Excited to announce that my new book “Blazing Ahead – Benton MacKaye, Myron Avery and the Rivalry the Built the Appalachian Trail” is now available for pre-order, with an expected release date of September 1, 2017.
The two men were, of course, instrumental to building the longest continuous footpath in the world. MacKaye was the visionary. His vision went far beyond the trail, which was the backbone of his regional plan that included collaborative farms, inns and nature tourism businesses along the trail.
On the other hand, Myron Avery was obsessed with one thing—getting the trail built, come hell or high water. It was perhaps inevitable that the two men would have a falling out. As it happened, it was quite the kerfuffle. But even that led to greater things, as MacKaye would be one of the founders of The Wilderness Society.