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 079

Day:  079
Date:  Sunday, 20 July 1986.
Daily AT Miles:  25.5
Daily Other Miles:  0
Total AT Miles:  1534.8
Total All Miles:  1580.4
Weather:  Warm, humid, overcast.
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  Muesli, health drink.
  Lunch:  Biscuits and peanut butter, chocolate bar.
  Dinner:  Fettucine, pop tarts.
Aches:  None that are very bad.
Animals Seen:  Chipmunks.
People Seen:  1 AT Thru-hiker, 1 overnight hiker, 4 day hikers, some others.

Journal:
I got up at 5:30am to find all my clothes still wet from the wash I had given them the previous night (to try and reduce chafing), but I put them on anyway.  I left at 7:10am after exchanging addresses with Liz.  Both she and Matt were a bit sheepish after the night’s excitement.  I hoped to cover a lot of miles and fortunately it was cool early and there was a lot of road-walking.  My pack was starting to feel lighter too.  The road-walk took me along some lovely country lanes past some beautiful mansions set amongst the hills (The Berkshires) with manicured lawns and reflecting ponds.  I passed through the attractive little village of Tyringham, then climbed up onto another ridge along roads and forest roads which made the going quicker.  The Trail passed the attractive Goose Pond, then Upper Goose Pond.  It was still very muggy and mozzies were about, but the heavy overcast reduced the heat a little.  While walking, I listened on my Walkman to a live broadcast of an outdoor concert by the Boston Symphony Orchestra from their summer home at Tanglewood, only a few miles away as the crow flies.  It was great listening to Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries as I strode through the forest along the ridge, knowing it was being performed nearby.  At about 3pm, I overtook “Jeannie the Bag Lady” and saw her again when I stopped at October Mountain Lean-To for a very late lunch. The feet seemed to be standing the strain better today, despite having to carry four full water bottles because of the lack of good water – there were plenty of bogs.  The clouds were looking ominous from about 6pm, but I pushed on to 6:45pm, when I found a nice campsite, having achieved my mileage target.  I set up the tarp over the tent in preparation for rain that didn’t come, had dinner and adjourned to the tent at 8:30pm.
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