Meet America's first extreme hiker

News and Adventure from Glacier National Park

The following is an excerpt from Ramble On: A History of Hiking:

In all likelihood, Norwich, Vermont native Alden Partridge is America’s first avid hiker. Although he’s probably best known as the fifth superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he also established a series of private military academies. According

to A History of Norwich, Vermont, Captain Partridge was also “a noted pedestrian, on several occasions walking sixty miles a day, and once pacing off seventy miles within that limit.” As an example of his endurance, strength and tenacity, in 1818 he undertook an extended excursion that included ascents of both Mt. Mansfield and the Camel’s Hump, the highest and third-highest peaks in Vermont. The entire trip, which covered roughly 200 miles, was made within a week, much of it in cold, drenching rain that involved tough, challenging bushwhacks up both mountains. In 1830, at the age of 45, Captain Partridge trekked to Massachusetts and back, a roundtrip hike that covered roughly 300 miles and ended with a grueling 64-mile march on the last day. During his fairly long life, the indefatigable military instructor recorded numerous extended treks across the Northeast, as well as ascents of several prominent peaks, including Mt. Washington, Mt. Lafayette, Mt. Equinox, Mt. Ascutney, Killington Peak, Grand Monadnock and Mt. Moosilauke. In an article published on the Norwich University website, journalist and historian Mark Bushnell proclaimed Partridge to be “the first extreme hiker.” According to Bushnell, Partridge also “wrote widely circulated newspaper columns about his wilderness treks and in so doing helped popularize the sport of hiking.”

Learn more about Alden Partridge and the other pioneers of hiking in Ramble On: A History of Hiking.

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Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk through the woods for pleasure? Ramble On: A History of Hiking explores the rich history of hiking, and how it evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in the world.