title: Dodge Charger

text: The Charger returned in 1981½ as a front-wheel drive subcompact hatchback coupe, available with a five-speed manual or three-speed automatic transmission. This economy-type model was similar to the Dodge Omni 024, but slightly larger. The Charger was available with a 2.2 L SOHC engine or a turbocharged 2.2 L SOHC. The turbo was available only with the manual transmission, unlike in the Dodge Daytona. A Shelby Charger was offered starting in 1983, with a turbo version available in 1984 producing @ 5600 rpm and of torque @ 3200 rpm. The engine was not intercooled and used a small t3 Garrett turbo. In 1985, the electronics were updated, but the power output was the same. In 1986, the electronics were further updated.


title: Dodge Charger

text: After a 20 year absence, Dodge reintroduced the Charger in 2005 for the 2006 model year as a Chrysler LX platform-based four-door sedan. Although the 1999 Charger concept car also featured four doors, it otherwise shared little with the 2006 production model.


title: Dodge Charger

text: Initially, the Charger was available in SE, SXT, R/T, R/T with Road/Track Performance Group, Police, and Daytona R/T versions. For the first time, a V6 engine was available, as was all-wheel drive (AWD). All-wheel drive was first only available on the R/T package. However, from 2009 onwards, all-wheel drive was also an option for the SE and SXT versions.


title: Dodge Charger

text: The basic SE model included a 2.7 L V6 engine, 5-speed automatic transmission with "AutoStick" manual shifting feature, 17-inch wheels, air conditioning, all-speed traction control, as well as ABS and electronic stability control, a CD player, tilt and telescoping steering column, power locks/mirrors/windows, and remote keyless entry. Additional features and trims were available, including the Charger R/T with a 5.7 L Hemi V8 mated to a 5-speed automatic transmission. A multiple-displacement system that allowed it to save fuel by running on only four cylinders when cruising was also featured in the V8.


title: Dodge Charger

text: Performance was the focus of the Charger SRT8 equipped with a 6.1 L Hemi engine mated to a 5-speed automatic, as well as conveniences such as an eight-way power front passenger seat, automatic climate control, unique grille and rear spoiler, body-color interior trim, special front fascia and engine cover, larger exhaust tips, performance steering gear, heated front seats with perforated suede inserts, power-adjustable pedals, and unique colors and exterior trim. An optional Road/Track package offered ten additional horsepower, a GPS navigation system, a 322-watt audio system, a sunroof, and a rear-seat DVD entertainment system and radio.


title: Dodge Charger

text: The Charger received an improved interior and new exterior styling for 2011. This included new side scoops along both front and rear doors, more angular headlights, aggressive new grille styling, and a more defined and aerodynamic shape overall. Most notably, the back end adopted a more modern wrap-around LED tail light spanning nearly the entire trunk width. Driver visibility was improved by more than 15%, addressing complaints from previous years. The side and rear styling cues are reminiscent of the 1968-1970 models.


title: Dodge Charger

text: Base performance was increased, with the 3.5 L V6 engine replaced with a Pentastar 3.6 L producing @ 6350 rpm and of torque @ 4800 rpm. The 4-speed automatic transmission was replaced with the 5-speed A580 auto.


title: Dodge Charger

text: The 2012 year brought a new 8-speed automatic transmission to the V6 model. This year also saw the return of the SRT-8 to the model lineup. AWD was also added to the V6, making AWD available on all but the SRT-8 model.


title: Dodge Charger

text: For the 2012 – 2018 years, the Super Bee platform (Later called Scat Pack 15+) was available, using features seen in regular SRT-8 models with accessories and badges reminiscent of the 60s and 70s muscle car. These included a 6.4 L engine rated at and had four-piston Brembo calipers, slotted rotors, paddle shifters, SRT launch features (such as 0-60 timing, Live G-Force readings, and ¼ and ⅛ mile drag timers), custom seat embroidery as well as other features.


title: Dodge Charger

text: The 2014 Pursuit model no longer included chrome exhaust tip extensions, as they often scraped during maneuvers over medians.


title: Dodge Charger

text: For 2015, the Charger received significant exterior styling updates. Most notably, the new front end featured new LED lights and a more aerodynamic nose that was less angled and featured a noticeable curve around the headlight housing. Suspensions, interiors, and brakes were also redesigned.


title: Dodge Charger

text: The 2017 model had an upgrade to the 8.4-inch navigation/display system and was restyled due to issues with the previous system.


title: Dodge Charger

text: Except for Charger Pursuit (through 2020), all models came standard with the eight-speed automatic transmission. In December of 2014, the AWD Charger Pursuit appeared, and the V8 R/T AWD model disappeared. Sales of the AWD Pursuit increased.


title: Dodge Charger

text: For 2020, the Charger Hellcat comes standard with the "widebody" to accommodate an improved tire/suspension package. Dodge also added a new trim for 2020 called the SRT Hellcat Redeye. The Hellcat Redeye comes standard with the V8 engine. The 2020 Charger Pursuit was only available in the RWD V6 and AWD V8 models. Beginning in 2021, the roles reversed, with the V6 Pursuit now equipped with AWD and the 850RE 8-spd auto. The V8 Pursuit was RWD with the 8HP70. In 2022, several police models were dropped, including the V8-RWD Charger Pursuit, the V6-AWD Durango Pursuit, and both Durango SSV models. That leaves police with the V6-AWD Charger and V8-AWD Durango Pursuit models, and 4×4 1500/2500/3500 Ram SSV models, through 2023.


title: Dodge Charger

text: In 2022, the Street and Racing Technology team produced the "Jailbreak Edition", based on the 2020 Hellcat Redeye Widebody. SRT added ten extra horsepower from the stock Hellcat Redeye, which totals 807. The idea behind it was for the user to be able to customize the Charger through the factory as if there was a "Jailbreak". The Inside offers different options for the floor mats, color of the leather seats ,logos ,sound system, headliner. The exterior of the Charger has the options to add racing stripes to differ from the Challenger. Users have the option of changing the color of the car, brake calipers, wheels, badges, exhaust tips, and an option of adding the SRT spoiler.


title: Dodge Charger

text: In January 2022, Dodge announced that the Hemi V8 (5.7L, 6.4L, and 6.2L) will be retired at the end of the 2023 model year.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German field marshal during World War II who is best known for commanding the 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942 to February 1943). The battle ended in disaster for the Wehrmacht when Soviet forces encircled the Germans within the city, leading to the ultimate defeat and capture of about 265,000 German personnel, their Axis allies and collaborators.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: Paulus fought in World War I and saw action in France and the Balkans. He was considered a promising officer; by the time World War II broke out he had been promoted to major general. Paulus took part in the Poland and Low Countries campaigns, after which he was named deputy chief of the German Army General Staff. In that capacity, Paulus helped plan the invasion of the Soviet Union.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: In 1942, Paulus was given command of the 6th Army despite his lack of field experience. He led the drive to Stalingrad but was cut off and surrounded in the subsequent Soviet counter-offensive. Adolf Hitler prohibited attempts to break out or capitulate, and German defence was gradually worn down. Paulus surrendered in Stalingrad on 31 January 1943, the same day on which he was informed of his promotion to field marshal by Hitler. Hitler expected Paulus to commit suicide, repeating to his staff that there was no precedent of a German field marshal ever being captured alive.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: While in Soviet captivity during the war, Paulus became a vocal critic of the Nazi regime and joined the Soviet-sponsored National Committee for a Free Germany. In 1953, Paulus moved to East Germany, where he worked in military history research, having a decisive role in the development of the myth of the clean Wehrmacht. He lived out the rest of his life in Dresden.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: Paulus was born in Guxhagen and grew up in Kassel, Hesse-Nassau, the son of a treasurer. He tried, unsuccessfully, to secure a cadetship in the Imperial German Navy and briefly studied law at Marburg University.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: Many English-language sources and publications from the 1940s to the present day give Paulus' family name the prefix "von". For example: Mark Arnold-Forster's "The World At War", companion volume to the documentary of the same name, Stein and Day, 1973, pp. 139–142; other examples are Allen and Muratoff's "The Russian Campaigns of 1941–1943", published in 1944 and Peter Margaritis (2019). This is incorrect, as Paulus' family was never part of the nobility, and Antony Beevor refers to his "comparatively humble birth" (like Rommel's family; their "sole similarity").


