Overlooks

One of the greatest things about hiking on the Appalacian Trail is the views that you can see while hiking on it. Many of these spectacular views comes from an overlook.

An overlook is an area, usually towards the top of one of the mountains, that has been cleared out by the members of the Appalacian trail and it's pupurse is to create a view over the nearby landscape.

These overlooks often look over streams, fields, and into the nearby mountains. On clear days, you can usually see many, many miles into the distance, and witness some of the most beautiful sights in the United States.

The thing that makes these overlooks so rewarding is that they are at the top of most mountains, or very high up at the very least. This means two things: 1) that the view will be amazing because of how high up you are and 2) you probably just hiked up hill for a long period of time, and nothing is better than taking your pack off and resting at such an amazing sight.

I don't know how many overlooks there are throughout the Appalacian Trail, but there are a lot. I rarely hike for more than a day or two with out coming to one, but each one is unique and awesome.

My favorite overlooks are the ones that have a huge drop off right at the edge, because it is an amazing feeling to walk up to the edge, and just look out and down, to see how far you have walked and how high up you are. It's a great feeling looking down into the valley and seeing where you were just hiking, and seeing how far you have come.

Overall, overlooks add an amazing aspect to the Appalacian Trail. It's one of the things that you can come back from the trip and tell your family and friends about.