Welcome to the
Footsteps from a 2000 mile hike on the Appalachian Trail.
While stumbling down a remote footpath deep in the Green Mountains of Vermont sometime during the spring of 1985, a pair of recreational vagabonds pondered the ultimate backpacking adventure. When they spoke of this 2000 mile journey, it was as if they were speaking of an unattainable dream, a golden quest, an epic of legend. The promise of grand adventure and endless bliss in a pristine wilderness seemed too good to be true. It was on that day, during that walk, their decision to hike the entire length of the Appalachian Trail was made. More than just A Walk in the Woods, these two intrepid travelers were about to embark on the trip of a lifetime.
The Adventure by Chapter |
These webpages chronicle the recollections of a 1987 thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. I'm not going to bore you with the historic details of the Trail or give exhaustive descriptions of mountaintop vistas. These stories reflect the experiences of Mark, my hiking partner for the entire expedition, and myself. The many wacky adventures and misadventures that are included within this website represent what the Trail was really about for Mark and myself.
The six month journey was more than just a walk in the woods, it was a half a year off from work! 180 of the best days of my life, hiking and partying all the way to Katahdin. Mark and I experienced both the good and the not so good as we walked north on a thin slice of America. From that very first blister to that last mountaintop scramble, hiking the Appalachian Trail was not always what we expected. The adventure was not confined to the Appalachian Trail and the journey sometimes went beyond the footpath. So drop your backpack, fill your water bottle, grab a handful of gorp and settle back for a delightful account of two hikers on the Appalachian Trail and their adventure from Georgia to Maine.