I had intended to begin hiking the Appalachian Trail for the second time in March 2025, forty-two years after my 1983 thru-hike. That was a long and convoluted journey, but nothing compared to the twists that brought me to the realization that I wanted to do it all again in my sixties. I will probably write up a long-story-short version of that for my next post, but I am more interested in posting trail stories and trail pics here. If I create that second post it will be the last until the hiking begins this April.
The Taconic Range of northwest Connecticut and southwest Massachusetts viewed from Rands View in northern Connecticut during my 1983 hike. August 14, 1983.
My 2025 thru-hike almost seemed fated when Dave Malone, my friend and hiking companion for the first 250-plus miles in 1983, was put back in touch with me after losing touch for many years. We were reunited by another good friend and hiking companion from 1983, Alan Strackeljahn. Dave wanted to give an Appalachian Trail thru-hike another shot, too. We both knew we needed a hiking partner to more safely attempt the trek as senior citizens and suddenly each of us was reunited with a great trail partner who wanted the same thing. After a few conversations we settled on March 10, 2025 as our projected start date in Georgia.
Then in September 2024 Hurricane Helene devastated the southern third of the Appalachian Trail. Dave and I are both purists when it comes to our own thru-hikes. Neither of us wanted to do a lot of road walking around closed trail sections or do some complex flip-flop route to avoid the worst damaged sections down south until the end and hope they were restored by the time we got back to them. The thru-hike would have to wait until March 2026. We needed a new plan for 2025.
The Final Revised Plan, July 2025
We came up with a plan for two hikes this year, a spring Appalachian Trail hike from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia through northern Massachusetts and a September thru-hike of Vermont’s Long Trail. The spring hike was going to be the shakedown hike for two older guys, so we were planning to ease back into long distance hiking and take up to two months for this hike.
To make a long story short, fate has killed the spring hike. Dave had important family matters he needed to deal with. I had medical issues. A very bad pinched nerve in my neck kept me off my feet for six weeks. At its worst I was sleeping only an hour per night. I had also been dealing with a wound on the bottom of my foot that refused to heal. It was under control until my six-week layoff. Once I started walking again it appears my foot grew “soft” while I was laid up. I could not get surgery scheduled in time to recover for the fall hike, so I am going to have to roll the dice on my foot getting me through the Long Trail and have the operation when I get back. Over the past two months I have managed to get my foot toughened up again, so I feel I have a good chance.
The southern 120-odd miles of the Appalachian Trail in Vermont follow that state's famed Long Trail over the crest of the Green Mountains before turning east towards the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Many thru-hikers, including me, regret missing the remaining 150 miles of the Long Trail north to the Canadian border. We vow to return some day and hike the whole Long Trail.
The Long Trail is a challenging hike. Since we were forced to cancel our spring shakedown hike, we are tacking the last hundred miles of that hike onto the beginning of this hike. We are going to hike north on the Appalachian Trail from northwest Connecticut to its Long Trail junction at the Massachusetts/Vermont border. We are taking that stretch very easy, giving ourselves two weeks to cover those hundred miles. The Long Trail from the Massachusetts to the Canadian border should take about another month. I plan to blog about this journey, with photos and words posted here. I also plan to write a new book about this journey if my foot holds up and I successfully complete the hike.
After that comes March 2026 and my sequel Appalachian Trail hike, which I also plan to blog here. This will also be the subject of a new book if these old legs get me to Katahdin. I hope you come along.
The view from Baker Peak on the Long Trail/A.T. in the Green Mountains of Vermont, August 24, 1983.