Day: |
072 |
Date: |
Sunday, 13 July 1986. |
Start: |
|
Finish: |
|
Daily
AT Miles: |
18.8 |
Daily Other Miles |
0.3 (from Graymoors). |
Total
AT Miles: |
1393.2 |
Total All Miles |
1437.8 |
Weather: |
Foggy, rain and drizzle, mild. |
Accommodation: |
|
Nutrition: |
Breakfast: Fruit, eggs and sausages, orange
juice, donuts. Lunch: None. Dinner: Biscuits and peanut
butter, instant pudding. |
Aches: |
None bad. |
Animals Seen: |
Deer, squirrels, groundhogs, rabbits. |
People Seen: |
2 day hikers, some others. |
Pictures: |
Here |
GPS Track: |
|
Journal: |
Got up at 7:30am and, after a pleasant
breakfast with the monks and Bob and Jenny, left Graymoors at
9am. An interesting and worthwhile visit. The weather was poor,
fog and drizzle, and I altered my schedule for the next three days
so I could stay in Shelters. This meant an easy day today and a
long one tomorrow. I decided not to try and ring Clio from the
Monastery because it was probably too early for her to know if she
was going sailing or not. I set off with a bit of indigestion from
the enormous breakfast I had eaten. It was drizzling, but not
enough to warrant donning my Goretex jacket. My feet were wet from
yesterday’s socks and wet shoes and soon got wetter as I walked
through sopping undergrowth. Despite the wetness it was pleasant
walking in the mild weather. There were a few climbs, occasionally
steep, but never that long, and no views because of the fog. The
area, as for the last few days, was historic with traces of farming,
mining, etc., dating from the American Revolution. There were lots
of collapsed stone fences and the Trail occasionally followed old
railway grades. You could feel the history of the place. The miles
all seemed a little long, but I was doing it easy and, partly
because of the indigestion, decided to forgo lunch (eating my
perennial trail snack, “gorp” [sultanas, peanuts and M&Ms],
instead), and reach my goal, Ralph’s Peak Hikers Cabin, a little
earlier. There was supposed to be a bike there, and a store a mile
away, and I would have a big dinner there. After climbing over
Shenandoah, I descended to the well-marked cabin and arrived at
5:30pm. A note on the door said someone would open it at 6pm. I sat
and started the diary and a very friendly guy from the Club turned
up at 5:50pm. He told me the store was closed and there was nowhere
to cook so I accepted that I was going to have a cold dinner but
wasn’t too bothered. The Cabin was well-furnished and promised to
be cosy. Soon after 6pm, thunder sounded and it began to rain
heavily. I was glad I hadn’t stopped for lunch. I had a cold
dinner and wrote the diary by candlelight. |
|
ADVENTURE LIST
Round Ireland
(2016)
Hume & Hovell Walking Track
(2013)
Via Alpina
(2012)
Australian Alps Walking
Track (2011)
Land's End to John O'Groats
(2010)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2009)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2008)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2007)
Australia Tip to Top MTB
(2006)
Adelaide to Darwin MTB
(2005)
Sydney to Melbourne MTB
(2004)
Three Peaks Race
(2004)
Appalachian Trail
(1986)
Alpine Track
(1983)
|