North Country National Scenic Trail signage at Route 308, north of the Waste Management entrance, leading toward Pry Road in West Sunbury. (Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette)

The North Country National Scenic Trail: A 4,600-mile walk through America’s ‘Red Plaid Nation’

By Bob Batz Jr. / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Local lumberjacks and other volunteers are helping to create the nation’s longest hiking trail, which curves through Western Pennsylvania.

Center Point Knob south of boiling Springs, Cumberland County, the original mid-point of the AT, is marked with a commemorative plaque. Because of trail relocations, the mid-point has moved further south, near Pine Grove Furnace State Park. (Don Hopey/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Appalachian National Scenic Trail: Hikers chasing spring

By Don Hopey / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Local communities grow more comfortable with having the Appalachian Trail as a neighbor.