Appalachian Trail Servants

Appalachian Trail Ministry Launched in Georgia.

By Craig and Suzy Miles, MSC Missionaries

 

Click here to visit the ATS

 

Click here to read the history of the Appalachian Trail.

Click here to read an overview of the AT in Georgia.

Since the outset of our marriage, we have been praying that God would use our time and talents for ministry. One morning prior to going to work, Craig went to church to pray. While praying, an article in The Commission, a missions magazine, "X-treme Hikers in China", caught Craig's eye. This article was literally an answer to our prayers. Similar to the hiker missionaries in this article, we believe that we are called to be full-time missionaries on the Appalachian Trail.

The Appalachian Trail, or "AT", is a 2,171-mile wilderness footpath. The AT follows the ridges of the Appalachian chain of mountains in the Eastern United States. While the actual Appalachian chain of mountains extends from central Alabama to Newfoundland (Canada), the American AT traverses 14 states from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine.

While about 3-4 million people hike parts of the trail each year, every spring about 2,000 people set out to hike the entire AT. These people are called "thru-hikers". Following the white, painted markings as their guide on the trail, thru-hikers walk an average of 12-15 miles per day while on this six-month adventure.

Why would someone choose to hike the entire AT? Most thru-hikers are going through a major life change such as retirement or graduation from college. As you know, life transition can be stressful. So, instead of jumping immediately into the next facet of their life, these people opt to ease into the new stage of their life through the simple solitude of the AT. In this way, thru-hikers can reflect on themselves and their respective lives without the distractions of the world.

On the trail, there are physical, emotional, and even spiritual challenges. The physical challenge is obvious. Blisters and muscle soreness often weed out about 20% of the hikers in the first 30.7 miles at Neels Gap, GA. Arguably, after this point, the emotional challenge begins. As one continues North on the AT, the emotional challenge may transform into a spiritual challenge for some. Generally, thru-hikers are spiritually- minded people. However, while many thru-hikers believe in God via general revelation through nature, unfortunately, most thru-hikers do not believe in God's special revelation-Jesus Christ. Instead, these hikers view religion and theology as being deeply personal. Because of this view, many people on the AT also believe that the church is irrelevant to their lives. One person that we polled even stated that the woods are his "cathedral".

Although many hikers are searching for something more in life, some hikers are hostile to anyone who might infringe upon their personal spirituality. Sadly, after hiking 2,171 miles, many thru-hikers are left feeling empty. For these hikers, the goal of finishing the AT may have been met but they lack purpose in life. So, they hike the trail again and again. In fact, one fellow that we polled has hiked 17,000 miles thus far in his quest to find 'something more' in life! Moreover, in our polling, we found that many thru-hikers suffer from post-hike depression and some hikers encounter difficulty fitting back into society. Therefore, it is our purpose to serve the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of these hikers. By doing this, we hope that hikers will take the next step towards Christ and gain a purpose in life. AT Servants will achieve this goal in two ways-through Trail Angels and Trail Chaplains.

Many times in His earthly ministry, Christ first met the physical needs of people before he met their spiritual needs. Similarly, the main function of the volunteer Trail Angels is to serve the physical needs of hikers by creating kiosks where the road crosses the AT. They give hikers food, bottled water, and they offer rides to town. It is our hope to have a network of Trail Angels along the entire AT. By repeatedly showing hikers that churches care about their needs, the hikers will begin to associate the good deeds of the Trail Angels with the church and with Christ. By the end of a hiker's trek, we hope that he or she will see the church as being relevant and useful.

The main function of Trail Chaplains is to serve the emotional and spiritual needs of hikers. Instead of ministering on the roadside, Trail Chaplains spend 3-6 months hiking with other thru-hikers. Typically, thru-hikers will listen to other thru-hikers. This is because other thru-hikers have "walked a mile in their shoes" so-to-speak. So, by first cultivating relationships and then assessing the hiker's "spiritual temperature", the Trail Chaplain is more apt to talk with fellow hikers about emotional needs, spiritual beliefs they may hold, and about Christ.

AT Servants is an interactive ministry in which you can get involved. There are three ways in which you can serve alongside AT Servants:

(1) Commit to pray for AT Servants. Prayer is integral to the success of this ministry. As we take this step of faith, please pray for us, pray for the volunteers, and pray for the hundreds of thru-hikers that will be reached through this ministry.

(2) AT Servants needs volunteers. Serving on the trail is easy, rewarding, and fun. The qualifications for being a Trail Angel or a Trail Chaplain include having a big heart and helping hands. If you are interested in impacting lives on the trail, please contact us.