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: After leaving university without a degree, he joined the 111th Infantry Regiment as an officer cadet in February 1910. On 4 July 1912 he married the Romanian Constance Elena Rosetti-Solescu, the sister of a colleague who served in the same regiment. When World War I began, Paulus' regiment was part of the thrust into France, and he saw action in the Vosges and around Arras in the autumn of 1914. After a leave of absence due to illness, he joined the "Alpenkorps" as a staff officer, serving in France, Romania and Serbia. By the end of the war, he was a captain.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: After the Armistice, Paulus was a brigade adjutant with the "Freikorps". He was chosen as one of only 4,000 officers to serve in the "Reichswehr", the defensive army that the Treaty of Versailles had limited to 100,000 men. He was assigned to the 13th Infantry Regiment at Stuttgart as a company commander. He served in various staff positions for over a decade (1921–33). In 1920s, as part of the military cooperation between Weimar Republic and Soviet Union to escape Treaty of Versailles, Paulus presented guest lectures in Moscow, Soviet Union.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: Later, Paulus briefly commanded a motorized battalion (1934–35) before being named chief of staff for Panzer headquarters in October 1935. This was a new formation under the direction of Oswald Lutz that directed the training and development of the "Panzerwaffe", or tank forces of the German army.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: In February 1938 Paulus was appointed "Chef des Generalstabes" to Gen. Heinz Guderian's new XVI Armeekorps (Motorisiert), which replaced Lutz's command. Guderian described him as "brilliantly clever, conscientious, hard working, original and talented" but had severe doubts about his decisiveness, toughness and lack of command experience. He remained in that post until May 1939, when he was promoted to major general and became chief of staff for the German Tenth Army, with which he saw service in Poland. The unit was renamed the Sixth Army and engaged in the spring offensives of 1940 through the Netherlands and Belgium. Paulus was promoted to lieutenant general in August 1940. The following month he was named deputy chief of the German General Staff (Oberquartiermeister I). In that role he helped draft the plans for the invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: In November 1941, after German Sixth Army's commander Field Marshal Walter von Reichenau—Paulus' patron—became commander of the entire Army Group South, Paulus, who had never commanded a larger unit than a battalion prior to this time, was promoted to "General der Panzertruppe" and became commander of the Sixth Army. However, he only took over his new command on 20 January, six days after the sudden death of Reichenau, leaving him on his own and without the support of his more experienced sponsor.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: Paulus led the drive on Stalingrad during that summer. His troops fought Soviet forces defending Stalingrad for over three months in increasingly brutal urban warfare. In November 1942, when the Soviet Red Army launched a massive counter-offensive, code-named Operation Uranus, Paulus found himself surrounded by an entire Soviet Army Group. Paulus did not request to evacuate the city when the counter-offensive began.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: Paulus followed Adolf Hitler's orders to hold his positions in Stalingrad under all circumstances, despite the fact that he was completely surrounded by strong Soviet forces. Operation Winter Storm, a relief effort by Army Group Don under Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, was launched in December. Following his orders, Paulus prepared to break out of Stalingrad. In the meantime, he kept his entire army in fixed defensive positions. Manstein told Paulus that the relief would need assistance from the Sixth Army, but the order to initiate the breakout never came. Paulus remained absolutely firm in obeying the orders he had been given. Manstein's forces were unable to reach Stalingrad on their own and their efforts were eventually halted due to Soviet offensives elsewhere on the front.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: Kurt Zeitzler, the newly appointed chief of the Army General Staff, eventually got Hitler to allow Paulus to break out—provided he continue to hold Stalingrad, an impossible task.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: For the next two months, Paulus and his men fought on. However, the lack of food and ammunition, equipment losses and the deteriorating physical condition of the German troops gradually wore down the German defense. With the new year, Hitler promoted Paulus to colonel general.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: On 7 January 1943 General Konstantin Rokossovsky, commander of the Red Army on the Don front, called a cease-fire and offered Paulus' men generous surrender terms: normal rations, medical treatment for the ill and wounded, permission to retain their badges, decorations, uniforms and personal effects. As part of his communication, Rokossovsky advised Paulus that he was in an impossible situation. Paulus requested permission from Hitler to surrender. Even though it was obvious the Sixth Army was in an untenable position, the German Army High Command rejected Paulus' request, stating, "Capitulation out of the question. Every day that the army holds out longer helps the whole front and draws away the Russian divisions from it."


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: After a heavy Soviet offensive overran the last emergency airstrip in Stalingrad on 25 January, the Soviets again offered Paulus a chance to surrender. Paulus radioed Hitler once again for permission. Telling Hitler that collapse was "inevitable," Paulus stressed that his men were without ammunition or food, and he was no longer able to command them. He also said that 18,000 men were wounded and were in immediate need of medical attention. Once again, Hitler rejected Paulus' request out of hand, and ordered him to hold Stalingrad to the death. On 30 January, Paulus informed Hitler that his men were only hours from collapse. Hitler responded by showering a raft of field promotions by radio on Paulus' officers to build up their spirits and bolster their will to hold their ground. Most significantly, he promoted Paulus to field marshal. In deciding to promote him, Hitler noted that there was no known record of a Prussian or German field marshal ever having surrendered. The implication was clear: Paulus was to commit suicide. Hitler implied that if Paulus allowed himself to be taken alive, he would shame Germany's military history.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: Paulus and his staff were captured on the morning of 31 January 1943. The events of that day were recorded by Colonel Wilhelm Adam, one of Paulus' aides and an adjutant in the XXIII Army Corps, in his personal diary:


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: On 2 February 1943 the remainder of the Sixth Army capitulated. Upon finding out about Paulus' "surrender", Hitler flew into a rage and vowed never to appoint another field marshal again. (In fact, he went on to appoint another seven field marshals during the last two years of the war.) Speaking about the surrender of Paulus, Hitler told his staff:


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: Paulus, a Roman Catholic, was opposed to suicide. During his captivity, according to General Max Pfeffer, Paulus said, "I have no intention of shooting myself for this Bohemian corporal." Another general told the NKVD (the public and secret police organisation of the Soviet Union) that Paulus had told him about his promotion to field marshal and said, "It looks like an invitation to commit suicide, but I will not do this favor for him." Paulus also forbade his soldiers from standing on top of their trenches in order to be shot by the enemy.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: Shortly before surrendering, Paulus sent his wedding ring back to his wife on the last plane departing his position. He had not seen her since 1942 and would not see her again, as she died in 1949 while he was still in captivity.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: At first Paulus refused to collaborate with the Soviets. However, after the attempted assassination of Hitler on 20 July 1944, he became a vocal critic of the Nazi regime while in Soviet captivity, joining the Soviet-sponsored National Committee for a Free Germany appealing to Germans to surrender. He later acted as a witness for the prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials. He was allowed to move to the German Democratic Republic in 1953, two years before the repatriation of the remaining German POWs.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: During the Nuremberg Trials, Paulus was asked about the Stalingrad prisoners by a journalist. He told the journalist to tell the wives and mothers that their husbands and sons were well. Of the 91,000 German prisoners taken at Stalingrad, half had died on the march to Siberian prison camps, and nearly as many died in captivity; only about 6,000 survived and returned home.


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: After his return to the German Democratic Republic in 1953, Paulus gave a press conference in Berlin on 2 July 1954 in the presence of Western journalists, titled "On the vital issues of our nation". In it, he paid respect to the memory of General Heinz Guderian, who had died a little over a month previously, and criticized the political leaderships of the German Empire and Nazi Germany for causing the defeats of the German Army in both world wars:


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: He also criticized United States foreign policy as aggressive and called for a reconciliation between the Germans and the French:


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: Finally, he supported former German Chancellor Heinrich Brüning's appeal for a betterment of relations between West Germany and the Eastern Bloc, agreed with Brüning's criticism of West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer's overtly pro-American policy, and expressed his hope for a German reunification:


title: Friedrich Paulus

text: From 1953 to 1956 he lived in Dresden, East Germany, where he worked as the civilian chief of the East German Military History Research Institute. In late 1956, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and became progressively weaker. He died within a few months, in Dresden, on 1 February 1957 at age 66, 14 years and one day after his surrender at Stalingrad. As part of his last will and testament, his body was transported to Baden-Baden, West Germany, to be buried at the "Hauptfriedhof" (main cemetery) next to his wife, who had died eight years earlier in 1949, not having seen her husband since his departure for the Eastern Front in the summer of 1942.


title: Ballistic missile

text: A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the Earth's atmosphere, while intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are launched on a sub-orbital flight.


title: Ballistic missile

text: These weapons are in a distinct category from cruise missiles, which are aerodynamically guided in powered flight. Unlike cruise missiles, which are restricted to the atmosphere, it is advantageous for ballistic missiles to avoid the denser parts of the atmosphere and they may travel above the atmosphere into outer space.


title: Ballistic missile

text: The earliest form of ballistic missile dates from the 13th century with its use derived from the history of rockets. In the 14th century, the Ming Chinese navy used an early form of a ballistic missile weapon called the Huolongchushui in naval battles against enemy ships. A modern pioneer ballistic missile was the A-4, commonly known as the V-2 developed by Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s under the direction of Wernher von Braun. The first successful launch of a V-2 was on October 3, 1942, and it began operation on September 6, 1944, against Paris, followed by an attack on London two days later. By the end of World War II in Europe in May 1945, more than 3,000 V-2s had been launched.


title: Ballistic missile

text: The R-7 Semyorka was the first intercontinental ballistic missile. In 2010, the U.S. and Russian governments signed a treaty to reduce their inventory of intercontinental ballistic missiles over a seven-year period (to 2017) to 1550 units each.


title: Ballistic missile

text: An intercontinental ballistic missile trajectory consists of three parts: the powered flight portion; the free-flight portion, which constitutes most of the flight time; and the re-entry phase, where the missile re-enters the Earth's atmosphere. The flight phases for shorter-range ballistic missiles are essentially the first two phases of the ICBM, as some ballistic categories do not leave the atmosphere.


title: Ballistic missile

text: Ballistic missiles can be launched from fixed sites or mobile launchers, including vehicles (e.g., transporter erector launchers), aircraft, ships, and submarines. The powered flight portion can last from a few tenths of seconds to several minutes and can consist of multiple rocket stages.


title: Ballistic missile

text: When the fuel is exhausted, no more thrust is provided and the missile enters free flight. In order to cover large distances, ballistic missiles are usually launched into a high sub-orbital spaceflight; for intercontinental missiles, the highest altitude (apogee) reached during free-flight is about .


title: Ballistic missile

text: The re-entry stage begins at an altitude where atmospheric drag plays a significant part in missile trajectory, and lasts until missile impact. Re-entry vehicles re-enter the Earth's atmosphere at very high velocities, on the order of at ICBM ranges.


title: Ballistic missile

text: Ballistic missiles vary widely in range and use, and are often divided into categories based on range. Various schemes are used by different countries to categorize the ranges of ballistic missiles:


title: Ballistic missile

text: Most current designs have intercontinental range with a notable exception of Indian operational SLBM Sagarika and K-4 as well as North Korea's currently operationally deployed KN-11 which might not have intercontinental range. A comparable missile would be the decommissioned China's JL-1 SLBM with a range of less than 2,500 km.


