Untold stories of women—yes, women—who helped establish the Appalachian Trail
In Other News #18 // Celebrating the stories of everyday heroes among us.
Forty-five years ago, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8, 1980 as National Women’s History Week. Subsequently, Congress passed legislation in 1987, designating the month of March as Women’s History Month.
[Warning—quick mention of current events…] Today, we are witnessing the erasing of DEI—including women’s voices, history, and rights—in many industries and arenas. It’s going to be up to us to continue to keep these stories, principles, and truth alive during this dark time.
Today’s “In Other News” brings you the story and legacy of several truly trail-blazing women. Enjoy, Karen
The woman at the center of this photo, with a seat at a table filled with men, is a trailblazer named Ruth Blackburn.
Gwen Loose was hiking with a friend on the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) when a question crossed her mind.
While Benton MacKaye and Myron Avery are considered the founders and fathers of the A.T., “Who was holding down the fort at conference headquarters?,” she wondered. Someone must have been keeping track of all the details that went into the planning of the 2,192 miles long trail stretching from Maine to Georgia during its formative years, reaching back to 1925.
Loose’s friend encouraged her to search for answers while writing her thesis for her master’s degree. So began an eight-year journey, that not only turned into a successful thesis, but became the basis for a book released five years ago. For many of us, the book’s release and its stories may have gotten lost in the shuffle of the pandemic, just as COVID-19 struck, in March of 2020.
“We Were There Too” details previously-untold stories of women—primarily Jean Stephenson, Ruth Blackburn, and Margaret Drummond—whose contributions in different decades directly led to the creation of the A.T.
“It was like the old adage—‘Behind every successful man is a successful woman,’” Loose said.
Her research first pointed to Jean Stephenson (1892-1979), who devoted her life’s work to the A.T. Conference, an organization that became today’s A.T. Conservancy which now manages the longest footpath in the world.
Stephenson’s work helped garner early support for the creation of the trail; Blackburn helped secure the A.T. corridor when development threatened its existence; and Drummond was instrumental in establishing models still used today—for volunteers, regional trail clubs, and strategic planning.
“Their untold stories will balance the public perceptions of A.T. work as a boys’ club—it never was that way and isn’t now,” said Brian King, the ATC’s publisher. “It’s not that the record out there is wrong—it’s just incomplete.”