College Credit for Hiking the AT? What a deal!

I'm posting only one item today on the hiking blog because this one blew me away. 

Hikers such as myself often pine for the time off from our day jobs _ or our busy lives in general _ to do the great, long hikes, such as the 2,000-plus mile Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. 

So whoever thought you could hike the trail and get college credit for it? It turns out that Emory & Henry College in southwestern Virginia has a program called Semester-A-Trail.

It's right there in the college's course catalog: "The Semester-A-Trail Program offers students the opportunity to build independent studies and projects with broadened field-based implications. Student hikers have developed imaginative projects across the curriculum in ecotourism, human physiology, water quality, wellness, and photography."

Who knew? Well, those of us who have hiked parts of the AT knew. It truly is an educational experience on many levels. 

Please read the entire story here, from Joe Tennis of the Bristol Herald Courier:
http://www.roanoke.com/news/2177011-12/college-credits-offered-for-hiking-appalachian-trail.html

And also visit our webpage (http://myhikingvacations.com/) for info about our hiking trips in 2014. We aren't doing the AT, but there's lots of fun _ and education  _ to be had in Switzerland, Vermont, Nevada and the Blue Ridge.

See you on the trails.
Joseph