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 080

Day:  080
Date:  Monday, 21 July 1986.
Daily AT Miles:  21.7
Daily Other Miles:  0
Total AT Miles:  1556.5
Total All Miles:  1602.1
Weather:  Warm, humid, sunny.
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  Muesli, health drink.
  Lunch:  “Sub”, ice-cream.
  Dinner:  Soup, macaroni cheese, strawberry shortcake.
Aches:  None bad.
Animals Seen:  Squirrels, rabbits.
People Seen:  2 AT Thru-hikers, ~ 20 day hikers, many others.

Journal:
Got up at 5:30am after there had only been a few brief showers overnight, and everything was reasonably dry.  I left soon after 7am with the intention of walking to Cheshire, 14 miles away, in three sessions with short breaks between.  My pack was light and, although it was still humid, I made good time.  I reached Dalton after 4½ miles, including a couple of miles road-walking and, while passing through the town, found a grocery by the Trail so stopped for a quart of orange juice and a pint of ice-cream before continuing on.  As I left town, I passed two AT Thru-hikers, Evelyn and Wayne, returning to the Trail after four days off. I exchanged pleasantries and continued on.  The Trail climbed out of town up to a bumpy ridge.  Much of it was new and therefore tiring.  It passed by a pretty pond and one good viewpoint and was quite boggy in parts.  I decided to ring Jayne and recommend her parents go for their planned hike elsewhere.  I arrived at Cheshire Post Office at 12:20pm and collected a good swag of mail, including a mysterious box which turned out to contain my fold-up knapsack that I’d lost somewhere.  “GEOKA” had found it and mailed it to a Post Office up the Trail.  It had been forwarded twice and caught me in the end.  Pleased.  I walked through the town and found a supermarket where I bought a “sub” for lunch, as well as ice-cream, and then sat in a chair outside and ate and read my letters.  Very pleasant.  At about 2pm, I set out to walk the eight miles up Mount Greylock (3500’) to the AMC’s Bascom Lodge, where I planned to spend the night.  I’d rung up and booked already.  Despite the uphill climb, a light pack made for good time and I arrived at 5:10pm.  There were excellent views in most directions from the peak and it was a beautiful evening.  I got my room, showered, and came down for 6pm dinner.  Unfortunately, it was pasta!  We all sat at a long table and I chatted with other guests and AMC workers.  One gril had just been to Australia.  After dinner, I wrote letters to Barb and Alan, phoned Jayne and tried to phone John C.  I went to bed at 10:15pm and spent 45 minutes reading the Syntec(former employer) and Kew Camberwell District (athletic club) newletters and Pete’s Australian newspaper clippings (including weather forecasts!) I had received in the mail so I wouldn’t have to carry them tomorrow.
By

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)