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 036

Day:  036
Date:  Saturday, 7 June 1986
Daily AT Miles:  24.0
Daily Other Miles:  0
Total AT Miles:  685.9
Total All Miles:  709.5
Weather:  Hot, very humid, mostly sunny.
Nutrition:
  Breakfast: Muesli, health drink.
  Lunch:  Two ham & salad sandwiches, fudge brownie, quart of ice-cream.
  Dinner:  Biscuits and peanut butter, instant pudding.
Aches:  Right foot numb, sweat rash.
Animals Seen:  Two tortoises, deer, chipmunk, groundhog.
People Seen:  Four AT Thru-Hikers, eight day hikers, many others.

Journal:
Got up at 6:00am and away by 7:20am on a day that promised to be tough.  My feet, particularly the right one, didn’t seem to have recovered from yesterday.  I decided that it would be sensible to take it steady and have a break every hour.  I would have liked to do 28 miles, but would be happy with 24 which would only leave 13 for tomorrow.  The Trail descended at first then passed through an undulating and fairly tiring section.  I met Debbie and Alan, AT Thru-Hikers camped on the Trail.  The Trail then wound around the side of a long ridge with tough inclines right to left.  It was very tough on my feet and it was hot.  This was followed by a tough climb to a rocky ridge (Cove Mt) and then slow progress along that pretty ridge.  Good views and a pretty Trail.  It ended at the jagged rocks known as the Dragons teeth and stopped for the views and a rest.  Stu arrived, having put in a big morning from Sarver’s Cabin.  There was a rocky descent to the road and the Catawba Grocery.  On arrival we found Charlie and Tricia (from Pearisburg) who had hitched in to collect a new pack.  I gorged myself on ice-cream, Coke and orange juice as well as sandwiches and fudge while sitting in the shade for an hour and chatting.  There was a hot slog up onto NorthMountain where I met “The Greenhorns” (Mike and Frank) who were having an easy day avoiding the heat.  It was rumoured they wanted to hike from Georgia to Maine without washing, but they denied it.  There was then a long walk along the fairly easy North Mt ridge but I was tired and hot and just wanted to reach water and camp.  Eventually the Trail began its descent and crossed a creek where I got water and camped on the Trail.  Stu and The Greenhorns camped nearby.  It was 7:45pm and I had a cold dinner and retired at 9:15pm.  It rained during the night, my feet hurt and the ground was rocky to sleep on.
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