MAINE PUBLIC • June 15, 2020
Every year, several thousand adventurous souls set out to hike all 2,190 miles of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. But in March, thru-hikers were asked to put their dreams on hold because of the pandemic. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy said there were concerns hikers would infect each other or spread the virus to rural towns where they went to pick up food and supplies. The decision of thru-hikers not to follow the Conservancy's guidance generated harsh criticism in the online trail community. Kristen Glennie said, "Right at the peak when everything was getting worse, people were throwing around like 'Grandma Killers' and stuff like that." Glennie and Mary Szatkowski, both from Maine, finished their 2,200-mile journey on July 4 at Katahdin in Maine's Baxter State Park.