(3) Offer financial assistance. Recently, the Mission Service Corps (MSC) of the North American Mission Board (NAMB) received and read our 51-page ministry plan for the AT. As a result, we have been officially accepted as missionaries with MSC! As MSC missionaries, we have to raise all of our financial support. We hope to have all of this support raised by March 2004. This may seem like a daunting task but we know that the power of God is great. In fact, we estimate that if only 100 partners offer a tax-deductible gift of $25 per month, then AT Servants will be able to function fully. If you are unable to offer a monthly gift, you may elect to offer one-time, tax-deductible financial assistance. We are appreciative of any gifts that we receive. For any financial assistance that you are able to give, we will be happy to send you a 1'x4' map of the AT so that you can follow our progress on the trail in our daily online journal. We will also send you our bi-monthly newsletter that will outline achievements, interesting stories, and prayer requests.

If God has led you to commit to the ministry of AT Servants with financial support, then please fill out your check made payable to "NAMB" with "Miles, 8162" (see the check portion below) written on the "For" line. This will ensure that your money will make it to our account. Send your financial gifts to:

We would love to hear from you! In the following weeks we may give you a call to see how you are doing. Please feel free to contact us with questions, comments, or just to talk. We thank you for being a part of our lives and we hope to talk to you soon.

Appalachian Trail Servants, Inc.
Craig and Suzy Miles
P.O. Box 1073
Gainesville, GA 30503
706-482-8537 (Cell)
Email: info@atservants.org
http://www.atservants.org

History of the Appalachian Trail

The conservation movement in America was launched from Teddy Roosevelt's "Bully Pulpit" shortly after the turn of the 20th century. In the northeast numerous proposals had been made prior to 1921 to create a "super" trail.

"An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning" by Benton MacKaye was published in the Journal of the American Institute of Architects in October of 1921. The original proposal was for a footpath to run from the highest point in the northern Appalachians(Mt. Washington, New Hampshire) to the highest point in the southern Appalachians( Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina). Within a year work began on "America's Footpath." First completed was the section that ran from Pennsylvania to Connecticut across the new Bear Mountain Bridge.

By 1925 the dream began to move towards reality with the creation of the Appalachian Trail Conference. The proposed route was extended to run from Maine to Georgia, originally to "Cohutta" Mountain. Since little was known by the developers about the North Georgia mountains they planned the trail from maps. Roy Ozmer, woodsman and friend of Georgia Ranger Arthur Woody was put in charge of exploring the area from Virginia to Georgia. These men felt that Mount Oglethorpe, east of Jasper, was a better choice for the end of the Appalachian Trail.

Once the route in Georgia from Bly Gap to Mount Oglethorpe was established, Woody assisted personally and assigned Forest Service employees to assist in the construction which was completed in 1931. In 1937 the trail was completed with the clearing of the last 2 miles between Spaulding and Sugarloaf Mountains in Maine. At the time the trail stretched from Mount Katahdin in Maine's Baxter State Park to Mount Oglethorpe in Georgia. The trail, as envisioned, was a "sky-line" trail, going from high-point to high-point, along the highest route available.

During the next few years the trail fell into disrepair because of hurricanes, war and neglect. In 1938 a hurricane that swept up the coast did heavy damage to America's "First Trail." The connection of the Skyline Drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway in the 1940's displaced a section of the trail 120 miles long. Slowly, portions of the trail were being reclaimed by nature.

In the early 1950's interest renewed in the trail. The designation of the Appalachian Trail as a National Scenic Trail was a long political battle lasting 15 years, ending with President Lyndon Johnson signing the National Trails System Act in 1968. This act, originally intended to protect the land near the Appalachian Trail was rewritten to include any footpath designated as a National Scenic Trail. Today "America's Trail" and others in the National Scenic Trail System, with few exceptions, are on land that is federally protected.

Overview of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia

From its start 8 miles north of popular Amicalola Falls it winds north past mountains with names like Blood, Trey and Big Cedar and through gaps named Addis, Neels and Woody. Snow is not uncommon on the Trail begining in October and cold weather is a concern through April. Late fall is hunting season, so special care must be taken during that time.

The trail is a microcosm of the natural history of the North Georgia mountains. It follows the high eastern ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. Much of the trail is covered with snow in the winter. Spring melts give way to many of the wildflowers common throughout the mountains including bloodroot, trillium, and azalea. Laurel and rhodedendron "hells" bloom in the early summer and cover much of the clear areas of the trails. Forests are mostly second growth hardwood with hickory, oak and poplar dominating.

White rectangular blazes mark the trail over the entire 2100 miles from Georgia to Maine. Turns are marked with double blazes and side trails and approaches use blue.

Want more information? For information on the Appalachian Trail contact the Appalachian Trail Conference, P.O. Box 807, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425, (304) 535-6331


(The articles, History of the Appalachian Trail and Overview of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia  are from the following website http://georgiatrails.com/features/apptrail.html.)