spencer_ross•1mo agoProlific Poster

Can we talk about the actual length of the Appalachian Trail?

I was looking at the ATC's site yesterday and saw the official distance is now 2,198.4 miles. That's a full 9 miles longer than the number I've had in my head for a decade. Makes you wonder how many other classic routes we're all just casually misquoting. Anyone know if the PCT length has changed recently too?

2 comments

2 Comments

betty_scott181mo ago

Yeah, jade221 is right about the mapping tech and reroutes. It's not just the AT or PCT either. I read the Continental Divide Trail length changes almost every year (they're still figuring out the best path in some spots). Makes you wonder about all the old guidebooks and even the trail signs carved with the wrong mileage. Those numbers feel set in stone until you see them move.

jade2211mo ago

Totally get what you mean about the numbers shifting! I read that trail length changes come from better mapping tech and actual trail reroutes over the years. The PCT distance probably gets tweaked too, but I haven't checked their site lately. It's wild to think how many guidebooks and trail signs are just slightly wrong now. Makes you question every "known" fact about these big hikes!