A.T. Defended from Tennessee

Jeffrey Hunter of Chattanooga, TN writes in a letter to the editor of the Elmira (New York!) Star-Gazette in response to that paper's recent article about the Great Eastern Trail in order to clarify any doubts folks might have had about the A.T's condition. He writes:

"The trail is a national treasure and the gold standard that trail organizations aspire toward. Solitude and natural beauty can be found in great abundance on the Appalachian Trail. That experience is only available because of the efforts of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and its partners, who do a masterful job of maintaining and protecting the trail for future generations. They deserve our support and our praise. They certainly have mine."

The 15 July 2007 letter appears under the headline "Appalachian Trail is a national treasure."