Gene Espy (born 1927) is recognized as the second person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, making the entire 2,025-mile journey alone in one outing, covering 14 states in just over 123 days. Born and raised in Cordele, Georgia, Espy first heard about the Appalachian Trail from his seventh-grade teacher. Several years later, Espy and a friend hiked a section of the trail in the Great Smoky Mountains, but it was not until shortly after his graduation from the Georgia Institute of Technology that Espy decided to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. On 31 May 1951, Espy and a hometown friend set out from Mount Oglethorpe, Georgia, but after the first day Espy’s friend dropped out, leaving Espy to hike the remainder of the trail alone. He would frequently go an entire week without seeing anothe