<LI>Stories of the original trailblazers and the first thruhikers <LI>Reprinted from the out-of-print Rodale 2-volume <I>Hiking the Appalachian Trail</I> (1975) <LI>New foreword by Dave Startzell, executive director of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy <LI>These are the stories of the earliest hikers, the ones who did it before it was the thing to do, when it was said to be impossible, and when a person was considered crazy to even try. Included in this new edition are some of the most famous names in the history of the AT: Benton MacKaye, Myron Avery, George Outerbridge, and Grandma Gatewood. Trailblazing in the 1920s and '30s and backpacking in the 1940s, '50s, and '60s was difficult: learn how they managed without ultralight equipment and the freeze-dried food available to contemporary hikers. <P>Among the many hiker memoirs and trail stories, this book is legendary, the acclaimed collection of first-person accounts from the original hikers' the ones who proved that it could be done and inspired generations to come.</P></LI>