There are lots of amazing stories about the early days of the Appalachian Trail, but none match the story of Grandma Gatewood. In 1955, Gatewood set out to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. She was 67 years old at the time. She began her hike in secret - she didn’t want her children to know what she was doing because she knew they’d try to stop her. But news of her trek traveled fast, and by the time she was a few months into her hike, she had become a national celebrity. When she finished her hike she appeared on the Tonight Show and had stories featured about her in magazines and newspapers across the country.
For many Americans at the time, hearing news stories about Grandma Gatewood was their first exposure to the Appalachian Trail. The trail had been completed in the 1930s, but had been in left unmaintained during World War II, and by the 1950s it was in danger of being lost to obscurity. Gatewood awakened the public consciousness to this unique footpath, ensuring that it would receive the recognition and protection that it deserved.
Gatewood hiked the entire Appalachian Trail not just once, but three times. She became a fixture of the long distance hiking community in the 1950s and 60s, and has long been considered a legend of the Appalachian Trail. But until Ben Montgomery’s book was published, very little was known about her life before her Appalachian Trail thru-hike. Her motivation to hike the trail was largely a mystery.
Montgomery’s research and conversations with family members revealed that Gatewood’s husband was an long-time abuser. Her ambition to hike over 2,000 miles along the Appalachian Trail was in part a reaction to decades of physical abuse and suffering. This added a layer to Gatewood’s story that hadn’t yet been told, and it brought her motivation into clearer focus.