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 096

Day:  096
Date:  Wednesday, 6 August 1986
Daily AT Miles:  18.4
Daily Other Miles:  0.2 (to Carter Notch Hut)
Total AT Miles:  1848.0
Total All Miles:  1901.9
Weather:  Very warm, humid, mainly overcast.
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  Fruit, oats, French toast, sausages.
  Lunch:  Stew.
  Dinner:  Biscuits and peanut butter, brownies.
Aches:  Chafing in crutch.
Animals Seen:  2 small snakes, squirrels.
People Seen:  3 AT Hikers (by sections), 4 overnight hikers, 8 day hikers, many others.

Journal:
Got up at 6am so I could try calling Barb and Bo Cocks before breakfast then make a quick getaway on what promised to be a tough 20 miles over the Carter Range to US 2 and a hitch into Gorham for the night.  Bo was out, and Barb didn’t answer.  I packed, woke Pete, and we went across to the 6:45am breakfast.  I ate a lot and it was good.  Pete then went out to the highway to catch his bus back to Boston.  We said a short goodbye and I then tried to call Barb one more time and this time got her.  We chatted for over 20 minutes.  I think she’s ready for me to come home.  She also said Bruce B (one of my colleagues at Syntec) was trying to get hold of me to do something for them in the US prior to my return.  I left Pinkham Notch just before 8am and began the very tough climb up to the 4000’ level on Carter Ridge.  Fortunately, this section of the AMC trails has less people on it, although I did meet a number of people heading to Pinkham Notch from the AMC Carter Notch Hut, six miles along the Trail.  I got very tired hiking on the rugged Trail, but enjoyed the views and walked non-stop to Carter Notch Hut.  It was a very pretty spot next to a couple of lakes.  The Hut boys were very chatty and gave me two full bowls of stew for nothing.  I decided to call it lunch – it had taken me three hours to hike the six miles from Pinkham Notch, making US 2 look doubtful by dusk.  I left at 11:45am and began yet another very steep and tiring ascent to Carter Dome (4800’).  The Trail continued to be very tough and slow but, despite feeling very tired, I just kept plugging away.  The views were good and I was in good spirits.  I stopped on a rock ledge with terrific views near Imp Shelter for afternoon tea before pushing on for the last six miles to Rattle River Shelter.  The Trail was becoming slightly faster walking.  I arrived at the Shelter at 7:30pm after descending from Carter Ridge and met three elderly AT Hikers – Dan and Chuck and Arletta.  They had done Georgia to Harpers Ferry last year and were doing Harpers Ferry to Maine this year.  They were very friendly and Dan gave me some brownies (his wife had visited them at the Shelter earlier) to accompany my biscuits and peanut butter dinner.  I’d decided it wasn’t worth walking the extra 1½ miles to US 2 and hitching into Gorham since it would be too late to do anything and just cost me money.  An early start tomorrow, since I’ve got to cover sufficient miles to meet John C on Saturday morning.
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