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 022

Day:  022
Date:  Saturday, 24 May 1986
Daily AT Miles:  23.7
Daily Other Miles:  0
Total AT Miles:  424.2
Total All Miles:  436.5
Weather:  Mostly overcast, mild, occasional rain.
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  Muesli, health drink.
  Lunch:  Biscuits and peanut butter, cookie, Coke.
  Dinner:  Beef and tuna (cold), chips, instant pudding, Mars Bar.
Aches:  Hip joints occasionally.
Animals Seen:
People Seen:  Four overnight hikers, fifteen others.

Journal:
Got up at 6am and left at 7:30am on a dreary morning.  The Trail was relatively flat for a short distance before it began a steep rocky and difficult climb up Pond Mt.  The AT used to miss this mountain and, after labouring up it for not-particularly-good views (OK, though), I think they could leave it out.  The descent was treacherous because of the recent rain and consequent mud.  I slipped several times and finally fell near the bottom.  I walked to a small garage store and stocked up on a few goodies to make morning tea, lunch and dinner more appealing.  Then I walked on to a picnic area where I stopped at a table with two hikers, one of whom turned out to be an Australian girl from Elwood.  The Trail was supposed to be easier now and I looked forward to it.  It began to rain as I crossed the Wautauga Dam and I decided to push on to a shelter for lunch.  The grades, though uphill, weren’t too bad as I climbed onto a long ridge in dripping forest.  I reached Vandeventer Shelter at 3pm and found Shirley, a south-bound by sections AT hiker, stopped for the day.  We had a pleasant chat while I ate lunch.  Then I left to push on the last eight or nine miles to Iron Mt Shelter, my target for the night.  I arrived at about 7pm to find it surprisingly empty.  The wood was too wet for a fire, so I settled for a hodge podge of meat which later led to an uncomfortable night.  The rain had stopped, at least.  At about 9pm, I was startled by the arrival of Mark (from Texas) who I had thought was in front of me.  The Australian girl I had met in the morning had told me how he had set fire to himself last night while cooking.  We chatted for a while and I went to bed at 9:30pm.  At about 2am we were hit by a giant thunderstorm which literally shook the Shelter but, fortunately, we didn’t get leaked on.  I’m looking forward to a day off inDamascus but wished they had a motel there.
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