title: Ballistic missile

text: Tactical short- and medium-range missiles are often collectively referred to as tactical and theatre ballistic missiles, respectively. Long- and medium-range ballistic missiles are generally designed to deliver nuclear weapons because their payload is too limited for conventional explosives to be cost-effective in comparison to conventional bomber aircraft (though the U.S. is evaluating the idea of a conventionally armed ICBM for near-instant global air strike capability, despite the high costs).


title: Ballistic missile

text: A quasi-ballistic missile (also called a semi-ballistic missile) is a category of missile that has a low trajectory and/or is largely ballistic but can perform maneuvers in flight or make unexpected changes in direction and range. They include anti-ship ballistic missiles. At a lower trajectory than a ballistic missile, a quasi-ballistic missile can maintain higher speed, thus allowing its target less time to react to the attack, at the cost of reduced range.


title: Ballistic missile

text: The Russian Iskander is a quasi-ballistic missile. The Russian Iskander-M cruises at hypersonic speed of 2,100–2,600 m/s (Mach 6–7) at a height of 50 km. The Iskander-M weighs 4,615 kg, carries a warhead of 710–800 kg, has a range of 480 km and achieves a CEP of 5–7 meters. During flight it can maneuver at different altitudes and trajectories to evade anti-ballistic missiles.


title: Ballistic missile

text: Many ballistic missiles reach hypersonic speeds (i.e. Mach 5 and above) when they re-enter the atmosphere from space. However, in common military terminology, the term "hypersonic ballistic missile" is generally only given to those that can be maneuvered before hitting their target and don’t follow a simple ballistic trajectory.


title: Ballistic missile

text: Throw-weight is a measure of the effective weight of ballistic missile payloads. It is measured in kilograms or tonnes. Throw-weight equals the total weight of a missile's warheads, reentry vehicles, self-contained dispensing mechanisms, penetration aids, and missile guidance systems: generally all components except for the launch rocket booster and launch fuel. Throw-weight may refer to any type of warhead, but in normal modern usage, it refers almost exclusively to nuclear or thermonuclear payloads. It was once also a consideration in the design of naval ships and the number and size of their guns.


title: Ballistic missile

text: Throw-weight was used as a criterion in classifying different types of missiles during Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the Soviet Union and the United States. The term became politically controversial during debates over the arms control accord, as critics of the treaty alleged that Soviet missiles were able to carry larger payloads and so enabled the Soviets to maintain higher throw-weight than an American force with a roughly comparable number of lower-payload missiles.


title: Ballistic missile

text: The missiles with the world's heaviest payloads are the Russian SS-18 and Chinese CSS-4 and , Russia was developing a new heavy-lift, liquid-propellant ICBM called the Sarmat.


title: Ballistic missile

text: Throw-weight is normally calculated using an optimal ballistic trajectory from one point on the surface of the Earth to another. An optimal trajectory maximizes the total payload (throw-weight) using the available impulse of the missile. By reducing the payload weight, different trajectories can be selected, which can either increase the nominal range or decrease the total time in flight.


title: Ballistic missile

text: A depressed trajectory is non-optimal, as a lower and flatter trajectory takes less time between launch and impact but has a lower throw-weight. The primary reasons to choose a depressed trajectory are to evade anti-ballistic missile systems by reducing the time available to shoot down the attacking vehicle (especially during the vulnerable burn-phase against space-based ABM systems) or a nuclear first-strike scenario. An alternate, non-military purpose for a depressed trajectory is in conjunction with the space plane concept with use of air-breathing engines, which requires the ballistic missile to remain low enough inside the atmosphere for air-breathing engines to function.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: Nicolas Pépé (born 29 May 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Nice, on loan from Arsenal of the . Born in France, he represents the Ivory Coast national team.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: Pépé began his senior club career with Poitiers in the Championnat de France Amateur 2. He signed for Angers in 2013, aged 18, and spent a season on loan at Orléans in 2015. He signed for Lille in 2017, and was named to the UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year in the 2018–19 season. That summer, Pépé joined Arsenal for a club-record fee of £72 million, and won the FA Cup in his debut season.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: Pépé, who was born in France to parents of Ivorian descent, made his debut for the Ivory Coast on 15 November 2016 in a friendly against France. He was selected for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017, 2019 and 2021.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: Pépé was born in Mantes-la-Jolie, Île-de-France. He started his career originally playing as a goalkeeper for local side Solitaire Paris Est until he was 14 years old. When his father Celestin, a prison guard, was transferred to Poitiers, Pépé began his senior career as an outfield player with Poitiers FC in the Championnat de France Amateur 2 (fifth tier) in 2012–13.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: He made his professional debut in the second round of the Coupe de la Ligue in a 2–1 home loss to Arles-Avignon on 26 August 2014, as a 73rd-minute substitute for Yohann Eudeline. His first Ligue 2 match was on 21 November 2014, starting in a 1–1 Ligue 2 draw away to Ajaccio.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: Pépé was loaned to Orléans for the 2015–16 Championnat National, and helped the club to promotion from the third tier as runners-up. He returned to an Angers side playing in Ligue 1 and which reached the 2017 Coupe de France Final, where he started in a 1–0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade de France.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: On 21 June 2017, Pépé signed a five-year deal with Lille, for a maximum transfer fee of €10 million, after being signed by head coach Marcelo Bielsa who had scouted the player by watching footage of every Ligue 1 game he had played in for Angers, before scouting him in person. Pépé described Bielsa as "special" and a "great coach". He started the season playing as a striker after being converted into playing the position under Bielsa, before finishing the season under the new Lille head coach Christophe Galtier, playing as a winger.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: During the entirety of the 2017–18 Ligue 1 season, he was a regular in a Lille side that narrowly avoided relegation, missing only two games and scoring 13 times, including two apiece in away wins at Metz and Toulouse.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: On 15 September 2018, during the 2018–19 Ligue 1 season, Pépé scored a hat-trick, including two penalties, in the 3–2 away win over Amiens. Days later, it was confirmed by club president Gérard Lopez that Barcelona were among several clubs that were interested in signing him. On 14 April 2019, Pépé scored a goal and provided two assists in the 5–1 home win over Paris Saint-Germain. He finished the 2018–19 Ligue 1 season with 22 goals, second only to PSG's Kylian Mbappé, with 11 assists, and was named in the UNFP Team of the Year.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: On 1 August 2019, it was announced that Pépé had joined Premier League club Arsenal in a club-record fee of €79 million (£72 million), eclipsing the previous record of €62 million for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Upon signing for Arsenal, he was handed the number 19 shirt.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: Pépé made his Arsenal debut in a 1–0 away win over Newcastle United on 11 August, as a substitute for Reiss Nelson in the 71st minute. His first start for the club came two weeks later in a 3–1 loss to Liverpool, in which he played the full 90 minutes. He scored his first Arsenal goal, from the penalty spot, in the team's 3–2 home win over Aston Villa on 22 September. He scored his first European goals in Arsenal's UEFA Europa League 3–2 home win over Vitória de Guimarães on 24 October, two free-kicks.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: On 1 January 2020, Pépé scored Arsenal's first goal in a 2–0 home victory over Manchester United, marking new head-coach Mikel Arteta's first win. On 16 February, Pépé scored once and assisted twice in a 4–0 win over Newcastle United. On 28 June, he scored his first FA Cup goal in a 2–1 away win against Sheffield United in the quarter-finals, giving Arsenal the lead in the 25th minute from the penalty spot. On 1 August, he played the whole 90 minutes of the FA Cup Final match against Chelsea to win his first club trophy as an Arsenal player, contributing the assist for Aubameyang's second goal.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: On 22 November 2020, Pépé received the first red card of his career in a 0–0 away draw against Leeds United after clashing heads with Ezgjan Alioski in the 51st minute. On 2 February 2021, he beat two defenders before scoring in a game against Wolverhampton Wanderers; that goal was later voted as Goal of the Month for February on Arsenal's official website.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: On 24 February 2022, Pépé scored his first goal of the 2021-22 Premier League season in a 2-1 win against Wolverhampton with an 82nd-minute strike, and was instrumental in the buildup of forcing an own goal in the 95th minute to cap a late comeback.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: On 25 August 2022, Pépé joined Ligue 1 club Nice on loan for the remainder of the 2022–23 season without an option to buy.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: Pépé was born in France to parents of Ivorian descent. He received a call up to the Ivory Coast national team in November 2016, and was an unused substitute in the goalless draw away to Morocco in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification on 12 November. He made his debut three days later in a friendly of the same score against his birth nation, France, at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens, playing the final four minutes in place of Max-Alain Gradel.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: Pépé was named in Michel Dussuyer's 23-man squad for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon, but took no part as the Elephants were eliminated from their group.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: On 24 March 2018, in a friendly against Togo in France, Pépé scored his first international goals in the first half of a 2–2 draw. He followed it three days later, with another goal in a 2–1 win against Moldova in the same stadium.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: Pépé was called up for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. He was absent from their quarter-final penalty shootout defeat by Algeria, having been dropped for Max Alain Gradel due to a lack of form.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: Pépé is known as a quick and skilled attacking winger who is comfortable on both flanks, but usually plays on the right wing cutting onto his left foot; he was also converted from playing in wide positions by former Lille head coach Marcelo Bielsa to play as a striker on either the inside or central channel.


title: Nicolas Pépé

text: Pépé was involved in the Amazon Original sports docuseries "", which documented the club by spending time with the coaching staff and players behind the scenes both on and off the field throughout their 2021–22 season.


