The Trail 

Of course Wikipedia has a great overview of the trail. The ATC’s website is also full of facts about the trail as well as the people who maintain the trail. However, I thought I would begin by giving a brief history and defining some key terms when talking about the Appalachian Trail and hiking.
 

History

• Benton MacKaye is credited with the idea of the trail. As early as the 1920s he proposed the idea of the trail as a weekend retreat for city-dwellers.

• Myron Avery is another key individual who helped create the trail and was the first person to walk the entire trail by section hiking.

• Earl Shaffer was the first person to thru-hike, doing so in 1948. He is also the author of a well-known book about the Appalachian Trail, Walking With Spring.

• The trail passes through 14 states: Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

• Since 1936 there have been over 10,000 people complete the entire trail.

• Over the past 7 years, an average of 1700 people attempted a thru-hike, but only 23.8% actually finished. In other words, only about one in four people I meet on the trail will actually finish the hike.
 

Terms, Phrases, and Slang

AT: Commonly used abbreviation for “Appalachian Trail”

ATC: Appalachian Trail Conservancy, a volunteer-based organization dedicated to the preservation and management of the natural, scenic, historic, and cultural resources associated with the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in order to provide primitive outdoor-recreation and educational opportunities for Trail visitors.

AYCE: All You Can Eat buffets, favorite eating places in trail towns

Bear Bag/Food Bag/Bear Cable: A bag that is used to store food while hiking and is suspended from either a cable or a high tree branch at night to keep bears out

Blazes: Painted, 2-inch by 6-inch, vertical white rectangles that are placed at eye height on trees and other objects, in both directions, to mark the official route of the Trail. Side trails are marked with blue blazes. 

GORP: “Good ole Raisins & Peanuts” or “Granola, Oats, Raisins, & Peanuts.” A common acronym for Trail Mix

Mount Katahdin: Northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, located in Baxter State Park, Maine.

NoBo: Commonly used abbreviation for “North Bound,” someone who is hiking from Georgia to Maine. Also known as “GaMe” (Georgia to Maine)

Privy:  A trailside outhouse for solid waste.

SoBo: Opposite of  “NoBo,” “South Bound” hikers who start in Maine and end in Georgia. Also known as MeGa (Maine to Georgia)

Shelter: A three sided wooden or stone building, spaced out a half day’s hike apart, near a water source, and with a privy. The AT has many kinds of shelters from barns to cabins.

Springer Mountain: The summit is the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.

Thru-Hiker: Traditionally a person who is attempting to become a 2,000-Miler in a single, continuous journey, leaving from one terminus of the Trail and backpacking to the other terminus.

Trail Angel: Someone who provides unexpected help or food to a hiker.

Trail Magic: Unexpected, but welcome, help or food.

Trail Name: A nickname adopted by or given to a hiker. This name is used almost exclusively when communicating with others on the trail and in trail register entries.

Trail Town: Towns that the AT either passes directly through or nearby. They are used to resupply, do laundry, pick-up and send mail, take a shower, and often cater to hikers.

Ultra Light: A style of gear or hiking that focuses on using the lightest gear possible.

Zero Day: A day in which no miles are hiked, usually because the hiker is stopping in a town to re-supply and/or rest.