Hiking the at in the Virginias: A Septuagenarian’s Journey

In October 1921 the famous planner and conservationist Benton MacKaye formally proposed the establishment of the Appalachian Trail (the AT) from northern Georgia to Maine. The trail and its 2,198.4 miles was finally opened in 1937. Today, it is one of the most visited and cherished greenways and hiking paths in North America.

In Hiking the AT in the Virginias, Dave Pruett shares his incredible journey of hiking all 559 miles of the AT in Virginia and West Virginia, beginning with retirement at sixty-five and completing it as a septuagenarian at age 75. Perhaps no stretch of the AT provides such awe, diversity, and wonder as the AT in Virginia and West Virginia, which, prior to 1862, were one state. Pruett’s informative and beautifully illustrated book conveys what it is like to experience the AT’s many characteristics--its vistas, bridges, flora, meadows, shelters, weather, water sources, wildlife, and magic--in an unforgettable journey.

For those who seek a sense of what it is like to walk and hike the AT in the Virginias, Pruett’s book is perhaps the best guide available. Written for the general reader and for the millions who visit not only the AT but the Skyline Drive, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Shenandoah and Great Smokey Mountains National Parks, Pruett’s book is an indispensable and memorable guide.

Dave Pruett is a long-term resident of the Shenandoah Valley who, following his semi-retirement in 2012, section-hiked the entire AT through the Virginias over nine summers, completing it in 2023 at age seventy-five. Pruett previously worked in the aerospace industry at NASA Langley Research Center and taught mathematics and computational science at Virginia Commonwealth University, the College of William and Mary, and James Madison University. His first book, Reason and Wonder received a Choice Award from the American Library Association.

Mills Kelly is a Professor of History at George Mason University and Senior Scholar at the award-winning Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media.