title: HAL AMCA

text: The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is an Indian programme to develop a fifth-generation stealth, multirole, air superiority fighter for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy which will also include sixth-generation technologies. The design of the aircraft is carried out by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), an aircraft design and development agency constituted under Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It is expected to be produced by a public-private joint venture between the DRDO, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and an Indian private company. The development cost is estimated to be around ₹15,000 crore (~$2 billion).


title: HAL AMCA

text: AMCA will be a single-seat, twin-engine aircraft. The AMCA Mark 1 will come equipped with 5.5 generation technologies and Mark 2 will have the incremental 6th generation technology upgrades. The AMCA which is intended to perform a multitude of missions including Air supremacy, Ground-Strike, Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) and Electronic Warfare (EW) missions would be a potent replacement for the Sukhoi Su-30MKI air superiority fighter, which forms the backbone of the IAF fighter fleet. The AMCA design is optimised for low radar cross section and supercruise capability. Feasibility study on AMCA and the preliminary design stage have been completed, and the project entered the detailed design phase in February 2019. A CAD model of the aircraft was shown at Aero India 2019. The first flight is expected to be by 2024-25 and serial production might begin by 2030. The AMCA is currently the only 5th generation fighter under development in India, expected to get Ministry of Defence approval in 2022. The aircraft, along with its naval variant, is intended to provide the bulk of the manned tactical airpower of the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy over the coming decades.


title: HAL AMCA

text: The AMCA programme, earlier known as Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA) programme, was initiated to develop a twin engine fighter which incorporates stealth features to replace the main strike fighters of IAF viz Mirage 2000 and SEPECAT Jaguar. In 2010, the MCA programme was rechristened as Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme and a detailed feasibility study was launched by ADA. Although MCA was envisioned as a 15-tonne class fighter, the IAF's Air Staff requirements (ASR) for the AMCA, issued in April 2010 placed the now rechristened aircraft in the 25-tonne category. In October 2010, the Government of India allocated ₹100 crore to prepare feasibility studies in 18 months. In 2013, a review committee was formed, which on the feasibility study report recommended initiating the next phase of the programme.


title: HAL AMCA

text: The Project Definition and Preliminary Design phase of AMCA began in 2013. From November 2013 to December 2014, 9 configurations of AMCA, starting from 3B-01 to 3B-09, were studied using CAD, low speed - high speed wind tunnel testing and radar cross section (RCS) testing and eventually by the end of 2014, configuration 3B-09 was chosen. In 2015, basic design configuration of AMCA was finalized and a detailed AMCA programme report was submitted to the IAF, which after review gave concurrence to the programme. The AMCA design after considerable refinements, has been accepted by IAF in 2016. The Project definition phase was completed by 2017. On 4 April 2018, Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply to the Lok Sabha confirmed that the feasibility study for the AMCA programme has been completed and the programme would be completed in two phases viz, technology demonstration phase and full scale engineering development phase. The "Detailed Design Phase" of AMCA has commenced in 2018, as part of the phase, a full-scale model of AMCA will be developed for testing stealth features. The ADA is expecting to get government approval for the AMCA programme by the second quarter of 2021. ₹15,000 crore will be sanctioned for the program soon as per the latest reports. The first prototype of AMCA is expected to be rolled out by 2025–26.


title: HAL AMCA

text: The current plan is to procure 7 squadrons of AMCA initially, first two squadrons in Mark 1 configuration, equipped with an imported engine and the remaining five squadrons in Mark 2 configuration, equipped with an uprated indigenous engine. The Mark 2 of AMCA would also incorporate sixth generation features and technologies to stay relevant in the coming decades.


title: HAL AMCA

text: In 2015, 700 ADA employees were working on the project along with 2,000 employees of DRDO and 1,000 employees of HAL supported by over 500 employees of subcontractors of both Indian and foreign firms.


title: HAL AMCA

text: Work on various technologies was carried out by multiple establishments of DRDO, ADA and HAL which included stealth, engine, three-dimensional thrust vectoring, AESA radar, internal weapons bay, serpentine air intakes and all other major avionics. According to Deputy Air Marshall Sinha "To provide adequate time to Indian industries to develop required capabilities, the armed forces will soon come out with a list of technologies of interest... underlining that these efforts are expected to synergise indigenous development of advanced aerospace systems." In 2015, as part of the Indian MRCA competition, Saab AB made an offer for participating in the AMCA programme.


title: HAL AMCA

text: In 2021, Mishra Dhatu Nigam (MIDHANI) started supplying titanium alloy for airframe construction. Till August 5, 2021 five slabs of titanium alloy were already supplied to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The production of the alloy was done through the same technology, first developed by MIDHANI for crew escape system of Gaganyaan programme. HAL is planning to rollout first AMCA Mark 1 from the assembly line by 2027 which will form the first phase of production. From the second phase, integration of sixth generation technologies by DRDO will take place on Mark 2 variant.


title: HAL AMCA

text: In an interview to The Financial Express on 22 October 2021, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari confirmed that IAF is looking forward to AMCA aiming at sixth generation technologies. IAF is planning for two squadron of Mark 1 and five squadron of Mark 2 variant. There is also plan for a light combat aircraft variant of AMCA in future. Ongoing consultation happened in November 2021 between IAF, HAL, DRDO, ADA, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Finance as final design of AMCA prototype is getting ready for approval from Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). ADA is expecting CCS approval for AMCA in 2022.


title: HAL AMCA

text: On 9 March 2022, the commencement of the manufacturing activities of AMCA was announced, starting with the leading edge of the aircraft.


title: HAL AMCA

text: On 17 March 2022, DRDO completed the construction of a 7 story building housing the research and development facilities for avionics and flight control system (FCS) of AMCA at Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) Bengaluru. Bharat Electronics (BEL) is working with ADE and ADA to develop Digital Flight Control Computers (DFCC) for AMCA.


title: HAL AMCA

text: On 13 July 2022, HAL launched the Metal Cutting for Titanium Bulkhead of AMCA as part of technology development at Aircraft Manufacturing Division, Nashik. DRDO initiated feasibility studies for retractable air to air refueling probe until 7 October 2022. AMCA will adopt an Articulated Probe and Drogue System.


title: HAL AMCA

text: The AMCA is a twin-engine, stealth supersonic multi-role fighter designed for the IAF. At present, the AMCA is planned as a fifth generation fighter but will integrate emerging, best of breed sixth generation technologies over time. The AMCA would be the first fifth generation fighter to enter service with the Indian Air Force.


title: HAL AMCA

text: The AMCA is designed with shoulder mounted diamond shaped trapezoidal wings, a profile with substantial area-ruling to reduce drag at transonic speeds, and a stabilator V-tail with large fuselage mounted Tail-wing. Flight control surfaces include leading and trailing-edge flaps, ailerons, rudders on the canted vertical stabilizers, and all-moving tailplanes; these surfaces also serve as Air brakes. The cockpit features a single seat configuration which is placed high, near the air intakes and wings of the aircraft to provide good visibility to the pilot with a single bubble canopy. A leading-edge root extension (LERX), which is a small fillet, is situated on the front section of the intake and wings of the aircraft. It has a typically roughly rectangular shape, running forward from the leading edge of the wing root to a point along the fuselage. The aircraft features a tricycle landing gear configuration. The weapons bay is placed on the underside of the fuselage between the nose and main landing gear. The AMCA is designed to produce a very small radar cross-section, to accomplish this it features “S-shaped” air-intakes to reduce radar exposure to the fan blade which increases stealth, uses an internal weapons bay and features the use of composites and other materials. The flight control surfaces are controlled by a central management computer system. The AMCA will have some sixth generation characteristics such as an optionally manned, directed energy weapons, capable of controlling UCAVs and swarm drones.


title: HAL AMCA

text: The AMCA design has inherent radar stealth, achieved through platform edge alignment and serration, body conformal antenna and low intercept radar, Diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) with serpentine ducts which conceal engine fan blades, internal weapons bay and extensive use of composites in airframe. The airframe will use aluminium alloys, maraging and stainless steels, Nitinol and Inconel with composite quotient at 38–40%. As of October 2022, designers are still in the process of refining the radar deflection capability of AMCA.


title: HAL AMCA

text: The AMCA is expected to have distributed passive sensors with Artificial intelligence (AI) assisted multi-sensor data fusion to increase situational awareness and to work in tandem with the advanced electronic warfare (EW) suite onboard AMCA. The AMCA has a distributed processing system employing fast processors and smart subsystems. The AMCA will also have an integrated vehicle health monitoring system which works on sensor fusion.


title: HAL AMCA

text: AMCA will be equipped with a larger and powerful variant of the Uttam AESA Radar which will use gallium nitride (GaN) technology. It will be mounted on a mechanically steerable mount. An onboard condition monitoring system is also planned to be included in the AMCA.


title: HAL AMCA

text: The AMCA will have a glass cockpit equipped with a wide panoramic touchscreen display for enhanced man-machine interaction, a multi function display (MFD) placed in portrait orientation and a wide-angle holographic head-up display (HUD). The AMCA will have hands-on throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) arrangement with right hand on stick and left hand on throttle settings to ease the pilot workload.


title: HAL AMCA

text: The AMCA is to be powered by two afterburning turbofan engines mounted side by side in the fuselage, fed by Diverterless supersonic inlets (DSI). The initial plan was to equip an uprated Kaveri engine developed for Tejas, but Kaveri engine programme was shelved due to sub-optimal performance. The AMCA Mark 1 will be powered by GE F414 afterburning turbofan engine, while AMCA Mark 2 would be powered by either indigenous or joint venture (JV) engine of 110 kN thrust. In 2015, ADA held a series of discussions with foreign engine manufacturers exploring the possibility of joint venture.


title: HAL AMCA

text: As per Government statement in Rajya Sabha during Winter Session 2021, there is a proposal to jointly develop engine for AMCA with the help of foreign partner using the know how from Kaveri engine development programme.


title: HAL AMCA

text: The AMCA features an internal weapons bay for carrying missiles and standoff precision guided munitions in stealthy configuration, while also has provision for external hardpoints for carrying ordinance externally for non-stealthy missions. Directed energy weapons are also planned to be equipped on the AMCA.


title: HAL AMCA

text: "Specifications can vary as the aircraft is still in development. All the informations are based on available non-official sources - approximate and preliminary."


