Little Wilson and Big Wilson Falls

Moxie Bald, Bald Mountain, and Horseshoe Canyon

Bigelow Range Loop

Saddleback Range

Hike of the Five Ponds

Bemis Range Loop

The Baldpates

Mahoosuc Range


New Hampshire



NEW HAMPSHIRE TRAIL TABLE

Gentian Pond

The Northern Presidential Range

Zealand Falls, Ethan Pond, and Webster Cliffs

Franconia Ridge and Lonesome Lake

Western New Hampshire


Vermont



VERMONT TRAIL TABLE

Eastern Vermont

Pico Peak

Killington Peak

Little Rock Pond to Clarendon Gorge

Stratton Mountain and Lye Brook Wilderness Loop


Massachusetts



MASSACHUSETTS TRAIL TABLE

Mount Greylock Loop

Finerty Pond to Benedict Pond

Jug End, Mount Everett, and Sages Ravine


Connecticut



CONNECTICUT TRAIL TABLE

Housatonic River to Ten Mile Hill


New York



NEW YORK TRAIL TABLE

Shenandoah Mountain to Bear Mountain Inn

Harriman State Park


New Jersey



NEW JERSEY TRAIL TABLE

Pochuck Crossing and Wallkill Valley

Kittatinny Mountains

Delaware Water Gap and Kittatinny Mountains


Pennsylvania



PENNSYLVANIA TRAIL TABLE

Wind Gap to Delaware Water Gap

Blue Mountain

The Pinnacles and Pulpit Rock

Hawk Rock and the Cumberland Valley

South Mountain


Maryland



MARYLAND TRAIL TABLE

Annapolis Rock to Pen Mar Park


West Virginia and Virginia



WEST VIRGINIA AND VIRGINIA TRAIL TABLE

South and North Marshall Loop

Stony Man and Big Meadows

Southern Shenandoah

Mill Creek and Humpback Mountain

Three Ridges Loop

Bald Knob to The Priest

Thunder Hill to Jennings Creek

Dragons Tooth, McAfee Knob, and Tinker Cliffs

Angels Rest and Dismal Creek Falls

Virginia Highlands Traverse

Fairwood Valley and Mount Rogers Loop


Tennessee and North Carolina



TENNESSEE AND NORTH CAROLINA TRAIL TABLE

Iron Mountain Traverse

Grassy Ridge and The Humps Traverse

Bald Mountains

State Line Traverse

Max Patch and Hot Springs

Mount Cammerer Loop

Mount Collins and Clingmans Dome

Russell Field, Spence Field, and Rocky Top Loop

Northern Nantahala Traverse

Wayah Bald and Siler Bald

Standing Indian Loop


Georgia



GEORGIA TRAIL TABLE

Tray Mountain Wilderness

Tesnatee Gap to Woody Gap

Blood Mountain Loop

Woody Gap and Springer Mountain

Springer Mountain and Three Forks Loop


Appendix: Trail-Maintenance Clubs
Index
About the Authors
About the Appalachian Trail Conservancy