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 054

Day:  054
Date:  Wednesday, 25 June 1986
Daily AT Miles:  24.2
Daily Other Miles:  0.3
Total AT Miles:  1049.0
Total All Miles:  1082.7
Weather:  Mild, sunny – perfect.
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  Muesli, health drink.
  Lunch:  Biscuits and peanut butter, two health bars.
  Dinner:  Noodles and chicken, instant pudding, chips, Pepsi.
Aches:  Tired feet.
Animals Seen:  Squirrels, rabbits.
People Seen:  6 overnight hikers, 4 day hikers, many others.

Journal:
Got up at 6am after a good night’s sleep and left at 7:20am, bidding farewell to my colleagues.  It was cool and looked to be set for a nice day for hiking.  The first 5 miles incorporated a lot of clambering over rocks and progress was slow.  During my first break I was caught by KC and one of the CC.  Both were headed for the Raccoon Run Shelters at 20 miles whilst I was aiming for Quarry Gap at 24 miles.  It showed again that my hiking speed wasn’t faster than the others it was just that I could comfortably go on longer.  I reached the Mason-Dixon Line (Pennsylvania border) at the same time and got KC (a nice guy – they all were) to take my picture.  The first few miles in Pennsylvania were a composite of many old trails and was difficult to follow and badly marked.  I had to stop three times to get the guidebook out – can’t remember the last time I had to refer to one.  After those first few miles, it settled down and passed through pretty woodlands with no tough grades though occasional rocky sections.  On the whole it was pleasant hiking.  I saw KC twice more.  At a break, two scouts (~13 years old) came the other way and couldn’t understand a word I said.  I decided to try and get to Caledonia State Park before 5pm so that I could visit the snack bar reported to be there.  This required a few longer sections and a 30 minute lunch.  En route, I passed Raccoon Run Shelters and found KC and CC (one of) in residence.  They had walked the roads!  My guess is that 70% of AT Thru-hikers take short-cuts and walk roads fairly frequently (with 5% hitching bits).  Each to his own.  I got to the State Park at 4:45pm.  It’s strange going into these Parks where people are picnicking and playing (and camping, etc.) as Barb and I had been doing three months ago.  You feel like a visitor from outer space.  I had a salad roll, two ice-creams and two Pepsis and some chips to accompany dinner.  It was very pleasant sitting in the sun eating these with only 2½ miles to go to the Shelter.  I even saw a jogger when entering the Park.  I left the picnic area at 5:30pm and, after a short sharp climb and an easy walk (with a stop to collect water ¼ mile before the Shelter), I reached it at 6:20pm.  I’m getting efficient at setting up, washing and cooking and, by 7:35pm, I had eaten main course.  There were no other occupants, it was a nice spot, a nice evening, and a picnic table – perfect end to a good day.
By

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)