Appalachian Trail
Springer Mountain, Georgia, to Bland, Virginia
April - June, 2009

August 17, 2009

On April 8th, 2009 I set out on a hike of a lifetime on the Appalachain Trail (AT) which runs some 2,180 miles from Georgia to Maine. As most AT hikers do, I assumed a "trail name" ... selecting "Route 66" in memory of having hitchhiked that 2,300 mile road from Chicago to Los Angeles in the summer of 1963.

Although I did not make it all the way to Maine, it was an unforgettable and immensely rewarding experience, and I did manage to go about 560 "official" miles and maybe 600 miles including "off trail" hiking. My hike ended in southern Virginia on June 24th for the reasons discussed in my trail journal entry of that date.

Looking back on it now, the hike had three phases ...

Phase one was the first two weeks with Bon Bon who got me off to a fantastic start in Georgia. The second phase was about six weeks of hiking more or less alone, meeting many great folks as I went along, but few who hiked at my speed. The final phase was with Plowboy and PolPoli, a wonderful couple, a bit younger than I, who hiked at roughly my speed. We didn't necessarily hike together every day, but we ended up in the same shelters, hostels and trail towns more often than not.

Now that I have been home for a few weeks, I have finally managed to update my trail journal by adding several photos below the text for each day. Pictures being worth 1,000's of words, I think the journal now provides a much better insight to the unique life everyone experiences on the AT.

I have included photos of many of the folks who I met as I went along. Each of them enriched my journey in one way or another.

To access the trail journal, updated with photos, click here.

I have also set up a separate file of the photos with captions, but without the main journal text. It is formatted in a larger size than the photos in the trail journal. If you want to browse these larger photos separately, click here.


Route 66

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