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 070

Day:  070
Date:  Friday, 11 July 1986
Daily AT Miles:  13.9
Daily Other Miles:  0
Total AT Miles:  1361.5
Total All Miles:  1403.2
Weather:  Warm, humid, mostly cloudy.
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  Cereal, eggs, toast.
  Lunch:  Biscuits and peanut butter.
  Dinner:  Macaroni cheese, instant pudding.
Aches:  Feet a bit sore, right knee sore.
Animals Seen:  Many deer, 2 fawns, squirrels, chipmunks, small snake, grouse.
People Seen:  18 overnight hikers, 1 day hiker, many others.

Journal:
Got up at 8am and, after a shower and Pam-cooked breakfast, said good-bye to Pam and Aidan and left with Gordon at 9:20am. It was sad to be leaving so soon.  Another day off would have been nice and I think nthey would have liked me to stay.  Anyway, it’s good to know they’ll be moving to Melbourne to live next March.  Gordon drove me to the spot near Arden at the entrance to Harriman State Park where I left the AT on Wednesday night.  I started walking at 10:15am on a much more pleasant (cooler) day than recently.  That, plus my feet feeling improved and a day’s rest, had me in good spirits as I negotiated the gentle grades and occasional rocky bluffs of the Park.  There was little undergrowth and spring-like growth on the trees as well as evidence of gypsy moth.  It was pleasant forest.  I only planned to do 12 miles so that tomorrow night I would arrive at GraymoorMonastery.  I stopped for lunch at 1pm then pressed on to the William Brian Shelter, where I planned to spend the night, arriving at 4:30pm.  Unfortunately, the water well was dry and I had little, , so ended up pressing on another few miles and stopping by a pleasant stream in a lovely spot at about 6:10pm.  En route, the Trail passed over Black Mountain and I got superb views of the Hudson River which I will cross tomorrow – a landmark.  I had time for a leisurely dinner though time was spent boiling suspect water for tomorrow’s breakfast.  I went to bed soon after 9pm after a relaxing day. 
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