The approach trail to Springer Mountain begins here at the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, a continuous footpath extending more than 2,000 miles to Mt. Katahdin, Maine. The Appalachian Trail was conceived by Benton MacKaye, a forester, philosopher, and dreamer who in 1921 envisioned a footpath along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains. The Trail is maintained by volunteer hiking clubs and the U.S. Forest Service, coordinated through the Appalachian Trail Conference. Harold Allen wrote, “Remote for detachment, narrow for chosen company, winding for leisure, lonely for contemplation, it beckons not merely north and south, but upward to the body, mind and soul of man.”