Appalachian Trail signpost in Shenandoah National Park, USA – Photo from Getty Images

On Wednesday, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), a non-profit that protects and maintains the Appalachian Trail, announced that they have sent a letter to all registered multi-day Appalachian Trail hikers asking them to postpone their section or thru-hikes. “We do not make this request lightly,” the ATC said in the letter. “We manage and protect the A.T. because it is meant to be hiked. However, the practices necessary to support a section or thru-hike may make A.T. hikers vectors to spread COVID-19—whether congregating at shelters or around picnic tables, traveling to trailheads in shuttle vans, or lodging at the various hostels up and down the Trail.” 

If hikers decide to embark on their thru-hike anyway, the ATC is asking that they avoid starting their hike at the southern portion of the trail. Georgia is the most