Blog No 42 The Appalachian Trail in the Fall
On this 2nd day of October, I'm reliving happy memories of hiking the Appalachian Trail in the fall. My inaugural hike, which I wrote about in a previous blog, was a section in Georgia with my son, Alec in August 2004, that had been inspired by reading Bill Byson’s A Walk in the Woods (1998). Over the next 5 years or so, I made short section hikes with my family and friends, usually 3 or 4 nights on the trail. I then began hiking almost exclusively with my brother, Garner. We settled into a routine with short hikes centered on a weekend, usually twice a year.
One fall we needed to complete a short section of the trail in southwestern Virginia that we had skipped; it was near the famous Partnership Shelter. This shelter was usually full, as it had a shower, and you could order pizzas that were delivered to you. Our group consisted of Megan, Alec, Garner and me. We began our hike late in the day, hiking through fallen leaves in a mixture of deciduous and pine forest, arriving at our campsite well after dark, a bit surprised we had not gotten lost. From there it was a relaxing and easy hike through woods and meadows. On the last morning we began hiking before daybreak, and in the early morning light we threaded our way through a herd of inquisitive cows on a sloping field that led to the road where we had parked our car.
All photos by author