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy claims the Appalachian Trail to be the longest hiking-only trail in the world. More than three million people hike segments of the trail each year.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The trail was first proposed in 1921 and completed in 1937 after more than a decade of work. Improvements and changes have continued since then. It became the Appalachian National Scenic Trail under the National Trails System Act of 1968.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The trail is maintained by 31 trail clubs and multiple partnerships, and managed by the National Park Service, United States Forest Service, and the nonprofit Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Most of the trail is in forest or wild lands, although some portions traverse towns, roads and farms. From south to north it passes through the states of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Thru-hikers walk the entire trail in a single season. The number of thru-hikes per year has increased steadily since 2010, with 715 northbound and 133 southbound thru-hikes reported for 2017. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy estimates there are over 3,000 attempts to traverse the entire trail each year, about 25% of which succeed. Many books, documentaries, and websites are dedicated to the pursuit. Some hike from one end to the other, then turn around and thru-hike the trail the other way, known as a "yo-yo".


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Affiliated trail sections extend from either end—from the north as the International Appalachian Trail into Canada and beyond, and from the south as the Eastern Continental Trail into Alabama and Florida.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail informally constitute the Triple Crown of Hiking in the United States.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The trail was conceived by Benton MacKaye, a forester who wrote his original plan—called "An Appalachian Trail, A Project in Regional Planning"—shortly after the death of his wife in 1921. MacKaye's idea detailed a grand trail that would connect a series of farms and wilderness work/study camps for city-dwellers along the Appalachian Mountains from the highest point in the North (Mount Washington in New Hampshire) to the highest in the South (Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina). Hiking was an incidental focus of his plan. In 1922, at the suggestion of Major William A. Welch, director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, his idea was publicized by Raymond H. Torrey with a story in the "New York Evening Post" under a full-page banner headline reading "A Great Trail from Maine to Georgia!"


title: Appalachian Trail

text: On October 7, 1923, the first section of the trail, from Bear Mountain west through Harriman State Park to Arden, New York, was opened. MacKaye then called for a two-day Appalachian Trail conference to be held in March 1925 in Washington, D.C. This meeting inspired the formation of the Appalachian Trail Conference (now called the Appalachian Trail Conservancy) (ATC).


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Arthur Perkins, a retired judge, and his younger associate Myron Avery took up the cause. In 1929, Perkins, who was also a member of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association and its Blue Blazed Trails committee, found Ned Anderson, a farmer in Sherman, Connecticut, who took on the task of mapping and blazing the Connecticut leg of the trail (1929–1933). It ran from Dog Tail Corners in Webatuck, New York, which borders Kent, Connecticut, at Ashley Falls, through the northwest corner of the state, up to Bear Mountain at the Massachusetts state line. (A portion of the Connecticut trail has since been rerouted (1979–1983) to be more scenic, adhering less to highways and more to wilderness, and includes the Ned K. Anderson Memorial Bridge.)


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Anderson's efforts helped spark renewed interest in the trail, and Avery, who led the project after Perkins' death in 1932, was able to bring other states on board. Upon taking over the ATC, Avery adopted the goal of building a simple hiking trail. He and MacKaye clashed over the ATC's response to the construction of a road that overlapped part within Shenandoah National Park; MacKaye left the organization, while Avery was willing to reroute the trail. Avery served as Chair of the ATC from 1932 to 1952, the year he died.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Avery became the first to walk the trail end-to-end, though not as a thru-hike, in 1936. In August 1937, the trail was completed to Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine, and the ATC shifted its focus toward protecting the trail lands and mapping the trail for hikers.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Paul M. Fink was honored in 1977 by the Appalachian Trail Conference as "the guiding influence" in establishing the Trail in Tennessee and North Carolina in the 1920s. Fink was inducted into the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame in 2019. In 1922, only a year after Benton MacKaye's famous article proposing an Appalachian Trail was written, Fink began corresponding with hiking leaders in New England about building the Trail. When Myron Avery began planning the route of the AT in the south, Fink was the first person he contacted.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Many of the trail's present highlights were not part of the trail in 1937: Roan Mountain, North Carolina and Tennessee; the Mount Rogers high country, including Grayson Highlands, Virginia; the Pochuck Creek swamp, New Jersey; Nuclear Lake, New York; Thundering Falls, Vermont; and Saddleback Mountain, Maine. Except for places where the Civilian Conservation Corps was brought in (mostly in Shenandoah National Park, the Great Smoky Mountains, and Maine), the original trail often climbed straight up and down mountains, creating rough hiking conditions and a treadway prone to severe erosion. The ATC's trail crews and volunteer trail-maintaining clubs have relocated or rehabilitated miles of trail since that time.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: In 1936, a 121-day Maine to Georgia veteran's group funded and supported thru-hike was reported to have been completed, with all but three miles of the new trail cleared and blazed, by six Boy Scouts from New York City and their guides. The completed thru-hike was much later recorded and accepted by the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: In 1938, the trail sustained major damage from a hurricane that went through the New England area. This happened right before the start of World War II and many of the people working on the trail were called to active duty.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: In 1948, Earl Shaffer of York, Pennsylvania, brought a great deal of attention to the project by publicizing the first claimed thru-hike. The claim was later criticized for the hike's omission of significant portions due to short-cuts and car rides. Shaffer later claimed the first north-to-south thru-hike, the first to claim to do so in each direction. Chester Dziengielewski was later to be named the first south bound thru-hiker. In 1998, Shaffer, nearly 80 years old, hiked the trail, making him the oldest person to claim a completed thru-hike.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The first woman to walk the trail in a single season was Peace Pilgrim in 1952, while the first solo woman to complete the hike was 67-year old Emma Gatewood who completed the northbound trek in 1955, taking 146 days. She repeated the achievement two years later, and again in 1963, at age 75.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: In the 1960s, the ATC made progress toward protecting the trail from development, thanks to efforts of politicians and officials. Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson offered legislation to protect the route. The National Trails System Act of 1968 designated the Pacific Crest Trail and Appalachian Trail as the first national scenic trails and paved the way for a series of such trails within the national park and national forest systems. Trail volunteers worked with the National Park Service to map a permanent route for the trail, and by 1971 a permanent route had been marked (though minor changes continue to this day). By the close of the 20th century, the Park Service had completed the purchase of all but a few miles of the trail's span.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The International Appalachian Trail is a extension running northeast from Maine into New Brunswick and Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula, where it ends at Forillon National Park. It is a separate trail and not an official extension of the Appalachian Trail. Other branches are designated in parts of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and along the western shore of Newfoundland, to the northern end of the Appalachian Mountain range, where it enters the Atlantic Ocean, near L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site. The route has since been extended to Greenland, Europe, and Morocco.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Although the Appalachian Trail ends in Georgia, the Appalachian Mountains continue south to Flagg Mountain in Alabama. In 2008, the Pinhoti National Recreation Trail in Alabama and Georgia, which terminates at Flagg Mountain, was connected to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail via the Benton MacKaye Trail. Promoters of the Southern extension refer to MacKaye's statement at the 1925 conference that the Georgia to New Hampshire trail should, in the future, extend to Katahdin, and "then to Birmingham, Alabama". , The Pinhoti Trail terminates at the base of Flagg Mountain, near Weogufka in Coosa County, east of Birmingham. In 2010, the Alabama state legislature formed the Alabama Appalachian Mountain Trail Commission to provide state resources for trail improvements, although officially designating Pinhoti as part of the Appalachian Trail would require an act of the United States Congress.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The Appalachian Approach Trail in Georgia begins at Amicalola Falls State Park's visitor center and ends at Springer Mountain. Because Springer Mountain is in a remote area, the Approach Trail is often the beginning of North bound thru-hike attempts. Much of the Approach Trail was originally built as part of the Appalachian Trail, before the southern terminus was relocated from Mount Oglethorpe to Springer Mountain.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The Appalachian Trail is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, including 2,000 rare, threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant and animal species.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The American black bear ("Ursus americanus"), among the largest animals along the Appalachian Trail, rarely confronts people. The black bear is the largest omnivore that may be encountered on the trail, and it inhabits all regions of the Appalachians. Bear sightings on the trail are uncommon, except in certain sections, especially Shenandoah National Park and portions of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts sections, where bear populations have increased steadily since 1980; confrontations are rarer still.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Other hazards include venomous snakes, including the Eastern timber rattlesnake and copperhead, which are common along the trail. Both snakes are generally found in drier, rockier sections of the trail; the copperhead's range extends north to around the New Jersey–New York state line, while rattlesnakes are commonly found along the trail in Connecticut and have been reported, although rarely, as far north as New Hampshire. Other large mammals commonly sighted include deer; elk, reintroduced in the Smoky Mountains; and moose, which may be found in the vicinity of Massachusetts and northward.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Small mammal species that inhabit along the trails are beaver, squirrel, river otter, chipmunk, porcupine, bobcat, two species of fox, boar, woodchuck, raccoon, and coyote. Bird species that reside in the trails are wild turkey, ruffed grouse, mourning dove, raven, two species of eagle, wood duck, three species of owl, and three species of hawk as well as warblers. There are different kinds of squirrels along the Appalachian Trail as well, especially in Maine. They are generally smaller and very territorial and will make a loud call if you come close to their home.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: For most hikers, the most persistent pests along the trail are ticks, mosquitos, and black flies along with the mice that inhabit shelters.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Plant life along the trail is varied. The trail passes through several different biomes from south to north, and the climate changes significantly, particularly dependent upon elevation. In the south, lowland forests consist mainly of second-growth; nearly the entire trail has been logged at one time or another. There are, however, a few old growth locations along the trail, such as Sages Ravine straddling the Massachusetts-Connecticut border and atop higher peaks along the trail on either side of the same border, the Hopper (a glacial cirque westward of the trail as it traverses Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts), and "The Hermitage", near Gulf Hagas in Maine. In the south, the forest is dominated by hardwoods, including oak and tulip trees, also known as yellow poplar. Farther north, tulip trees are gradually replaced by maples and birches. Oaks begin to disappear in Massachusetts. By Vermont, the lowland forest is made up of maples, birch and beech, with colorful foliage displays in September and October. While the vast majority of lowland forest south of the White Mountains is hardwood, many areas have some coniferous trees as well, and in Maine, these often grow at low elevations.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: There is a drastic change between the lowland and subalpine, evergreen forest, as well as another, higher break, at tree line, above which only hardy alpine plants grow. The sub-alpine region is far more prevalent along the trail than true alpine conditions. While it mainly exists in the north, a few mountains in the south have subalpine environments, which are typically coated in an ecosystem known as the Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest. Southern ranges and mountains where sub-alpine environments occur include the Great Smoky Mountains, where sub-alpine environments only begin around in elevation, Roan Highlands on the North Carolina-Tennessee border, where sub-alpine growth descends below , and Mount Rogers and the Grayson Highlands in Virginia, where there is some alpine growth above . Appalachian balds are also found in the Southern highlands, and are believed to occur due to fires or grazing in recent centuries, or in some cases due to thin, sandy soils. Several balds are sprouting trees, and on some, the National Forest service actually mows the grasses periodically in order to keep the balds free of trees.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: No sub-alpine regions exist between Mount Rogers in Virginia and Mount Greylock in Massachusetts, mainly because the trail stays below from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Mount Greylock. Mount Greylock, however, has a large subalpine region, the only such forest in Massachusetts, extending down to , which in the south would be far from the sub-alpine cutoff. This is especially low because Greylock is exposed to prevailing westerly winds, as the summits along its ridgeline rise approximately higher than any other peak in Massachusetts. Farther north, several peaks in Vermont reach into the sub-alpine zone, the bottom of which steadily descends as one proceeds northward, so that by the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it often occurs well below . At Mount Moosilauke, which summits at , the first alpine environment on the trail is reached, where only thin, sporadic flora is interspersed with bare rocks. Between the two regions is the krummholz region, where stunted trees grow with their branches oriented away from the winter's prevailing northwest wind, giving the appearance of flags (they are often called "flag trees"). This region resembles lowland terrain hundreds of miles north in Canada. It also contains many endangered and threatened species. The trail has been rerouted over New Hampshire's Presidential Range so the Appalachian Mountain Club can protect certain plant life. The alpine cutoff in the Whites is generally between . Mountains traversed by the A.T. above treeline include Mount Moosilauke, several miles along the Franconia Range and along the Presidential Range. In the Presidentials, the trail climbs as high as on Mount Washington and spends about continuously above treeline, in the largest alpine environment in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The segments of the trail through Pennsylvania are so rocky that hikers refer to the region as "Rocksylvania". These small rocks—the result of erosion that has worn away the dirt along the trails—can be tough to walk on for extended periods of time without proper hard-soled shoes.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: In Maine, the trail extends into even harsher environments, and sub-alpine and alpine growth descends to lower elevations. Alpine growth in the state ranges from around in the Mahoosuc Range to below in parts of the Hundred-Mile Wilderness, where nearly every area higher than is evergreen forest. These forests include more species of evergreen, as well. In addition to the white pine, spruce, and hemlock prevalent further south, Maine has many cedar trees along the trail. Near the northern terminus, there are even some tamarack (larch), a coniferous, pine-needled deciduous tree, which provides displays of yellow in the late fall after the birches and maples have gone bare. The hemlocks in Maine are also notable, as the woolly adelgid, which has ravaged populations further south, has not come into the state yet, and may be unable to make it so far north due to the cold climate.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Maine also has several alpine regions. In addition to several areas of the Mahoosuc Range, the Baldpates and Old Blue in southern Maine have alpine characteristics despite elevations below . Saddleback Mountain and Mount Bigelow, further north, each only extend a bit above , but have long alpine areas, with no tree growth on the summits and unobstructed views on clear days. From Mount Bigelow, the trail extends for with only a small area of alpine growth around on the summit of White Cap Mountain. Mount Katahdin, the second largest alpine environment in the eastern United States, has several square miles of alpine area on the flat "table land" summit as well as the cliffs and aretes leading up to it. Treeline on Mount Katahdin is only around . This elevation in Massachusetts would barely be a sub-alpine region, and, south of Virginia, consists of lowland forest. This illustrates the drastic change in climate over .


