Edward B. Garvey

Edward B. Garvey (November 13, 1914[1] in Farmington, Minnesota[2] – September 20, 1999, at Arlington Hospital in Virginia[3] of congestive heart failure)[4] thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1970 and in 1971 published a book about his adventure, Appalachian Hiker, that raised awareness of thru-hiking.

Garvey was an auditor for the Soil Conservation Service and chief financial officer for the National Science Foundation and retired in 1969.

[2] He also worked to pass state and federal legislation including the National Trails System Act of 1968 and its 1978 amendments.

[3] In 1996, the Wilderness Society and the Izaak Walton League honored him with the American Land Hero Award for his efforts to protect the Appalachian Trail.

[5] The Ed Garvey Memorial Shelter on the Appalachian Trail at Weverton Cliffs at Weverton, Maryland, near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, was built and named in his honor.