[at-l] What is the trail (AT) and what is its purpose?

[ellen at clinic.net (Bob C)]

The trail is mostly a primitive footpath between Springer Mountain and Katahdin.

It's purpose? It has a million purposes, depending on the desires of those who built and maintain it and those who hike it. For most users the trail serves of a haven of wildness for a day, a weekend or maybe a season, a respite from an increasingly civilized life. 

For a few, the trail simply provides a physical challenge, a goal to be accomplished, not a walk to be savored. I suspect most of these quickly find an excuse to quit, but sadly a few persist to the bitter end.

Weary