In 1986, a few days after running the Boston Marathon, and following a year of touring the US and Canada in a campervan, I set off by train to realise a dream to walk the Appalachian Trail. I first heard about the Trail from the American wife of a work colleague in Melbourne a few years earlier and had since read widely about the trail. The Trail follows the crest of the Appalachian Mountains for more than 2,200 miles along the eastern side of the US. Starting in mid-spring, I followed the trail northwards from Springer Mountain in Georgia to its northern terminus at Mount Katahdin in Maine, finishing in the late summer. It remains one of the most meaningful experiences of my life, fostering an ambition for more such experiences and inspiring me to retire from work early enough follow through on that ambition. In 1986, only about 80 people each year completed the whole trail, but during that year National Geographic did a feature article on the Trail and its popularity increased dramatically.

Appalachian Trail - Day 000

Day:  000
Date:  Friday, 2 May 1986
Daily Miles:  0
Total Miles:  0
Weather:  Warm, sunny.
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  Cereal, toast.
  Lunch:  Burger, fries, milkshake.
Aches:  None
Animals Seen:  None
People Seen:  None

Journal:
My aunt, Marj, took me to South Station, Boston, from where I caught the New York train.  It passed several familiar sights but I was so tired I slept for an hour and must have missed some.  I’m worried about the weight of my pack.  78 pounds on first weighing last night, reduced to 70 before departure.  I may try to get rid of some more weight later.  In Penn Street Station, NYC, I had lunch in a burger joint.  Unimpressive!  I boarded my train south at 2:15pm but mechanical problems left us sitting in the dark until 3:50pm. The train then lost another 30 minutes en route to Philadelphia.  The seat next to me was taken at Baltimore by a pleasant astrophysicist.  Later, entertainment was provided by two semi-drunk middle-aged black women in the carriage.  I slept from 11:30pm to 6:30am.  There was lots of room and the seats were not too bad.  I had breakfast in the dining car and then sorted out gear to be mailed back to Boston to reduce my pack weight.  The train arrived at Gainesville in Georgia at 8:50am.

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