And several others; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-distance_trails_in_the_Un...
I'd say the PCT is its closest competitor as the PCT is considerable well marked, but its an easier trail grade to hike(and on the other side of the country)
If you want remoteness and untouched wilderness, I went days without seeing another person (and some hikers can go weeks depending on the year) on the CDT at all though some extraordinarily beautiful locations. Of course its not as defined as the PCT or AT(compass navigation is requires as the trail doesn't always exist)
The thing about the AT is it is the most accessible of any of the major trails, I've heard that about half the US population is within a 1day drive of some point of the trail.
The Benton MacKaye Trail, for example, runs parallel to the southern part of the AT for about 300 miles, and also starts on Springer Mountain. There are lots of people that live close enough to hike on it. But the fact that it involves much more wilderness and doesn't go through a town every other day makes it a poor option for inexperienced hikers.
That makes me suspect that the only way to spread out the damage, so to speak, is to raise barriers to entry. Emphatically: not so drastically that people won't hike. I certainly want more people interested in enjoying and protecting the outdoors. But at least enough that people are comfortable in a variety of settings that aren't as "urbanized" as the AT is.
I disagree. The problem pointed out in the article is that a lot of people aren't there to exercise and soul search, and they're ruining it for people who would like to do so in the future by trashing the place.
It's absolutely not a good thing if many of the people are going into the wilderness and destroying it with trash, vandalism, and dog shit.
You know the woods are filled with animals that shit in the woods all the time, right? People should be burying it or at least moving it off trail but feces is a purely natural occurrence.
The trash and vandalism I absolutely agree with you.
So, I agree with the woods part, bring all the dogs you want onto the trail when you're in the woods, but when the rangers in Baxter State Park complain about people bringing dogs up the mountain, they are absolutely in the right.