Description
The Appalachian Trail is one of the most iconic hiking trails in the world and a testament to the power of cooperation. Winding through fourteen states from Georgia to Maine, the Trail is cared for by thirty-one trail clubs, numerous partnerships, the National Park Service, and Appalachian Trail Conservancy. At 2,200 miles long, the trail attracts millions of hikers every year. In All About the Appalachian Trail, author Leonard M. Adkins lays out the history of the Appalachian Trail in its many facets. He includes its geological, ecological, and human history, as well as its history as a trail. By weaving these all together, the author allows the reader to better understand one of the world’s longest hiking trails.
“What an enjoyable read this book is! For a book of its size, it is overflowing with all the locations, the history, the people, the “ins-and-outs” of hiking the trail that make the Appalachian Trail the joy it is. While keeping the interest of the adult, the book is written for children in grades 4-8 (ages 9-14) and remains very readable to the younger reader. I would gift this book to anyone who is able to read.”
~ Robert “RED WOLF o’da SMOKY’S” Croyle – Editor, Appalachian Trail Museum Newsletter, August 2020
“Leonard M. Adkins is a veteran hiker and award winning outdoor writer. He’s hiked the full length of the A.T. five times. He’s written trail guides, wildflower books, and compiled historic photo books. All about the Appalachian Trail is 5 by 7 inches with exquisite line drawings. It’s the book to give to your children or grandchildren – but get one for yourself to read.”
~ Reviewed by Danny Bernstein appearing in the Carolina Mountain Club Newsletter
“You don’t have to wade through wordy, stuffy scholarly text while trying to learn or become inspired. Atkins makes it easy to fall in love with the Appalachian Trail. And that is most important- inspiring readers, young and old to get out for a hike. PS- Kristen Halvorsen’s dreamy [sic] drawings give All About the Appalachian Trail a magical feel, as magical as the trail itself and add much to the enjoyment of the book.”
~ Cindy Ross, cindyrosstraveler.com, November 2020
Author Leonard M. Adkins is an award winning author who has hiked more than 19,000 miles exploring the back-country areas of the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean. Almost every hiking season finds him on some new and exciting adventure. He has thru-hiked the full length of the Appalachian Trail five times. Leonard is the author of more than a dozen books on the outdoors, nature, and travel, and his Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail received the National Outdoor Book Award, Foreword Magazine‘s Book of the Year Award, and a Virginia Literary Award nomination. The Appalachian Trail: A Visitor’s Companion was honored with a Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation.
Illustrator Kirsten Halvorsen has an art degree from William and Mary’s College, and has illustrated numerous books including ABC Michigan, ABC Ohio, ABC Indiana, All About Madam C.J. Walker, and All About Julia Morgan. She is excited to use her illustrations to help teach children about the Appalachian Trail.
Cover Artist Robert Perrish is an award-winning designer, sculptor and painter whose love of nature is evident in everything he creates. This was first expressed through wildlife painting and sculpture, and has since evolved into painting landscapes, portraits and still life. He is one of the co-founders of Michigan Plein Air Painters and paints with them on a regular basis, as well as traveling out of state for other painting opportunities. His Awards Include, Michigan Wildlife Artist of the Year, Ducks Unlimited Artist of the year, as well as DU Carver of the Year 3 times, 16 Best-of-Shows in national and world carving competitions.
Some of the places mentioned in All About the Appalachian Trail include, Annapolis Rocks, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Appalachian Trail Museum, Bascom Lodge, Baxter State Park, Bear Mountain, Bear Rock Falls, Benedict Pond, Blood Mountain, Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge Parkway, Brown Mountain Creek, C&O Canal Towpath, Caledonia State Park, Canopus Lake, Chattahoochee Gap, Clarendon Gorge, Clingman’s Dome, Comers Creek Falls,Crampton Gap, Cumberland Gap, Cumberland Valley, Damascus, Virginia, Dartmouth College, Dragon’s Tooth, Duncannon, Fahnestock State Park, Falls Village, Finerty Pond, Fourth Mountain Bog,Glastenbury, Mountain, Goose Pond, Gore Pond, Great Falls of the Housatonic River, Great Smoky Mountains, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Green Mountains, Griffith Lake, Guilder Pond, Harpers Ferry, Harriman Mountain, High Rock, Housatonic Valley, Hundred-Mile Wilderness, Kittatinny Mountain, Little Rock Pond, Long Creek Falls, Long Trail, Mahoosuc Mountains, Mahoosuc Notch, Maine Junction, McAfee Knob, Mill River, Mount Greylock, Mount Katahdin, Mount Moosilauke, Mount Oglethorpe, Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, Mount Washington,,Mountain Crossings at Walasi-Yi, Nantahala, Neels Gap, Niagara Falls, Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Pochuck Quagmire, Pocono Mountains, Port Clinton, Qualla Reservation, Sages Ravine, Schaghticoke Indian Reservation, Shenandoah National Park, South Mountain, Southern Bald Mountains, Springer Mountain, Stratton Mountain, Sunfish Pond, Ten Mile River, The Pinnacle, Tinker Cliffs, Turner’s Gap, Upper Goose Pond, Vernon Valley, Watauga Lake, West Carry Pond, Weverton Cliffs, White Mountains, and more.
