Springer Mountain to Katahdin

Lyrics

[Intro]

Oh, bronze plaque, embedded in your rock at 3,782 feet,
You've waited here since 1959, cold under March fingers.

[Verse 1]
Benton MacKaye, you dreamed this in 1921,
A footpath for fellowship with the wilderness,
Your words cast in metal now, on Springer Mountain's crown.
I touch you, plaque, feel the etched letters:
'Appalachian Trail - Georgia to Maine.'
The wind bites at 40 degrees, pine sap sharp in the air,
Thru-hikers gather every early March dawn,
Their boots crunch frost-kissed gravel,
Signing the register in the metal box nearby.

[Chorus]
2,194 miles north to Katahdin,
You promise it, silent witness,
From this southern terminus, the first white blaze on the tree.
Hope rises like the red-tailed hawk's call,
Echoing over the ridge, carrying us forward.

[Verse 2]
Myron Avery, you built it by 1937,
Challenging the hiker, not the casual stroller.
Plaque, you've seen Earl Shaffer in 1948,
Starting with no map, just word-of-mouth paths.
Now shuttles drop packs at the parking lot,
Trekking poles click on the 8.5-mile approach from Amicalola,
Trail mix crumbs on rocky outcrops,
As the sky turns gold at 6:30 AM.

[Bridge]

Benton MacKaye Trail branches nearby,
But you, plaque, anchor the beginning,
For those seeking more than steps,
A journey of sweat and revelation.
What did the Muscogee know of you,
Before the blazes, before the plaques?
Your silence holds their unspoken stories.

[Outro]

Touch me again, hiker,
Start here, with hope in the chill,
To Katahdin, 2,194 miles away.