Appalachian Trail -- 阿帕拉川山道

Larry6633 · 发表于 2009-3-8 23:32:46

Appalachian Trail -- 阿帕拉川山道北起缅因州，一路南下，直达乔治亚州，全程长达近4000公里，几与黄石公园齐名。

昨天，我们在事先毫不知情的情况下，闯入纽约州的一段：熊山Doodletown 山道。从早8点山脚起步，到下午5点返回，边走边摸索，圆满完成本段最大一个环形山道的穿越。

好在山不高，山势也不复杂，沿途先后遇到近50名爱好者，一小半是韩国人，其他都是洋人，没有看到祖国同胞。

山道由志愿者维护，为了便于行走、识途，山道分别用白色、黄色、红色、蓝色标识，在树干上钉塑料牌、或涂漆，标有黄色的，就称作“黄色山道”，蓝色的是“蓝色山道”，非常便于山友之间互相传递行走信息。

一路景色优美。

更详细信息：

The “A.T.,” as it's called by hikers, is much more than just a path through the woods. It is a national scenic trail, part of the same national park system that includes Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Great Smoky Mountains. Its official name is the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. But, unlike those famous parks, it's not a concentrated preserve, with campgrounds and paths within its boundaries. As the longest, skinniest part of America's national park system, the A.T. stretches over 14 different states and passes through more than 60 federal, state, and local parks and forests. Hundreds of roads cross it. In some parts, the Trail “corridor” is only a few hundred feet wide.

Maybe the most important difference between the A.T. and other national-park units, though, is that volunteers make it possible. Each year, thousands of people maintain, patrol, and monitor the footpath and its surrounding lands―outdoor lovers like you volunteering hundreds of thousands of hours of their time to taking care of this public treasure.

The Appalachian Trail, completed in 1937:
• Is a unit of the National Park Service.
• Is the nation's longest marked footpath, at approximately 2,178 miles.
• Is the first national scenic trail, designated in 1968.
• Crosses six national parks.
• Traverses eight national forests.
• Touches 14 states. Houses more than 2,000 occurrences of rare, threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant and animal species.
• Crosses numerous state and local forests and parks.
• Is maintained by 30 trail clubs and multiple partnerships.

Fun facts about the Appalachian Trail:
• Lowest elevation: 124 feet ? near the Trailside Museum and Zoo at Bear Mountain, New York
• Highest elevation: 6,625 feet ? on Clingmans Dome in Tennessee
• There are 165,000 blazes along the length of the Trail.
• More than 10,000 people have reported hiking the length of the Trail.
• It takes approximately 5 million footsteps to walk the entire length of the Trail.
• More than 6,000 volunteers contribute about 200,000 hours to the Appalachian Trail every year.