Pies: A German Shepherd named Orient accompanied her blind owner Bill Irwin as he became the first blind person to through-hik

Evidence: 52 • authority: 90

A Historic Accomplishment: The First Blind Person to Hike the Appalachian Trail. On November 21, 1990 Bill Irwin, 50 arrived at the base of Mount Katahdin in Main’s Baxter State Park, thus completing a walk of the footpath known as the Appalachian Trail. Irwin’s goal of hiking the entire Trail began on March 8, 1990. His excursion through extensive wilderness in 14 states include 8 national forests and about 0 state parks and game lands. Unlike most through-hikers – those attempting to walk the entire 2,144 miles of the trail starting from Springer Mountain in northern Georgia to Mount Katahdin in one hiking season – Irwin’s accomplishment attracted a great deal of national attention becaus…

Evidence: 24 • authority: 88

Appalachian Names. Abstract Despite the homogenizing effects of jet travel and television, we are still a polyglot nation with delightfully different regional accents and a host of exotic place names. A hiking trip on the AT brings many aural nuances to the attentive ear, and not just from the birds’ songs. “Appalachian” sounds different in the south (from about Pennsylvania onward) than it does in the north. Ann and Myron Sutton hiked the entire AT and noted the kaleidoscope of colorful place names Americans have invented, imported or expropriated in the Appalachian region. AT aficionado Robert Reddington wrote that “the name ‘Appalachian’ is apparently derived from the word ‘Appalachee,’…

Evidence: — • authority: 38