Recommended Citation
Published in Journal of Experiential Education, Volume 30, Issue 3, January 1, 2008, pages 277-281.
Abstract
The Appalachian Trail (AT) is a 2,175 mile–long National Scenic Trail extending from Maine to Georgia. Since its inception in the early 1920s, individuals, families, schools, and other organizations, just to name a few, have used the AT. Approximately 3 to 4 million visitors hike a portion of the AT each year (ATC, 2006). Throughout its 80year history and millions of hikers, much of the empirical research on the AT has focused on place attachment (Kyle, Graefe, & Manning, 2004; Kyle, Graefe, Manning, & Bacon, 2003). While Nisbett and Hinton (2005) explored motivations for AT hikers with disabilities, only limited research could be found on understanding motives among other AT users. In addition, researchers have indicated a need to further examine “types” of hikers (i.e., day, weekender, section, and thru) of the AT (Kyle et al., 2004). To better understand the AT hiker, the means-end theoretical framework was used.
Disciplines
Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration
Copyright
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/rpta_fac/14