It had been exhausting. It had been challenging. But Emma Gatewood refused to give up on her dream to solo thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. So? She kept going. As she hiked, media outlets chronicled her journey. They dubbed her Grandma Gatewood. When she finished, Emma became the first woman to solo thru-hike the 2,168 mile Appalachian Trail. But Grandma Gatewood’s hiking days were far from finished.

Brown, Andrew. “Skyline Trail from Maine to Georgia.” National Geographic, August 1949.

Huston, Peter, dir. Trail Magic: The Grandma Gatewood Story. 2015. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/237744.

Montgomery, Ben. Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail. Chicago Review Press, 2016.

New York Times. “Overlooked No More: Emma Gatewood, First Woman to Conquer the Appalachian Trail Alone.” October 7, 2021. https://archive.is/kp2au.

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