the.com/trail
a promise that the wilderness will let you leave the way you came
means A path worn through wild or rough country, or the track or scent left behind by something that has passed.
from From Old French 'trailler,' to tow or drag, ultimately tied to Latin 'tragula,' a dragnet — a cousin of 'trawl.' The first trails were literally things dragged behind: the mark left in mud or grass by a hauled load, a tail, a hunted animal. Only later did the word turn around and name the path itself rather than the drag-mark on it.
- oldest path
- animals carved most trails long before humans
- blaze marks
- painted slashes on trees prevent lethal wrong turns
- appalachian length
- runs roughly 2,200 miles up the east coast
- switchbacks
- zigzags trade distance for survivable steepness
- trail magic
- strangers leave food for thru-hikers they'll never meet
appalachian trail — 2,190-mile hiking path from georgia to maine, established 1937
oregon trail — 2,170-mile pioneer wagon route used 1840s-1860s from missouri to oregon
santa fe trail — 800-mile trade route from missouri to new mexico, active 1821-1880