While stumbling down an unknown footpath deep in the Green Mountains of Vermont sometime during the mid 1980s, 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. They spoke of grand adventure and endless bliss in a pristine wilderness. It was on that day, during that walk, the decision to hike the entire length of the Appalachian Trail was made. These two intrepid travelers were about to embark on the trip of a lifetime.
This website chronicles the recollection our 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. There are plenty of great books for that out there… 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 Appalachian Trail was really about for Mark and myself.
Our six month journey was more than just a walk in the woods, it was a half a year off from work! Six whole months of walking along the Appalachian Trail was, without a doubt, the best 180 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 very 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 far 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.
The Adventure by Chapter
- Journey to Springer Mountain
- White Blazes From Now On
- Cast Party at Neels Gap
- From Winter to Rainbow Springs
- Balding Mountains and the Fontana Hilton
- Smokin’ Thru the Smokies
- New Boots and Pancakes
- Of Shelter Mice and Hiking Men
- Walking With Spring to Hot Springs
- Hiking Along the Borderline
- Greetings Uncle Nick Gindstaff
- Virginia Creeping on the Virginia Creeper
- Trail Days and Ramp Eating
- Southern Hospitality, Southern Hostility
- Dismal Creek and Woods Hole
- Greener in Virginia
- Flight of the Heartbroken Hiker
- Blue Ridge Walk to Waynesboro
- Shenandoah, Land of Beer and Deer
- Walking Among the Insects
- Its Happening in Harpers Ferry
- Half Way in Pennsylvania
- From the AT to Washington, DC
- Party at Port Clinton
- Rockin’ Thru Painsylvania
- Out of the Gap and Into Some New States
- Off and On the Appalachian Trail
- Return to New England
- Snoots Up in Connecticut
- Our Turn on the Mass Pike Bridge
- Croo Life on Greylock
- Vermont, Land of a Zillion Flies
- Dog Days in the Green Mountains
- Walking Away From the Long Trail
- Entering the White Mountains
- Life in the White Mountains
- Out of Gorham and Into Maine
- Mahoosic Moose and a Speck Birthday
- The Pain In Maine is Mainly the Rain
- A Ride in the Gravy Boat
- Hundred Mile Wilderness
- Kette-Adene; the Greatest Mountain
- Back in the Real World