Three of my very best friends will be making the journey from Georgia to Maine this year, so the A.T. has been a contsant source of conversation at home.

From the Smokey Mountain News:

A new exhibit called “The Appalachian Trail: One Step at a Time,” is now on display at the Sugarlands Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The National Park Service, the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy have combined forces in this effort to highlight the A.T. and its beautiful course through the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

The lectures are at 7 p.m. on Fridays at the Sugarlands Visitor Center on the Tennessee side of the Park, about 40 minutes from Cherokee on U.S. 441.

• May 26 — Cindy Ross will recount her experiences hiking the entire Trail.

• June 23 — Roundtable discussion of several A.T. thru-hikers who will relate their unique experiences of being on the Trail for upwards of 6 months at a time.

For more information call 865.436.1291.