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Bicycles are prohibited from most of the trail, except for the sections which follow the C&O Canal in Maryland and the Virginia Creeper Trail in Virginia. Horses and pack animals are prohibited except horses on the C&O Canal and in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Several short segments of the trail, in towns and scenic natural areas, were built to ADA accessibly standards for wheelchair use.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Throughout its length, the AT is marked by white paint blazes that are . Side trails to shelters, viewpoints and parking areas use similarly shaped blue blazes. In past years, some sections of the trail also used metal diamond markers with the AT logo, few of which survive.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Most hikers carry a lightweight tent, tent hammock or tarp. The trail has more than 250 shelters and campsites available for hikers. The shelters, sometimes called lean-tos (in Maine, Massachusetts, and Connecticut), huts (in Shenandoah National Park), or Adirondack shelters, are generally open, three-walled structures with a wooden floor, although some shelters are much more complex in structure. Shelters are usually spaced a day's hike or less apart, most often near a water source (which may be dry) and with a privy. They generally have spaces for tent sites in the vicinity as the shelters may be full. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) operates a system of eight huts along of New Hampshire's White Mountains. These huts are significantly larger than standard trail shelters and offer full-service lodging and meals during the summer months. The Fontana Dam Shelter in North Carolina is more commonly referred to as the Fontana Hilton because of amenities (e.g. flushable toilets) and its proximity to an all-you-can-eat buffet and post office. Several AMC huts have an extended self-service season during the fall, with two extending self-service seasons through the winter and spring. The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club maintains trail cabins, shelters, and huts throughout the Shenandoah region of Virginia.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Shelters are generally maintained by local volunteers. Almost all shelters have one or more pre-hung food hangers (generally consisting of a short nylon cord with an upside-down tuna can suspended halfway down its length) where hikers can hang their food bags to keep them out of the reach of rodents. In hiker lingo, these are sometimes called "mouse trapezes."


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Most shelters also contain "unofficial registries", which are known as shelter logs. These logs usually come in the form spiral-bound notebooks that are kept in containers in shelters all along the trail, and signing in them is not required. These logs give hikers a way to leave day-to-day messages while they are on the trail to document where they have been, where they are going, and who/what they have seen. The logs provide a space for informal writing and can also be used to keep track of people on the trail. Most of all, they provide a system of communication for a network of hikers along the trail.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Shelter logs can provide proof of who summits certain mountains and can warn about dangerous animals or unfriendly people in the area. Hikers may cite when a certain water source is dried up, providing crucial information to other hikers.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: In addition to official shelters, many people offer their homes, places of business, or inns to accommodate AT hikers. One example is the Little Lyford Pond camps maintained by the Appalachian Mountain Club. Inns are more common in sections of the trail that coincide with national parks, most notably Virginia's Shenandoah National Park.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The trail crosses many roads, providing opportunity for hikers to hitchhike into town for food and other supplies. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy lists over 40 communities that have qualified as part of the organization's "A.T. Community" program, having become recognized for providing food, supplies and accommodations for passers-through. In the areas of the trail closer to trail towns, many hikers have experienced what is sometimes called "trail magic," or assistance from strangers through kind actions, gifts, and other forms of encouragement. Trail magic is sometimes done anonymously. In other instances, persons have provided food and cooked for hikers at a campsite.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Hikers also create their own community while on the trail. Many hikers create long lasting friendships while on the trail. Conversations are easily started because of the common interest of hiking. There are even cases where hikers will reunite for a few days, after they've completed the trail.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The Appalachian Trail is relatively safe. Most injuries or incidents are consistent with comparable outdoor activities. Most hazards are related to weather conditions, human error, plants, animals, diseases, and hostile humans encountered along the trail.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Many animals live around the trail, with bears, snakes, and wild boars posing the greatest threat to human safety. Several rodent- and bug-borne illnesses are also a potential hazard. In scattered instances, foxes, raccoons, and other small animals may bite hikers, posing risk of rabies and other diseases. There has been one reported case (in 1993) of hantavirus (HPS), a rare but dangerous rodent-borne disease affecting the lungs. The affected hiker recovered and hiked the trail the following year. The section of the trail that runs through the Mid-Atlantic and New England states has a very high population of deer ticks carrying Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, and corresponds to the highest density of reported Lyme disease in the country.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The weather is a major consideration for hikers. Hiking season of the trail generally starts in mid-to-late spring, when conditions are much more favorable in the South. However, this time may also be characterized by extreme heat, sometimes in excess of . Farther north and at higher elevations, the weather can be characterized by low temperatures, strong winds, hail or snow storms and reduced visibility. Prolonged rain, though not typically life-threatening, can undermine stamina and ruin supplies. In March 2015, a hiker was killed on the trail in Maryland when a large tree blew over and fell onto him.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Violent crime is rare but has occurred in a few instances. The first reported homicide on the trail was in 1974 in Georgia. In 1981, the issue of violence on the Appalachian Trail received national attention when Robert Mountford, Jr. and Laura Susan Ramsay, both social workers in Ellsworth, Maine, were murdered by Randall Lee Smith. Another homicide occurred in May 1996, when two women were abducted, bound and murdered near the trail in Shenandoah National Park. The primary suspect was later discovered harassing a female cyclist in the vicinity, but charges against him were dropped and the case remains unsolved. In May 2019, Oklahoman Ronald S. Sanchez Jr., 43 years old, was murdered at a campsite near Mount Rogers National Recreation Area in western Virginia Jefferson National Forest. A female hiker who has not been identified was also injured by an assailant there. James L. Jordan, 30, of West Yarmouth, Massachusetts was found not guilty of the crimes by reason of insanity.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Human error can lead to casualties as well. In July 2013, 66-year-old lone hiker Geraldine Largay disappeared on the trail in Maine. Largay became lost and survived 26 days before dying. Her remains were found two years later in October 2015. In October 2015, a hiker visiting from England was killed on the trail by falling while taking photos at the Annapolis Rocks overlook in Maryland.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Because of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy urged hikers to keep off the trail and the National Park Service announced the closing of all AT-managed hiking shelters from Virginia to Maine. Volunteers and Trail Maintenance Crews were recalled, making the trail especially unprepared for an influx of people seeking reprieve from isolation. In 2021, the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic remained and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy maintained that thru-hikers should postpone plans to hike the trail and planned to not recognize thru-hikers during the 2021 season. However, this decision was reversed, and the ATC began recognizing through-hikers for the 2021 season, issuing first-time pack hangtags on May 11, 2021.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Trail hikers who attempt to complete the entire trail in a single season are called "thru-hikers"; those who traverse the trail during a series of separate trips are known as "section-hikers". Rugged terrain, weather extremes, illness, injury, and the time and effort required make thru-hiking difficult to accomplish. As of 2017, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy estimated that 3,839 hikers set out from Springer Mountain, northbound, 497 from Mount Katahdin, southbound, and reported 1,186 completions of hiking the entire trail, which includes those by both section and through hikers.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Most thru-hikers walk northward from Georgia to Maine, and generally start out in early spring and follow the warm weather as it moves north. These "north-bounders" are also called NOBO (NOrthBOund) or GAME (Georgia(GA)-to-Maine(ME)), while those heading in the opposite direction are termed "south-bounders" (also SOBO or MEGA).


