Day: |
085 |
Date: |
Saturday, 26 July 1986 |
Start: |
|
Finish: |
|
Daily
AT Miles: |
21.4 |
Daily Other Miles |
0.4 (to Killington Peak) |
Total
AT Miles: |
1666.5 |
Total All Miles |
1714.0 |
Weather: |
Very warm, humid, overcast, rain late. |
Accommodation: |
|
Nutrition: |
Breakfast: Muesli Lunch: Biscuits and
peanut butter, health bar. Dinner: Soup, veal, ice-cream. |
Aches: |
None bad. |
Animals Seen: |
Small snake, chipmunks. |
People Seen: |
2 overnight hikers, 8 day hikers, many
others. |
Pictures: |
Here |
GPS Track: |
|
Journal: |
Got up at 5:30am after a bad night because
of mozzies and heat. Felt tired straight away – already warm. Set
off at 7am for a relatively short day which, however, incorporated
Killington Peak (4250’). I decided to aim for Killington for lunch
(there’s supposed to be a cafeteria on top), which meant a
relatively short morning. However, the bad night’s sleep seemed to
have pushed me over the edge into “over-trained” and, even with a
light pack, I struggled all morning. It was foggy, so no views, but
the higher altitude forest was pretty and “fairy-tale”. There was a
“blue blaze” (side-trail) 0.2 miles very steep trail to the summit
from the AT. I reached there at 1:30pm and struggled up the climb
only to find the whole resort closed – presumably because of the fog
and wind. I walked back down to the AT and Cooper Lodge where I met
two girl day-hikers and a guy, Todd, who had started hiking the AT
two days before me, but had finished at Harpers Ferry and was now
doing a few of the northern sections. I had passed him at Rainbow
Springs. He had travelled with Lisa for six weeks, and others, and
could fill me in on how they were going. He said he would probably
see me in the White Mountains and maybe Katahdin (northern end of
the AT), from where he might be able to give me a lift to
Boston. We chatted over lunch after which, at 2:30pm, I set off
down the mountain. I planned to stop at the Inn on the Long Trail
for the night and arrived there, very tired, at
4:40pm. Unfortunately, they didn’t provide evening meals so I
decided to walk another two miles to another Inn. I was very tired
and not pleased to lose the Trail in rough terrain at one point,
costing me 15 minutes, and then to be hit by torrential rain just
before reaching the road where the Inn was supposed to be. The
Guide Book details were confusing and I got saturated before going
into an expensive-looking motel where I took a room despite the $40
price tag. I ate a lot of peanuts in the bar before having a nice
dinner. I rang my cousin, Peter, to say I was thinking of putting
back my meeting with them in the White Mountains by one day. I had
decided that, if the mountains or Trail got worse, I would have to
work very hard to reach Franconia Notch on time. Better to give
myself the rest, even if it means a day later at Katahdin. I
watched TV and rinsed out my clothes. Running short of food and,
given likely wet conditions tomorrow, I decided to sleep in and have
a late breakfast (no early breakfasts at the motel) before heading
off for a long afternoon. Turned off the TV at 12:15am. |
|
ADVENTURE LIST
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Hume & Hovell Walking Track
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Via Alpina
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Australian Alps Walking
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Land's End to John O'Groats
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|