Southern Appalachian Trail/Chattahoochee National Forest 2016

The Appalachian Trail (A.T.) is a 2,175 mile hike from Georgia to Maine.  It can be hiked daily, in sections or as a thru-hike. The Appalachian Trail has seen record numbers of thru-hikers over the last few years. This Hot Spot was carried out at the southern terminus of the train in Georgia. Currently, over 4,000 people start a thru hike on Springer Mountain each year. These, along with hundreds of spring breakers and week-end campers, create a major impact on the A.T. in Georgia. During the Hot Spot Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers connected with many of these hikers to educate them as they set out on their journey north.  

During this Hot Spot, we educated 550 people, helped facilitate 2 trail maintenance projects, and removed 3 bags of trash

For the Hot Spot activation, the Subaru/Leave No Trace Team led outreach events at the Amicalola Falls State Park Visitor Center and the Springer Mountain and Neels Gap trailheads that were very effective and educated many thru-hikers embarking on the Appalachian Trail. The team educated over one hundred 4th grade students at a local school on Leave No Trace principles. A Master Educator Refresher course was held for local Master Educators. The team worked with Appalachian Trail Club members and Master Educator Refresher course participants on trail maintenance.