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 026

Day:  026
Date:  Wednesday, 28 May 1986
Daily AT Miles:  20.7
Daily Other Miles:  0
Total AT Miles:  489.4
Total All Miles:  504.7
Weather:  Some drizzle and fog in the morning, partly cloudy in the afternoon, mild.
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  Muesli, health drink.
  Lunch:  Biscuits and peanut butter, health bar.
  Dinner:  Spaghetti sauce and macaroni, instant pudding, health bar.
Aches:  Blistered feet including a very bad blister on my left Achilles.
Animals Seen:  Horses.
People Seen:  None.

Journal:
Got up at 6:15am after a reasonable night’s sleep but didn’t get away until about 8:15am because of time spent tending to my feet, particularly a nasty big blister on my left heel.  I’m worried about how the boots will go.  It will be difficult to keep up the miles if my feet are getting progressively worse.  The first three miles involved a steady ascent to Buzzard Rocks and Whitetop Mt.  The top of the mountain was clear of vegetation and alpine, but cloaked in heavy fog which ruled out views and made the Trail difficult to follow in parts.  After descending through some wet and muddy forest, I reached Elk Meadow, a large open saddle which was also heavily fogged in.  I was despairing of getting any views for the day when, about noon near Wilburn Ridge, the weather began to clear and I got some good views of alpine scenery with rocky bluffs, some pine-covered areas and, in the distance, inhabited valleys.  There was even a bit of sun here and there. I stopped for lunch at a craggy bluff in Grayson Highlands State Park and read my Syntec (economics magazine produced by my former employer).  My feet were sore, but I decided against dressing them again since I was going through Vaseline and moleskin too fast.  After lunch the Trail left the alpine meadows and squelched through some forest occasionally coming out into the open.  After a few easy climbs and descents, I arrived at Old Orchard Shelter at about 5:50pm. There was a bit of dry firewood there so I decided to light a fire and cook dinner.  First I washed and tended my feet.  The left heel looked particularly nasty and I was worried about how I would walk tomorrow.  It was extremely difficult just moving around camp and I was trying to dry out the huge blister.  Real problems.  I was afraid it could get infected.  After a nice dinner, I read Syntec’s Political Outlook with great interest since I had heard little of the recent Australian political scene.  I went to bed about 9:15pm having seen no people for the day apart from a pick-up in the fog at Elk Meadow.  My heel was throbbing badly and I wondered if I had damaged it internally as I lay in bed, but eventually went to sleep.  The valve on my air mattress wasn’t even working at all now.  I will get Mark and Fran to bring me out a new one when I get to Shenandoah National Park.
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