Excerpt from the appalachian trail sasha peterson 1 the appalachian trail, which is officially called the appalachian national scenic trail, is a path that stretches from mount katahdin in maine, to springer mountain in georgia. measuring about 2,175 miles long, the trail is the longest marked footpath in the nation. the trail crosses fourteen states, eight national forests, and six national parks. the trail's lowest elevation is at bear mountain, new york, which is only 124 feet above sea level. the trail's highest elevation is at clingman's dome in tennessee, which measures 6,625 feet above sea level. 2 the trail is a part of the national park service. over thirty trail clubs and many private partnerships maintain the trail. every year, more than 6,000 volunteers put in nearly 200,000 hours of work on the trail. more than 10,000 people have hiked the entire length of the trail, which takes five million footsteps to complete. the appalachian trail is one of the most beloved and well-known foot trails in the country. 3 the appalachian trail began in 1921 as an idea suggested by harvard university graduate and forester benton mackaye. mackaye outlined his idea in a journal article titled "an appalachian trail: a project in regional planning." the article first appeared in the journal of the american institute of architects in 1921. in the article, mackaye said that keeping the forest safe was an important part of protecting the country. why did the author write this piece about appalachian trail? a) the author thinks the appalachian trail is entertaining. b) the author is informing the reader about the history of the appalachian trail. c) the author wants to inform the reader about why we should preserve the appalachian trial. d) the author is trying to persuade the reader to protect the appalachian trial from pollution.