Myron Haliburton Avery (November 3, 1899–July 26, 1952) was an American lawyer, hiker and explorer. Born in Lubec, Maine, Avery was a protégé of Judge Arthur Perkins and a collaborator and sometimes rival of Benton MacKaye. He was president of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club from 1927 to 1941 and chairman of the Appalachian Trail Conference from 1931 to his death in 1952. The first 2000 Miler of the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

, he was also an alumnus of

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. Upon graduating from Harvard Law School, Avery practised

admiralty law Maritime law or admiralty law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and conflict of laws, private international law governing the relations ...

with the law firm "Arthur Perkins", in

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. He was a Naval veteran, having served in both

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, receiving the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

during his servic

Mackaye-avery

According to Philip D'Anieri, Avery got the Appalachian Trail built "with a focus and commitment that were almost inexplicably intense. Avery was driven to arrange things as he was certain they should be, not out of ego or hubris, it seems, but from an almost desperate need to do things the right way, which happened to be his way, and why on earth couldn't others see that when it was obvious?....The building of the Appalachian Trail, for Myron Avery, seemed to achieve no broader purpose than the fact of its own completion: two ends connected; a trail blazed, cleared, and improved, shelters built; measurements made; and all of the associated date published in an appropriate format." After World War II, his health deteriorated—perhaps because of his "pathological intensity"—and he was hospitalized multiple times. He died suddenly on July 26, 1952 at the age of 52.D'Anieri, 122.

Legacy

After his death, a mountaintop on the Appalachian Trail in Maine was renamed "Avery Peak" in his honor. The "east peak" of Bigelow Mountain is given as 4088 ft and identified as Myron H Avery Peak on the 1956 Stratton, Maine 15 minute Quadrangle issued by the USGS in Washington D.C. A lean-to was built below the peak's summit and named for him in 1953, but is now no longer standing. On June 17, 2011, he was inducted into the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame at the Appalachian Trail Museum as a charter membe

Quotations

"To those who would see the Maine wilderness, tramp day by day through a succession of ever delightful forest, past lake and stream, and over mountains, we would say: Follow the Appalachian Trail across Maine. It cannot be followed on horse or awheel. Remote for detachment, narrow for chosen company, winding for leisure, lonely for contemplation, it beckons not merely north and south but upward to the body, mind and soul of man." - Myron Avery, ''In the Maine Woods'', 1934

Sources

*Anderson, Larry. 2002. ''Benton MacKaye: Conservationist, Planner, and Creator of the Appalachian Trail''. Johns Hopkins University Press. . *Luxenberg, Larry. 1995. ''Walking the Appalachian Trail''. Stackpole Books. .

References

External links

History of the Appalachian Trail in Maine; Part I: The Avery Years

Maine State Library Index to Articles, Books and Manuscripts in the Myron Avery Collection

Digitized materials from Maine State Library Myron Avery Collection

Appalachian Trail Conservancy
(formerly Conference)

Maine Appalachian Trail Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avery, Myron 1899 births 1952 deaths Hikers American non-fiction outdoors writers American male non-fiction writers Bowdoin College alumni Harvard Law School alumni People from Lubec, Maine Writers from Maine Appalachian Trail American nature writers 20th-century American male writers