A.T.rail Of History

Mills Kelly describes himself as an historian, podcaster, backpacker, photographer, and author. He's had a long and distinguished career. He is a (now retired) professor of history at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. 

He's also had a long history with the Appalachian Trail. While at GMU, he hosted an excellent podcast on the A.T., The Green Tunnel. A link to this podcast can be found below. He is the Historian of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.

Mills is one of the A.T.'s best story tellers. He's written two books about the Trail, Virginia’s Lost Appalachian Trail and A Hiker’s History of the Appalachian Trail. We talk about the Green Tunnel podcast and the two books. Mills recounts some little known stories about some of the A.T.'s best known figures.

Follow THIS LINK to learn more about The Green Tunnel podcast. HERE is information on Mills' books.

Ed Riggs interviews Jim Foster. Jim is the Chair of the Museum's Hall of Fame selection committee. Jim talks about how and why the Hall of Fame was started and the 2026 Hall of Fame Class. They also discuss the 2026 Hall of Fame Banquet, to be held on November 8 at the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown, WV. 

Follow THIS LINK for complete information on the Banquet and to purchase tickets.

Cinda Waldbuesser recently took time to talk with us. She joined Appalachian Trail Conservancy as President and CEO in January, 2026. We talked about what attracted her to this position, her experience in the conservation sector and her plans for ATC.

Cinda Merrill Waldbuesser is an accomplished conservation and public-sector executive with more than two decades of leadership experience spanning the National Park Service (NPS) and the nonprofit sector. She is recognized for her strategic acumen, coalition-building skills, and ability to lead complex organizations toward mission-aligned growth and impact. Most recently, Cinda served as Deputy Regional Director for the National Park Service’s Northeast Region, providing executive leadership for national park units across 1.5 million acres from Maine to Virginia. In that role, she supported 22 park superintendents with park operations and strategic communication—among them, those managing the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Shenandoah National Park, and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. 

You can find out more about Cinda HERE.

Bill O'Brien, President of the Museum, is also active in ALDHA, the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association. ALDHA's annual meeting is called The Gathering. In 2026, The Gathering will be held on Columbus Day - Indigenous Peoples Weekend at Gettysburg College, close to the Museum. Bill is one of the Coordinators of the 2026 Gathering. He tells us about the origins and mission of ALDHA, as well as some highlights of this year's event.

Bill O'Brien became the new President of the A.T Museum earlier this year. But, Bill's association with the Trail and the Museum goes back many decades. Bill talks about first learning about the Trail, his two thru-hikes, the many Trail icons he has met over the years and his plans for the Museum.

We interview Museum volunteer Gwen Loose. Gwen leads the team that develops and constructs the exhibits in the A.T. Museum. Gwen talks about her long association with the Trail and her work with the Museum. She describes the process of first developing an idea for an exhibit, then bringing it to fruition. Gwen is also an expert on the women of the Trail, and has written a book on this subject. She talks about one important woman, Harlean James.

This is the first of a series of episodes on the thirty A.T. maintaining clubs. The Maine Appalachian Trail Club is responsible for 267 miles of the Trail in Maine. We talk to Janice Clain, the current President of the Club. We also feature Dave Field, who has volunteered with the Club for 70 years. They discuss the founding of the Club, some of its important leaders over its history and some unique aspects of the Trail in its northenmost state.

Today's episode consists of interviews with and about some legends of the A.T. The first is John Beaudet. John, known as Bodacious, is a four time A.T. thru-hiker and well known artist in eastern Tennessee. He carves the unique hiking sticks that the Museum awards to each inductee into the A.T. Hall of Fame. Find out more about Bodacious at https://bodaciousat.com/

Next is Bob Peoples. He's the owner of the Kincora hostel in Tennessee and the originator of the Hard Core trail crew. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.

The late Ed Ballard was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2024. We speak with Ed's son Bob and grandson Tim.

Finally we speak with Ron Rosen. Ron is widely recognized as one of the most effective volunteers in the history of the A.T., serving in several trail-wide positions as well as with the New York New Jersey Trail Conference for more than 50 years.

This episode is a panel discussion that took place during the 2025 A.T. Hall of Fame celebration, featuring the 2025 HoF Class and representatives. Featured are Dick Anderson, represented by Don Hudson; Walter Greene, represented by Janice Clain; Marion Park, represented by Jim Fetig and Ron Tipton. The moderators are Larry Luxenberg and Bill O'Brien of the Museum.

Larry Luxenberg is the Founder and President Emeritus of the Appalachian Trail Museum. In this first original episode of A.T.rail of History, Larry talks about how he first learned about the A.T., what moved him to first hike the entire Trail, then write a well known book about it, then found the Museum of America's most famous and most used long distance hiking trail.

Larry Luxenberg's life has been inextricably tied to the Appalachian Trail since he read a news story about it in grade school.  This led to his 1980 A.T. thru-hike and his involvement with key trail groups like Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association, the American Hiking Society and so many others.  His 1994 book Walking The Appalachian Trail definitively documents the A.T. experience.  But Larry's crowning achievement was the realization in 2010 of his decades long dream to open a Museum devoted to America's most famous long distance hiking trail.  As founder and President of the Appalachian Trail Museum, Larry has shown unswerving dedication to his goals, while quietly and unselfishly motivating others to aid the effort. Larry was named to the A.T. Hall of Fame in 2016.