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#appalachiantrail

14 posts8 participants0 posts today

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August 13, 1983, 42 years ago today: The Appalachian Trail went into Dark Entry Ravine, ascending through the perpetual twilight silence of an old hemlock forest. Long years of decomposing fallen needles had buried the boulder-strewn ground and transformed it into a soft, lumpy carpet. It was lovely, even though the stream was barely running.

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August 13, 1983, 42 years ago today: It was still cloudy this morning when I woke up, and the air had turned even chillier. I had not seen a morning that cold since Tennessee. After the persistent heat wave that dogged me through six states from Virginia through New York, shivering was a pleasure. Still, in order to warm up, I really had to start moving quickly when I hit the trail.

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August 12, 1983, 42 years ago today: Macedonia Brook abounded in tough climbs. The rocky trail off Cobble Mountain descended very steeply over boulders sheathed with slick, dripping moss. There were more nice views a mile later from the top of Pine Hill. The entire state park was beautiful, one of the nicest stretches on the Appalachian Trail since Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

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August 12, 1983, 42 years ago today: The open, grassy crest of Cobble Mountain looked just as lovely today as the image which had lingered in my memory. Encircling the summit was a sprawling rock outcrop with extensive views to the north and west. The mountain overlooked a lush, green valley filled with forests and pastures in the foothills of eastern New York State.

August 9, 2013: it was a rainy day. Hard rain, light rain, all kinds fell. I got soaked. Thankfully it was warm, so I didn't need a rain coat.
I passed a marker for the end of Shay's Rebellion. This was a violent protest against the high taxes levied on subsistence farmers in western Massachusetts a few years after the end of the Revolutionary War. It was I've of the events that convinced people something better than the Articles of Confederation were needed to run the new country.
At the shelter in the evening, a few of us damp thru hikers played poker. I'm not very good, but it was still fun.


#AppalachianTrail #ThruHike #hiking #AT #Massachusetts #AppalachianTrail2013 #outdoors #at2013 #Berkshires #ShaysRebellion #history #sobo #monument

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August 11, 1983, 42 years ago today: The first mile of the day’s hike was on a forest path. Swarms of biting deer flies harassed me relentlessly during that stretch. It was a relief to come out on the beginning of a three-mile roadwalk and leave the little bastards behind me, but the escape was only temporary.

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August 10, 1983, 42 years ago today: About two miles from the end of the long roadwalk, we stopped at a little town park in Pawling, New York, about an hour’s drive and two or three universes removed from New York City. Edward R. Murrow Memorial Park contained a small lake with a tiny beach, a snack bar, and a picnic area.

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August 10, 1983, 42 years ago today: I cannot say enough about Ralph’s Peak Hikers’ Cabin, where we slept last night. The southbounders at Graymoor Monastery told us about this place, and I am very happy that they did. The club that maintains this section of the Appalachian Trail (Ralph’s Peak Hikers) has restored an old farmhouse and furnished it with beds, a kitchen table and

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August 9, 1983, 42 years ago today: The next three-and-a-half miles were an easy walk through pleasant forests with no distant views. The Appalachian Trail then crossed New York Route 301 and ascended a very rocky trail alongside Canopus Lake. After a couple more miles, we stood on a rock outcrop near the north end of that lake which almost seemed to overlook two different lakes.

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August 9, 1983, 42 years ago today: Charlie started hiking at 8:00, just before a lively little thundershower kicked up. Pete and I waited it out a while before we left. Pete’s small transistor radio, on which we heard the forecast, called for widely scattered showers, so we had reason to believe that it would blow over quickly. It did. When it stopped, we were quickly on our way.

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August 8, 1983, 42 years ago today: I had hiked the preceding four miles without stopping, in one-and-a-half hours. I now possessed a half-hour cushion for my attempt to reach the monastery. I stumbled to the top of the ridge, where the Appalachian Trail came out onto an old dirt road.

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August 8, 1983, 42 years ago today: The first climb was a bear, even compared to the rest of the trail in this park. By the time I reached the ridge crest I was exhausted, and I had only come little more than a mile. It was depressing. I had the idea in the back of my mind that one or two days of hiking would restore all the conditioning lost in those few days at home.

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August 7, 1983, 42 years ago today: I left the Brien Shelter at 6:00. It had taken me an hour to regroup — psychologically more than physically. All day, I had been driving this out-of-shape body towards a single goal: that shelter. Then, I discovered I had to push it farther to water that probably did not exist. It was a somewhat discouraging prospect.

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August 7, 1983, 42 years ago today: I crossed New York Route 17 just after descending Agony Grind and entered Harriman State Park, a place historic on the AT. When the idea of this long-distance trail was conceived in 1921, only a few sizable stretches of existing trail could be incorporated.

We saw the first bears on the #AppalachianTrail on this day in 2013, about three miles after entering Shenandoah National Park. After spending the previous month in the incredibly rugged terrain of New Hampshire and southern Maine, Virginia felt like a super highway.

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August 6, 198, 42 years ago today: They dropped me off at 4:00 this afternoon, at the point where I left the trail on Monday. While I was getting my gear ready to resume my hike, a thru-hiker came by. I won’t use his real name or real trail name in this story. For the purposes of this tale, let’s say that his trail name was Crazy Charlie,

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August 5, 1983, 42 years ago today: Took the last of several days off at home.

From May 6, 1983: My camera received heavy use this morning, as I traversed another group of scenic ridges with equally picturesque names. The six miles of trail between Neels Gap and Tesnatee Gap featured a long uphill climb similar to yesterday’s and some steep downhills, but most of the trail was nicely graded.