Why does the Appalachian Mountain Club only have Local Chapters in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic?

The Appalachian Mountain Club is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit. If you would like to know how they spend their money, that information is public.

The High Mountain Huts are expensive, because they are expensive to operate. Note that, in 2018, for "Outdoor Centers", the AMC's income was $13,455,000, and its expenses were $13,011,000.

The AMC is also a conservation organization. The Crawford Path in particular is one of the most heavily traveled trails in the country, and simultaneously in one of the most fragile ecosystems. The White Mountain National Forest sees more than 6 million visitors a year.

The AMC does not just manage the Appalachian Trail section of the Whites. They do a tremendous amount of work on preservation, including most recently, buying vast areas of land in Maine for preservation.

/r/AppalachianTrail Thread Parent