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 002

Day:  002
Date:  Sunday, 4 May 1986
Daily AT Miles:  20.7
Daily Other Miles:  0
Total AT Miles:   28.4
Total All Miles:  31.7
Weather:  Warm and sunny with a cool breeze.
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  Eggs and muesli.
  Lunch:  Biscuits and peanut butter.  Date roll.  Scroggin (gorp).
  Dinner:  Macaroni cheese and instant pudding.
Aches:  Little and big toes on right foot.  Chafing on lower back.
Animals Seen:  Chipmunks and grasshoppers.
People Seen:  Approx. 100

Journal:
Didn’t sleep that well. Woken by soldiers on manoeuvres several times.  Up at 6am.  Several platoons passed through while we were having breakfast and packing up.  I left at 8am on a nice day.  My old aches returned immediately, despite careful doctoring of feet. Pressed on walking an hour and stopping for 10 minutes.  Saw more soldiers and lots of helicopters, but not many other people. Pleasant hiking apart from fatigue and sore spots.  Mainly travelling on a ridge with occasional good views.  The country was mainly light forest with some undergrowth, new green leaves and occasional beautiful blossoms, particularly some orange ones.  There were also blue wildflowers.  Thought I might aim for Neels Gap but by lunchtime at Woody Gap National Forest picnic ground I had decided it would be too far and decided to stop soon after 5:30pm when I found a good spot.  The picnic area was crowded with people having picnic Sunday lunches on a lovely day.  I pressed on through leafy glades and along ridges with good views.  Saw a number of day hikers, including one couple passionately embracing on the Trail.  I decided to aim for Slaughter Gap for the night but the creek just before the Gap was dry.  When I arrived at the Gap it was already occupied by a couple.  Dave was about 35 years old and slightly intellectually handicapped, and his wife, Jean, was about 10 years older.  Both were very religious and obviously poor – orange pickers from Haines City, Florida.  Dave was very helpful getting me water and building me a fire.  His pack, adapted from a fruit-picker’s basket, weighed 75 pounds.  Nevertheless, I was a little nervous camping with this odd couple.  I slept in the tent for the first time and found it very small.  Inside it was very difficult to manoeuvre – what will it be like in the rain?  Went to bed at 9:45pm, though it was too dark to do anything after 9pm.

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