Trails are connectors. They guide us from one place to another, but the path is rarely linear.

And the movement is less about the destination and more about the connections we make along the way,

with the land, with each other, and with ourselves.

The Appalachian Trail winds 2,190 miles up the eastern spine of the United States.

Though connected in 1937, the trail, the people who walk it, the animals who call it home, and the landscape

it follows are ever evolving.

Where we walk is a special six-part series made in collaboration with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy

with support from REI that explores the women who help make the trail what it is

today and those who will help shape its future. hikers, you know, other than like stopping to, you know, take a break or camping for the nights,

you know, they're only on one piece of the trail for a few seconds and then they move on.

Whereas that's where the wildlife lives,

that's their habitat.

We're only visitors there.

Sometimes you find birds and animals in the places that you at least expect it, or at times you least expect it.

What you'll quickly notice is that there's so much to see around you, and if you're not looking for it land that surrounds it.

Birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects are part of what brings our

experience is outdoors to life.

It's a reminder that there's so much more out there beyond what we see and know about our environment,

and it's a continual reminder as well that not only are we not alone when we're outdoors,

but that as humans, we play just one part in nature's greater systems.

The Appalachian Trail winding through 14 states from Georgia to Maine

creates a unique environment home to thousands of species of wildlife. Day hikers, backpackers, naturalists, and through hikers alike can spot large mammals like white-tailed deer, black bears, even moose, in addition to other smaller, like beaver, rabbits, foxes, skunk, turtles, bats,

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