Ray pointing to the southern terminus of the AT.
This page was to be devoted to notes about my Appalachian Trail thru-hike. A few points are covered below. I recently gave a PowerPoint Presentation (2.5M) about my thru-hike. The audio portion of my talk given at Armstrong Atlantic is available for the RealMedia Player. The talk is 55 minutes and can be played while going through the accompanying PowerPoint Presentation. The talk file is 13M and may take a minute or so to download, but it is "almost like being there." Those interested in thru-hiking or discussing my thru-hike are welcome to contact me. Here are some very nice pictures taken from the Thru-hike courtesy of Fish out of Water. Herer are some awesome summit photos taken by dear friends Barry Fussell and Linda Andrews.
On May 11, 1995 my hiking partner "Fish out of Water" and I began a journey like none we had previously undertaken: a pure thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, all 2,169 miles of it in 1995. We hiked together for 6 weeks when I developed a serious ankle injury. I encouraged Fish to proceed on without while I rested the ankle. He reluctantly pushed on. Unfortunately, we never saw each other again on the hike. After three days of ice, I decided my dream would happen then or perhaps never. I began hiking and the pain in my ankle returned. I decided to push through the pain and a couple of weeks later, after some intense pain, the injury simply vanished. I was on my way to completing a real walk in the woods.
I pushed on during the next 8 weeks averaging over 27 miles per day with no days off. I completed my pure thru-hike on August 16, 1995. It took 97 days to complete the Appalachian Trail with 7 days off during those 97. The hike was a marvelous experience and I would like to next hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Fish also completed his hike of the Appalachian Trail. Today we share stories about the Trail each time we can get together.
This image of our feet, a couple of weeks into the trip, is a small indication of the determination it takes to complete a thru-hike.
Check out a fellow thru-hiker's page Mark Holmes or Trailplace for more information about the AT.