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 017

Day:  017
Date:  Monday, 19 May 1986
Daily AT Miles:  20.8
Daily Other Miles:  0.5 (to spring)
Total AT Miles:  310.1
Total All Miles:  321.1
Weather:  Foggy and drizzly in the morning.  Some sun and warmer in the afternoon, then rain and fog.
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  Muesli, health drink.
  Lunch:  Biscuits and peanut butter, health bar.
  Dinner:  Macaroni cheese, instant pudding.
Aches:  Some friction points on feet.
Animals Seen:  Chipmunk.
People Seen:  Three overnight hikers.

Journal:
Got up at 6:30am and left by 8am on a dreary foggy morning with faint drizzle.  The Trail became rocky and passed through dense groves of rhododendrons, some in bloom, which blocked progress and got me quite wet on a morning which was cool enough anyway.  After a while the drizzle stopped, but it remained foggy.  The Trail passed through some wet meadows and my Brooks were thoroughly soaked – still hanging together, though.  The Trail became much easier as it joined an old forestry road and proceeded along a fairly flat ridge.  There were no views because of the fog.  The Trail then descended fairly steeply into Devil Fork Gap where it crossed a road and then passed into a more settled area.  There were small farmlets, trailer homes and lots of Off Road Vehicle tracks.  The Trail ascended steeply from the Gap and it was very hard work.  Progress slowed to less than two miles per hour.  I could hear trail bikes roaring around on nearby trails and the one I was on was obviously used by them too.  The sky darkened and it began to look like rain as I approached the turn-off to hogback Ridge Shelter.  I covered the 150 yards to the Shelter, which was unoccupied, and went to get water at the spring one quarter of a mile away.  It began to rain while I was there – 5:10pm, same time as last night – but I made it back to the Shelter without getting too wet.  While it rained I washed and set up, then managed to get a fire going with damp wood but it took time and attention to cook dinner.  I relaxed after the meal and went to bed at 9pm.
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