The Triple Crown of Hiking: Plan the Trip of a Lifetime in 2022
Hiker on the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington
The world-renowned "Triple Crown of Hiking" consists of three major long-distance trails in the USA. The oldest and most renowned is the Appalachian Trail (AT), running 2,193 miles through the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine. Next, the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is arguably the most beautiful of the three, running 2,654 miles from Mexico to Canada along the spine of the mountains spanning California, Oregon, and Washington. Finally, the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) is the most challenging and the newest of the three routes, running some 3,100 miles from Mexico to Canada along the Continental Divide. While there is a designated CDT route to follow, the trail changes every year as new sections of singletrack are still being built.
We're proud to announce that all three of the Triple Crown routes have now been documented in FATMAP in great detail! Each of the trails has its own dedicated guidebook, in which it has been documented segment-by-segment. These segment breakdowns have been painstakingly researched and written by our team of outdoor journalists and are designed to give you a detailed overview of each stretch trail.
Sunrise from Black Balsam Knob along the Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail has been divided into 58 segments, the Pacific Crest Trail into 72 segments (including a few alternate bypasses), and the Continental Divide Trail has been documented in 40 segments, including a few alternates as well. With these detailed segment descriptions, you can plan the trip of a lifetime and thru-hike one (or all) of these epic trails from start to finish.
However, the segment descriptions can also help you plan a shorter hike. While many people can't tear themselves away from work for a 6-month backpacking trip, these trails offer no end of possibilities for adventures known as "section hikes." On a section hike, you choose to hike as short or as long of a section of the trail as desired. This trip could be as long as a month or more, just a week, a quick overnight, or less. In fact, in many towns and destinations, key sections of these trails serve as iconic day hikes, reaching the tops of mountain peaks, beautiful overlooks, thundering waterfalls, and more.
There's a whole world of adventure out there, just waiting for you to reach out and seize it! Read more about each of these long-distance epics by clicking on the respective guidebooks.