I am just wondering who got people hooked on hiking the AT? For me it was my Dad. When I was a kid we hiked together most of the AT in Connecticut and parts of Vermont and New Hampshire all the while grilling me on my math facts. He took me camping, canoeing, skiing and hiking. He taught me to see the beauty around me in the woods. Standing on many bluffs he would tell me the name of every peak we saw or the name of all the constellations. It was not until he died that I learned that he was petrified of heights.