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.

This episode is a unique panel discussion that took place during the 2025 A.T. Hall of Fame celebration. The subject was the first 100 years of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The first speaker is Larry Van Meter, Executive Director of ATC from 1981 through 1986. Next you’ll hear from Dave Startzell, Executive Director from 1986 through 2012. Next is Brian King, who served in several capacities at ATC from 1987 through 2022, notably as Publisher and keeper of its archives. After Brian, Laurie Potteiger, who served at ATC from 1988 through 2021, most notably as Information Services Manager. Ron Tipton, CEO of ATC from 2013 to 2018 is next. Sandi Marra, CEO from 2019 through 2025 follows. The moderators are Bill O’Brien, who recently became President of the Museum and Larry Luxenberg, Founder of the Museum and President Emeritus.