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The Appalachian Trail Museum Features Grandma Gatewood, a trail pioneer.

A pioneer long-distance hiker, Grandma Gatewood captured the imagination of the hiking community and touched many lives around the country during her travels from coast to coast. Grandma Gatewood drew widespread attention as the first elderly woman hiker to become widely known. She became a role model and has inspired countless hikers for the last fifty years. For all of these reasons, we chose to make Grandma Gatewood the subject of one of the initial exhibits in the year-old Appalachian Trail Museum, the first hiking museum in the country. A new documentary in in the process of being made that can introduce new viewers to her life as well as provide additional information to many of her fans is a project worthy of our support. 



Other information about this fascinating woman can be found at www.grandmagatewood.com. 


An article by Dianna Reese appearing January 5, 2015 in the Washington Post also helps shed light on her story. In the article, Reese refers to a book written by Ben Montgomery. Her story, as author Montgomery describes it, is one of “overcoming hardship and finding yourself and finding peace.” Montgomery, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and reporter for the Tampa Bay Times, wrote “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail.” Published in April 2014, the book made the New York Times bestsellers list August 2014.

Grandma Gatewood was actually the second female on record to complete the entire Appalachian Trail in one season. Mildred Pierce, sometimes known as "Peace Pilgrim", is listed at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy as having completed the trail in 1952 with her flip-flop thru-hike that year.




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