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 075

Day:  075
Date:  Wednesday, 16 July 1986
Daily AT Miles:  0
Daily Other Miles:  0
Total AT Miles:  1443.9
Total All Miles:  1488.7
Weather:  Very warm, sunny.
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  Porridge, scrambled eggs, orange juice.
  Lunch:  Cottage pie, ice-cream.
  Dinner:  ?
Aches:  None.
Animals Seen:  None.
People Seen:  Some.

Journal:
Got up at 7:45am after a poor night’s sleep and tried to ring John Cederholm again.  No answer.  Tried to ring Barb.  No answer. I then spent another 45 minutes working on my itinerary then tried calling John at work.  He’s on holiday till next Monday.  Then rang Barb and talked for a while.  We decided she would book me a flight from Boston to Melbourne to arrive on September 1st.  I also gave her some proposed meeting places and dates to give Bo.  She sounded though she’ll be glad when I get home.  After cooking myself breakfast (Jayne was out), I spent the morning planning, washing and drying out damp gear.  Jayne returned at 11am and then left at 1pm to take her in-laws to Boston to fly home and collect her parents.  I spent the afternoon eating, watching TV and doing chores.  I then cooked my own dinner as Jayne wasn’t expected back until 9:30pm.  After dinner, I finished chores and packed up ready for tomorrow’s departure.  Jayne arrived home at 9:40pm and I spent a few hours talking to her jet-lagged parents and watching TV before going to bed at midnight.
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