Appreciation post: the AMC hut caretaker who told me the Crawford Path is 200 years old

Casey Martin · 2026-10-28T12:15:05.292692+00:00

I was sitting on the porch at the Lakes of the Clouds hut last August eating a sad granola bar when the caretaker mentioned the Crawford Path has been in use since 1819. That number kind of rattled me, because I had been treating it like just another white blaze on my list instead of the oldest hiking trail in the country. She said the path was cut for horse traffic up to the summit and people have been walking the same line for over two centuries. Now every time I step on it I picture some guy in 1820 slogging up in wool pants, which makes my $200 rain jacket feel a little silly. Does anyone know if the trail line has actually shifted much since then, or is it mostly the original route?

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Appreciation post: the AMC hut caretaker who told me the Crawford Path is 200 years old | Backpacking Routes - HW Forums