title: Appalachian Trail

text: A thru-hike generally requires five to seven months, although some have done it in three months, and several trail runners have completed the trail in less time. Trail runners typically tackle the AT with automobile support teams, without backpacks, and without camping in the woods.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Thru-hikers are classified into many informal groups. "Purists" are hikers who stick to the official AT trail, follow the white blazes, except for side trips to shelters and camp sites. "Blue Blazers" cut miles from the full route by taking side trails marked by blue blazes. The generally pejorative name "Yellow Blazers," a reference to yellow road stripes, is given to those who hitchhike to move either down or up the trail.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Part of hiker subculture includes making colorful entries in logbooks at trail shelters, signed using pseudonyms called "trail names".


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The Appalachian Trail Conservancy gives the name "2000 Miler" to anyone who completes the entire trail. The ATC's recognition policy for "2000 Milers" gives equal recognition to thru-hikers and section-hikers, operates on the honor system, and recognizes blue-blazed trails or officially required roadwalks as substitutes for the official, white-blazed route during an emergency such as a flood, forest fire, or impending storm on an exposed, high-elevation stretch. As of 2018, more than 19,000 people had reported completing the entire trail. The northbound completion rate of hiking the trail in twelve months or fewer varied from 19% to 27% from 2011 to 2018. The southbound completion rate varied between 27% and 30% during the same period.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail form what is known as the Triple Crown of long-distance hiking in the United States. In 2001, Brian Robinson became the first one to complete all three trails in a year. In 2018, Heather Anderson (trail name "Anish") became the first woman to complete the three Triple Crown trails in a calendar year.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Fastest known times for self-supported attempts (meaning no vehicle or crew support, like a traditional through-hiker):


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Fastest known times for supported attempts (the athletes travel light, relying on a support crew with food, shelter, medical treatment, etc.):


title: Appalachian Trail

text: On November 8, 2021, M.J. "Nimblewill Nomad" Eberheart became the oldest person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail at age 83.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: On October 13, 2020, Juniper Netteburg is believed to be the youngest person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail on her own power at age 4.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The trail is protected along more than 99% of its course by federal or state ownership of the land or by right-of-way. The trail is maintained by a variety of organizations, environmental advocacy groups, governmental agencies and individuals. Annually, more than 4,000 volunteers contribute over 175,000 hours of effort on the Appalachian Trail, an effort coordinated largely by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) organization. In total, the AT passes through eight national forests and two national parks.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: In the course of its journey, the trail follows the ridge line of the Appalachian Mountains, crossing many of its highest peaks and running through wilderness with only a few exceptions. The trail used to traverse many hundreds of miles of private property; 99% of the trail is on public land.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Georgia has of the trail, including the southern terminus at Springer Mountain at an elevation of . At , Blood Mountain is the highest point on the trail in Georgia. The AT and approach trail, along with many miles of blue blazed side trails, are managed and maintained by the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club. See also: Georgia Peaks on the Appalachian Trail.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: North Carolina has of the trail, not including more than along the Tennessee state line. Altitude ranges from . The trail enters from Georgia at Bly Gap, ascending peaks such as Standing Indian Mountain, Mt. Albert, and Wayah Bald. It then goes by Nantahala Outdoor Center at the Nantahala River Gorge and the Nantahala River crossing. Up to this point, the trail is maintained by the Nantahala Hiking Club. Beyond this point, it is maintained by the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club. further north, Fontana Dam marks the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Tennessee has of the trail, not including more than along or near the North Carolina state line. The section that runs just below the summit of Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is along the North Carolina and Tennessee state line and is the highest point on the trail at . The Smoky Mountains Hiking Club (Knoxville, TN) maintains the trail throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Davenport Gap. North of Davenport Gap, the Carolina Mountain Club (Asheville, NC) maintains the trail to Spivey Gap. Then the remaining Tennessee section is maintained by the Tennessee Eastman Hiking & Canoeing Club (Kingsport, TN).


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Virginia has of the trail (one quarter of the entire trail) including more than along the West Virginia state line. With the climate, and the timing of northbound thru-hikers, this section is wet and challenging because of the spring thaw and heavy spring rainfall. Substantial portions of the trail closely parallel Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park and, further south, the Blue Ridge Parkway.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The Appalachian Trail Conservancy considers as excellent for beginning hikers a well-maintained section of the trail that the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed in Shenandoah National Park. Climbs in this section rarely exceed . In the southwestern portion of the state, the trail goes within one half mile of the highest point in Virginia, Mount Rogers, which is a short side-hike from the AT.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: West Virginia has of the trail, not including about along the Virginia state line. Here the trail passes through the town of Harpers Ferry, headquarters of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Harpers Ferry is what many consider to be the "psychological midpoint" of the trail's length, although the actual midpoint is about further north in southern Pennsylvania.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: A CSX train derailment on December 21, 2019, damaged the pedestrian footbridge over the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry, severing the trail between West Virginia and Maryland. The foot crossing reopened in July 2020.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Maryland has of the trail, with elevations ranging from . Most of the trail runs along the ridgeline of South Mountain in South Mountain State Park. Hikers are required to stay at designated shelters and campsites. The trail runs through the eastern edge of Greenbrier State Park. This can serve as a luxurious stop point for a hot shower and a visit to the camp store. The trail runs along the C&O Canal Towpath route for . Hikers will also pass High Rock, which offers extensive views and is also used as a hang-gliding site. The section ends at Pen Mar Park, which sits on the state line of Maryland and Pennsylvania.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Pennsylvania has of the trail. The trail extends from the Pennsylvania-Maryland line at the village of Pen Mar, northeast to the Delaware Water Gap at the Pennsylvania-New Jersey state line. In the south-central region of the state, the trail passes through Pine Grove Furnace State Park, which is often considered the symbolic mid-point of the Appalachian Trail. For much of its length in Pennsylvania, the trail is known for its very rocky terrain, which slows many hikers down while causing injuries and placing strain on equipment. Hikers often call the state "Rocksylvania". The AT community has also dubbed Pennsylvania as the state "where boots go to die".


