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In 1955, Emma “Grandma” Gatewood told her children that she was “going for a hike in the woods” – little did they know that this hike would be the entire 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail (A.T.), the longest hiking-only footpath in the world.
Though hiking the entire A.T. is already an impressive feat, Gatewood’s trip was even more remarkable for a number of reasons; she was 67 years old at the time, a mother of 11, a grandmother of 23, and a survivor of more than 30 years of domestic abuse.
When she summited Katahdin on September 25, 1955, she became the first woman ever to complete the entire A.T. alone in one season.
A pioneer in long-distance hiking and a portrait of resilience, Gatewood broke barriers in the outdoors, sending the message that “if those men can do it, I can do it.”
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