Q 01/05

The Appalachian Trail runs between Springer Mountain in Georgia and which mountain in Maine?

A) Mount Katahdin

B) Mount Washington

C) Mount Mansfield

D) Mount Greylock

Answer · why

A) Mount Katahdin

The route is almost 2,200 miles long and passes through 14 states.

Q 02/05

How many US states does the Appalachian Trail pass through?

A) 9

B) 11

C) 12

D) 14

Answer · why

D) 14

Its highest point is Kuwohi (formerly Clingmans Dome) at 6,643 feet; its lowest is 124 feet at Bear Mountain, New York.

Q 03/05

Which forester conceived the idea of the Appalachian Trail in 1921?

A) Gifford Pinchot

B) Benton MacKaye

C) Aldo Leopold

D) Bob Marshall

Answer · why

B) Benton MacKaye

The trail was completed in 1937 and became a National Scenic Trail under the 1968 National Trails System Act.

Q 04/05

Who is credited with the first thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, in 1948?

A) Myron Avery

B) Gene Espy

C) Earl Shaffer

D) Ed Garvey

Answer · why

C) Earl Shaffer

Roughly 25% of thru-hike attempts succeed today; the walk usually takes five to seven months.

Q 05/05

How old was Emma 'Grandma' Gatewood when she solo thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1955?

A) 57

B) 62

C) 67

D) 72

Answer · why

C) 67

She wore Keds sneakers, carried a homemade denim bag and slept under a shower curtain; she went on to hike the trail three times.