How Grandma Gatewood Became a Hiking Legend

We spoke with experts to find out more.

by Chris Cage

November 18, 2024

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Emma Rowena Gatewood, also known as Grandma Gatewood, was the first woman to solo hike the entire Appalachian Trail in one season. She completed the feat in 1955 at age of 67.

She was also the first person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail twice, at age 69. And the first person to complete it a third time, at age 72.

In this video, we spoke with Ben Montgomery (author of Grandma Gatewood's Walk) along with Emma's great and great-great-granddaughters to uncover who she was and how she became a hiking icon.

Chapters:

00:00 INTRO
00:45 EARLY LIFE
02:11 DISCOVERING THE AT
03:40 THE HIKE
06:21 FAME AND LEGACY

About Chris Cage

By Chris Cage Chris launched Greenbelly Meals in 2014 after thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail for 6 months. Since then, Greenbelly has been written up by everyone from Backpacker Magazine to Fast Company. He wrote How to Hike the Appalachian Trail and currently works from his laptop all over the globe. Instagram: @chrisrcage.

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