Passing through: Jesse Smyth’s Appalachian Trail tale

Millions of people hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail annually. Thousands take to the trail in Charlottesville’s own Blue Ridge backyard. But only a few hundred ambitious adventurers make the full 2,190-mile trek between Georgia and Maine. Last year, longtime Charlottesville resident Jesse Smyth completed the arduous journey. She shared her story with C-VILLE: […]

Hostel takeover: Local woman wants Charlottesville to be hiker magnet

Marit Anderson signs her emails “Moonwalker,” her trail name. She completed the 2,178 miles of the Appalachian Trail in 2009, a portion of which is easily accessible, via Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway, from the place she calls home—Charlottesville. As the vice president and hike leader of Charlottesville’s chapter of the Potomac Appalachian […]