Katahdin Art Project
trailblazer.
poet.
conservationist.
A collaboration between the Earl Shaffer Foundation, Bart Smith, and Image Pathways. Framed photograph of Mount Katahdin, with a copy of Earl's famous Katahdin poem. Signed by both Earl Shaffer and Bart Smith; limited copies available.
An outdoorsman, poet, and hiker, Earl Victor Shaffer was born in 1918 in Pennsylvania. His upbringing near the woods instilled in him a love for nature, and when he returned from serving in the Army during WWII, it was nature that he turned to for healing.
​
In honor of his friend Walter Winemiller, Earl decided to take on the challenge of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, seeking through his journey to "walk off the war."
​
In 1948, after 6 months of walking more than 2,000 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine, Earl became the first person to ever thru-hike the Appalachian Trail.
​
To this day, he is remembered for his groundbreaking thru-hikes (as the first, then oldest thru-hiker 50 years later in 1998), as well as for his beautiful Trail-inspired poetry, and advocacy for the Appalachian Trail.
