While deaths on the Appalachian Trail are rare, death does come to hikers from time to time. Often while pre-planning a hike, friends and relatives become alarmed and imagine all sorts of danger that will befall their loved one. (We've been offered guns.) With today's death, this seems an opportune moment in time to start a list of deaths on the Appalachian Trail to provide a balanced perspective on how life threatening the Appalachian Trail is and is not.
2013
- January 2013 - Overdue hiker found dead in Smokies
2012
- July 2012 - Father, son, drown while hiking Appalachian Trail in Tennessee
- June 2012 - Appalachian Trail through-hiker drowns in Pierce Pond in Maine
- June 2012 - N.Y. man found dead in tent on Appalachian Trail near Bull Bridge, CT
- February 2012 - Body of missing CT woman found near Appalachian Trail
2011
- September 2011 - 'Buffalo Bobby' dies just short of end of Appalachian Trail
- August 2011 - FBI investigates death of Indiana hiker of Appalachian Trail
- August 2011 - Hiker dies after falling and hitting his head in Maine
- April 2011 - Hiker passes away while asleep in tent at Davenport Gap
2010
- May 2010 - Hiker from Michigan was found dead at the Icewater Spring shelter
- June 2010 - Hiker found dead on the Appalachian Trail in Botetourt County
2008
- May 2008 - Two fishermen shot
2001
- November 2001 - Canadian woman murdered in the White Mountains
1996
1990
- September 1990 - Thru-hikers killed at shelter near Duncannon, PA
1988
- May 1988 - Man frightens two women off the trail and shoots them, killing one, in Michaux State Forest in PA
1981
1975
1974
We will continue to update this post as we discover past deaths on the Appalachian Trail.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
