Sydney Grogan - Outside Reading 3 - Entry 13

Earl Shaffer, a World War II Veteran Who Was the First Person to Ever Thru-Hike the Appalachian Trail


In my research for my final term paper, I stumbled across sooooo many articles that mentioned a man named Earl Shaffer. What I have come to learn about him was wildly interesting to me & incredibly relevant to my final paper, so I thought it would be perfect for me to include in one of my blogs!

Shaffer was a World War II veteran, & he became extremely well known for his hiking accomplishments. He became the first person to ever thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, in one continuous trip. He trekked over sixteen miles every single day, allowing him to hike through the entirety of the Appalachian Trail in just one-hundred & twenty-four days. Not only did he thru-hike the trail one way, he just had to thru-hike in the opposite direction as well. Shaffer actually ended up shaving off twenty-five whole days compared to his last time thru-hiking the Appalachian, however, he did say that this hike was significantly less enjoyable for him due to the pace that he set for himself, which was three miles every hour. 

My favorite articles I have read about him were published in Smithsonian Magazine as well as the New York Times, in case anyone wanted to read!



- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/army-veteran-became-first-hike-entire-appalachian-trail-180963678/

- https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/12/us/earl-shaffer-first-hike-length-appalachian-trail-both-directions-dies-83.html


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rob Baron Outside Reading #2

Pilgrimages in the Bible (New Testament) In the new testament part of the bible, there is a common theme that is in multiple parts of different books. The book of Mathew talks about how salvation is found for a limited time only before Jesus Christ returns. This time is said to be at a totally unexpected time and is called the last judgment. John, 1 Corinthians, and James all back this up by saying prepare themselves for God’s verdict on how they lived. People are supposed to think of themselves as pilgrims and temporary residents as their true home is in heaven. It is said that their life is a pilgrimage with the final destination of heaven.
Read more

Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture (2): Skylar Minick

 Chapter 6:          At the beginning of this chapter Turner talks about the resurgence of Marian pilgrimages and images. Especially in the nineteenth century there was such an abundance of art focusing on Mary and her baby Jesus. I am currently taking an art history class as well and Mary and her child was a major major theme in art around those time periods, People were fascinated with her purity and obviously the holiness of her son. This was such an important event because it seemed to provide a link between humanity and the divinity of the holy God. Every other divine creature is invisible, not to be seen, heard or even have a proven  existence which obviously creates problems because it is impossible to know when or if one's prayer has been heard, making communication to the sacred very difficult. This must explain why pilgrimages begin when there is signs or "evidence" of a supernatural quality or being. The church of El...
Read more

Rob Baron Outside Reading #3

Israelites leaving Egypt   One of the great journeys that were told in the bible was the story of Israelites leaving Egypt. The reason for them leaving was because they were enslaved and Moses lead them out. Throughout the journey, God was in their presence as he parted the red sea and many other things. When they reach Mount Sinai God speaks to Moses and made a deal with the Jews.
Read more