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 097

Day:  097
Date:  Thursday, 7 August 1986
Daily AT Miles:  18.8
Daily Other Miles:  1.3 (1.0 to Gorham, 0.3 to Shelter).
Total AT Miles:  1866.8
Total All Miles:  1922.0
Weather:  Warm, humid, overcast, some rain.
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  Cornflakes, eggs, burger, brownies.
  Lunch:  Gorp.
  Dinner:  Biscuits and peanut butter, instant pudding.
Aches:  None bad.
Animals Seen:  Squirrels.
People Seen:  1 AT Thru-hiker, 20 overnight hikers, many others.

Journal:
Got up at 5:30am and packed and left by 6:15am without having breakfast.  After ½ and hour walking, I reached US 2 and began walking and hitching towards Gorham.  I soon got a lift which dropped me off at the town Laundromat at 7am.  I put my laundry on and rang Bo and arranged to send suggested rendezvous details to her mother’s in Salem.  I also tried to call Bruce, but he wasn’t going to be there for another 1½ hours.  I went to an adjacent restaurant for a big breakfast before going to the supermarket to do my shopping.  After that, I rang Bruce again, sent a card to Ray and Marilyn, ate some brownies and drank a quart of chocolate milk before walking out of town and beginning to hitch.  I soon got a lift and began walking on the AT again at 10:40am.  I was now in the Mahoosucs and still had 17½ miles to go.  The Mahoosucs are supposed to be the toughest range on the Trail.  The first few miles were pretty easy as the Trail climbed to the ridge.  There were some views, but it was foggy/hazy.  It began to rain steadily for a while and I decided to keep walking to the Gentian Pond Shelter for a late snack and give lunch a miss.  En route, I passed Dan, Chuck and Arletta, and caught “Lumberjack”, another AT Thru-hiker.  The Shelter was full of people and I sat in the entrance talking to some of them.  The scenery from the Shelter was dramatic.  They thought I was silly to go on the six miles to Carlo Col Shelter when it was already 4:30pm, but I had to meet John C in a couple of days and was confident I could get there in daylight, despite the Trail being slow because of the mud, rocks, and steep ascents and descents.  I reached the Shelter and was pleased to find only three people there – Bob and Patty, and Wes.  I repacked my Gorham-purchased food by torch and candle before eating a cold dinner and going to bed at 9pm.  I was now in Maine.
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