Dave Byrnes

Appalachian Trail - 1986

Overview Map Diary Pictures

Day:	077
Date:	Friday, 18 July 1986
Start:
Finish:
Daily AT Miles:	23.3
Daily Other Miles	0.4 (0.2 to spring, 0.2 to Shelter)
Total AT Miles:	1487.9
Total All Miles	1533.1
Weather:	Very warm, humid, partly cloudy.
Accommodation:
Nutrition:	Breakfast: Omelette, sausages, fries, orange juice, ice-cream. Lunch: Biscuits and peanut butter, candy bar. Dinner: Noodles and vegetables, instant pudding.
Aches:	Right foot, chafing.
Animals Seen:	2 small snakes, deer, grouse, chipmunks, squirrels.
People Seen:	5 AT-Thru-hikers (1 by sections), 2 day hikers, many others.
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:
Journal:	Got up at 6:30am to give myself eight hours sleep and packed up and left by 7:30am without breakfast because there was a diner just up the Trail. Although only two miles, it included a tough climb over Barrack Mountain. At the diner, I had a large breakfast before setting off for the remainder of what promised to be a hot humid day. Initially, there was a fair bit of road-walking as the Trail crossed back to the west bank of the Housatonic. As usual, I didn’t really mind the road-walk since I made better time and there were things to look at along the way. After the road, the Trail began climbing into the mountains and progress slowed. It was nice scenery in the forest, but marred by the hot humid weather which left me constantly sweating, and the bugs, especially mozzies, which tormented me. The sweat was washing off the repellent and I began to wonder if I would run out. Life wasn’t very pleasant. To top it off, the old blister next to the right big toe was hurting again and causing me to walk awkwardly. The views from the mountains were reduced by the heavy haze. I stopped for a late lunch at Sage’s Ravine, a beautiful shady glen. After that I pushed on another seven miles of slow progress over two mountains (Race and Everett) passing en route AT Thru-hikers, Stan and Linda Brooks, who were camped by the Trail. A Connecticut AMC ridge-runner at Sage’s Ravine had told me of a new Shelter, Glenbrook, which was my target. I eventually arrived there at 7:10pm to find already in residence “The Man Who Dares”, “Appalachian Al”, and Roy (all northbound, Roy by sections). They were really nice guys and we had a good chat. I was amused by “The Man Who Dares” wearing pyjamas (and slippers) to bed, and apparently being accompanied much of the time by his father in a Recreation Vehicle. I went to bed at 9pm, a little worried about the warm night and bugs.