Appalachian Trail celebrates 75th anniversary

In this Oct. 13, 2004, photo, two hikers walk part of the Appalachian Trail atop Mount Greylock, the state's highest peak, in Lanesboro, Mass. Like the people who hike it, the Appalachian Trail is always moving. Aug. 14, 2012, marks the 75th anniversary of the trail's completion. But the 2,180-mile path stretching across 14 states from Springer Mountain, Ga., to Katahdin, Maine, is never really finished.

In a Aug. 4, 2012, photo, Appalachian Trail Conservancy crew members Newt Ronan, left, Trey Coyle and Jeremy Taylor perform maintenance on the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg, Tenn. The ATC is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the completion of the 2,180-mile path that stretches from Springer Mountain, Ga., to Mount Katahdin, Maine.

In a Aug. 4, 2012, photo, Appalachian Trail Conservancy crew members Jeremy Taylor and Sarah Coppa, both from Cookeville, Tenn., perform maintenance on the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg, Tenn.

A man walks beneath an American flag at the Owsley County Saddle Club trail ride on April 20, 2012, in Booneville, Ky. The trail ride attracts riders from outside the county who contribute much needed revenue. Daniel Boone once camped in the Appalachian mountain hamlet of Owsley County which remains mostly populated by descendants of settlers to this day.

In this Aug. 1, 2012, photo, two women walk from the town of Harpers Ferry, W.Va., onto the Appalachian Trail.

Riders pass an abandoned car during the Owsley County Saddle Club trail ride along the Appalachian Trail on April 20, 2012 in Booneville, Ky.

In this Aug. 1, 2012 photo, hikers and tourists congregate outside the headquarters of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harpers Ferry, W.Va.

In this Aug. 1, 2012, photo, Crystal Stroud, 26, of Mississippi, rests and re-supplies with her 3-year-old Dachsund, Polly, in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. Stroud is hiking the Appalachian Trail northward from Georgia to Maine this summer.

In this April 22, 1998, photo, President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore assist Sandi Marra, president of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, placing rocks in a retaining wall along the Appalachian Trail at Harper's Ferry, W. Va.

In this April 22, 1998, photo, President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore assist Sandi Marra, president of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, plant flowers along the Appalachian Trail at Harper's Ferry, W. Va.

The ATC is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the completion of the 2,180-mile path that stretches from Springer Mountain, Ga., to Mount Katahdin, Maine.