Extending nearly 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine, the Appalachian Trail is one of the most famous hiking trails in the world—and reportedly the longest hiking-only trail (the PCT allows horses). For thru-hikers and day trippers alike, one constant connects the “Green Tunnel”—the shelters.
Peppered every eight miles throughout the route, across all 14 states, over 250 historic shelters, lean-tos, and huts dot the route, offering much more than just a dry roof for weary and weathered hikers. Designs vary, as do construction materials and styles, though most maintain the longstanding tradition of being a three-sided structure with a slanted roof and one open side. Simple, yet iconic.
To pay tribute to these places of refuge and architectural significance, photographer and writer—and 2008 AT thru-hiker—Sarah Jones Decker undertook the tremendous task of cataloging each, resulting in the new book “The Appalachian Trail: Backcountry Shelters, Lean-tos, and Huts,” published this summer by Rizzoli.
Packed cover to cover with detailed history, images, stories, and maps, the stout book is a dang fine companion for a morning’s first cup of coffee or a cold drink at the end of the day—both perfect times to day dream of your next adventure. But for the AT novice, all those structures can begin to blend together. So, we reached out to Jones Decker and asked her to pick her top five favorites (she delivered her top seven, as no doubt this task was like choosing a favorite child). The following is her response in full.
"I often hear 'oh, they are all the same,' and that statement couldn’t be farther from the reality I documented over the two year project." - Sarah Jones Decker