title: Appalachian Trail

text: New Jersey is home to of the trail. The trail enters New Jersey from the south on a pedestrian walkway along the Interstate 80 bridge over the Delaware River, ascends from the Delaware Water Gap to the top of Kittatinny Mountain in Worthington State Forest, passes Sunfish Pond (right), continues north through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and Stokes State Forest and eventually reaches High Point State Park, the highest peak in New Jersey (a side trail is required to reach the actual peak). It then turns in a southeastern direction along the New York state line for about , passing over long sections of boardwalk bridges over marshy land, then entering Wawayanda State Park and then the Abram S. Hewitt State Forest just before entering New York near Greenwood Lake. In New Jersey the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference maintains and updates the Appalachian Trail. Black bear activity along the trail in New Jersey increased rapidly starting in 2001. Hence, metal bear-proof food storage boxes are in place at all New Jersey shelters.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: New York's of trail contain very little elevation change compared to other states. From south to north, the trail summits many small mountains under in elevation, its highest point in New York being Prospect Rock at , and only from the state line with New Jersey. The trail continues north, climbing near Fitzgerald Falls, passing through Sterling Forest, and then entering Harriman State Park and Bear Mountain State Park. The lowest point on the entire Appalachian Trail is in the Bear Mountain Zoo . It crosses the Hudson River on the Bear Mountain Bridge. It then passes through Fahnestock State Park, and continues northeast and crosses the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line. This track crossing is the site of the only train station along the trail's length. It enters Connecticut via the Pawling Nature Reserve. The section of the trail that passes through Harriman and Bear Mountain State Parks is the oldest section of the trail, completed in 1923. A portion of this section was paved by 700 volunteers with 800 granite-slab steps followed by over a mile of walkway supported by stone crib walls with boulders lining the path. The project took four years, cost roughly $1 million, and opened in June 2010. The project was done by the New York–New Jersey Trail Conference, which maintains and updates the Appalachian Trail in New York.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Connecticut's of trail lie almost entirely along the ridges to the west above the Housatonic River valley.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The state line is also the western boundary of a Connecticut reservation inhabited by Schaghticoke Indians. Inside it, the AT roughly parallels its northern boundary, crossing back outside it after . The trail proceeds northward through the Housatonic River valley and hills to its west, veering northwesterly and, at Salisbury, ascending the southern Taconic mountains, at Lion's Head affording a view northeasterly towards Mt. Greylock and other points in Massachusetts, and at Bear Mountain, reaching over in elevation for the first time since Pennsylvania and yielding views across the Hudson River valley to the Catskills and across the broad expanse of the Housatonic valley and the Berkshire and Litchfield Hills to the east. Just north of Bear, the trail, as it crosses into Massachusetts, descends into Sages Ravine, a deep gorge in the eastern Taconic ridgeline which is home to a fragile old growth forest. As the trail crosses the brook in the ravine, it leaves the area maintained by the Connecticut section of the Appalachian Mountain Club.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Massachusetts has of trail. The entire section of trail is in western Massachusetts's Berkshire County. It summits the highest peak in the southern Taconic Range, Mount Everett (), then descends to the Housatonic River valley and skirts the town of Great Barrington. The trail passes through the towns of Dalton and Cheshire, and summits the highest point in the state at , Mount Greylock. It then quickly descends to the valley within of North Adams and Williamstown, before ascending again to the Vermont state line. The trail throughout Massachusetts is maintained by the Berkshire Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Vermont has of the trail. Upon entering Vermont, the trail coincides with the southernmost sections of the generally north–south-oriented Long Trail. It follows the ridge of the southern Green Mountains, summitting such notable peaks as Stratton Mountain, Glastenbury Mountain, and Killington Peak. After parting ways with the Long Trail at Maine Junction, the AT turns in a more eastward direction, crossing the White River, passing through Norwich, and entering Hanover, New Hampshire, as it crosses the Connecticut River. The Green Mountain Club maintains the AT from the Massachusetts state line to Route 12. The Dartmouth Outing Club maintains the trail from VT Route 12 to the New Hampshire state line.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: New Hampshire has of the trail. The New Hampshire AT is nearly all within the White Mountain National Forest. According to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, New Hampshire has more trail above tree-line than any other Appalachian State.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: For northbound thru-hikers, it is the beginning of the main challenges that go beyond enduring distance and time: in New Hampshire and Maine, rough or steep ground are more frequent and alpine conditions are found near summits and along ridges. The trail reaches 17 of the 48 four-thousand footers of New Hampshire, including Mount Washington, the highest point of the AT north of Tennessee and most topographically prominent peak in eastern North America. The trail passes within half a mile of 7 additional 4000-footer peaks in the Whites. Entering the alpine zone on the summit of Mount Pierce, from the south, the trail continues in alpine or near-alpine scrub continuously along the high Presidential ridge until descending the southeast flank of Mount Madison into the Great Gulf Wilderness over 12 miles northward. This region is subject to extremes of weather with little natural shelter and only occasional man-made shelter from the elements. The threat of severe and cold conditions in the Presidentials and across the New Hampshire Section is present year-round and requires hikers' careful attention to weather forecasts and planning, provisions and gear.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The Dartmouth Outing Club maintains the AT from the Vermont state line past Mount Moosilauke to Kinsman Notch, northwest of Woodstock, New Hampshire, Randolph Mountain Club maintains 2.2 miles from Osgood Trail near Madison Hut to Edmands Col, with the AMC maintaining the remaining miles through the state.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Maine has of the trail. The northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail is on Mount Katahdin's Baxter Peak in Baxter State Park.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: In some parts of the trail in Maine, even the strongest hikers may only average , with places where hikers must hold on to tree limbs and roots to climb or descend, which is especially hazardous in wet weather. The western section includes a mile-long (1.6 km) stretch of boulders, some of which hikers must pass under, at Mahoosuc Notch, sometimes called the trail's hardest mile.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Although there are dozens of river and stream fords on the Maine section of the trail, the Kennebec River is the only one on the trail that requires a boat crossing. The most isolated portion of the Appalachian Trail, known as the "Hundred-Mile Wilderness", occurs in Maine. It heads east-northeast from the town of Monson and ends outside Baxter State Park just south of Abol Bridge.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The AMC maintains the AT from the New Hampshire state line to Grafton Notch, with the Maine Appalachian Trail Club responsible for maintaining the remaining miles to Mt. Katahdin. The international extension, called the International Appalachian Trail begins at Mt. Katahdin.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (originally, "Appalachian Trail Conference") and the National Park Service oversee the entire length of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail via memoranda of understanding with other public agencies through whose land the trail runs, including the U.S. Forest Service, national parks, national forests, the Tennessee Valley Authority, state parks, and others, who help administer portions of the trail corridor. The estimated annual contribution of volunteer services for trail upkeep is $3 million.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: The Appalachian Trail has been a resource for researchers in a variety of disciplines. Portions of the trail in Tennessee were used on a study on trail maintenance for the trail's "uniform environmental conditions and design attributes and substantial gradient in visitor use." Beginning in 2007, various organizations, including the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the American Hiking Society, began a study to monitor environmental changes that have resulted from higher ozone levels, acid rain, smog, and other air quality factors. Such research has been supported by the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Cornell University, the National Geographic Society, and Aveda Corporation.


title: Appalachian Trail

text: Behavioral studies have also been conducted on hikers themselves. A 2007 study on hikers found that most persons hike the trail "for fun and enjoyment of life and for warm relationships with others" and that "environmental awareness, physical challenge, camaraderie, exercise, and solitude" were chief results among hikers. Since the highest single demographic of thru-hikers are males between the ages of 18–29, one informal study sought to find the correlation between this group and male college drop-outs. A study in 2018 found that around 95 percent of thru-hikers identified their race or ethnicity as white.


title: Kevin Federline

text: Kevin Earl Federline (born March 21, 1978), often referred to, and also known as K-Fed, is an American dancer, rapper, actor, model, wrestler and DJ. He is known for his two-year marriage to American singer Britney Spears, for whom he was previously a backup dancer, and the child custody battle that followed, which earned significant media coverage. His popularity led to him releasing his critically-panned debut album "Playing with Fire" in 2006. He has since made a number of television appearances, and starred in music videos until 2008.


title: Kevin Federline

text: Kevin Earl Federline was born on March 21, 1978, in Fresno, California, to parents Mike and Julie (née Story), a car mechanic and former bank teller from Oregon, respectively. Federline's parents divorced when he was eight years old; then he moved to Carson City, Nevada, with his mother, but returned to Fresno when he was 11, when he and his brother Chris moved to his father's house. In the ninth grade, Federline dropped out of high school (later earning a certificate of General Educational Development) and began dancing with a nonprofit organization called Dance Empowerment.


title: Kevin Federline

text: For a number of years, he served as a backup dancer for Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Destiny's Child, Pink, and LFO. Federline initially released a download-only song, "Y'all Ain't Ready", and a physical single, "PopoZão" in 2006, shortly after his marriage to Spears. Following poor critical reaction, neither song was included on his debut album. Instead, the first official single was "Lose Control", which he premiered on the Teen Choice Awards show on the Fox network in late summer 2006. He released his debut album, "Playing with Fire", on October 31, 2006, with the album being universally panned by critics.


title: Kevin Federline

text: Federline has been signed to model for the Five Star Vintage line by the San Francisco-based Blue Marlin clothing company. The initial series of ads ran in August 2006 and was subsequently extended for Christmas 2006. The line he modeled for the fall 2006 was the top-selling line in Macy's, Kitson in Los Angeles, and Lord & Taylor.


title: Kevin Federline

text: Federline appeared on WWE programming to promote his album, "Playing with Fire", and participate in an angle. He first appeared on the October 16, 2006, and October 23, 2006, editions of "WWE Raw", in which he got into physical altercations with WWE Champion John Cena. The following week, he came to the ring to aid Johnny Nitro in his match against John Cena. After Cena got in Federline's face, Federline slapped him hard. He appeared again during the November 5, 2006, pay-per-view event "Cyber Sunday", hitting Cena with King Booker's World Heavyweight Championship belt and helping Booker win the Champion of Champions match that was organized between Cena, Booker, and Big Show. The next night, November 6, 2006, he challenged Cena to a match at the New Year's Day edition of "Raw", which Cena accepted. He went on to win this no-disqualification match thanks to interference from Johnny Nitro and Umaga. Later in the night, after John Cena's main event match, Cena went after Federline and brought him into the ring and delivered his FU finishing move twice before cameras stopped rolling.


title: Kevin Federline

text: According to the "Wrestling Observer Newsletter", Federline was well received backstage. Sources say he worked so well with the company and personnel that the WWE may give him a regular role on the company's show "Raw" in the near future. Other sources and wrestlers have spoken about Federline's generally good attitude backstage as well.