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June 2, 1983: After rolling along the ridge crest over Round Bald and Jane Bald, both of which topped out at just over 5800 feet, the Appalachian Trail maintained those lofty heights as it crossed a spur ridge of Grassy Ridge Bald north of the actual summit. The AT descended a few hundred feet.

#backpacking #hiking #landscapephotography #NorthCarolina #nature #mountains #Tennessee #AppalachianTrail

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July 26, 1983: The next two miles or so of trail was one unbroken rock pile. Using mind control techniques which will be described in my next book, The Principles of Psychotic Backpacking, I convinced myself that Blue Mountain was throwing everything it had into one final vain attempt to destroy me, and just kept plugging away, ignoring the beating my feet were taking.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors #pennsylvania #nature #forest #mountains #AppalachianTrail

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October 2, 1983: A side trail brought me to Big Niagara Falls (no, the other one). The falls were not enormous (no, that’s the other one), but they were impressive enough, and quite scenic.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors #landscapephotography #Maine #nature #forest #mountains #autumn #AppalachianTrail

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September 28, 1983: At the bottom of the long descent from the Chairback range was the second-biggest water ford on the Appalachian Trail: the West Branch of the Pleasant River.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors #landscapephotography #Maine #nature #forest #mountains #AppalachianTrail

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August 31, 1983: The Appalachian Trail followed some dirt roads through a pleasant farm valley encircled by mountains and reentered the forest to begin a rather taxing climb up to Holts Ledge, the first real mountain it had thus far traversed in New Hampshire. It kept turning onto one woods road after another, and each was a bit steeper than the preceding one.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors #landscapephotography #NewHampshire #nature #forest #mountains #AppalachianTrail

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June 2, 1983: From the bottom of Hughes Gap, I began the fabled ascent of Roan Mountain. Roan is a sprawling mountain. The scenic section of the Unaka Mountains I would be passing through today and tomorrow, known as the Roan Highlands, stretches for about twenty miles.

#backpacking #hiking #nature #NorthCarolina #hikingadventures #landscapephotography #forest #Tennessee #mountains #AppalachianTrail

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July 7, 1983: A ledge just above the AT along the ascent had a 180-degree view stretching from southwest to northwest. To the south, Skyline Drive snaked around Hogback's green summits and followed the Blue Ridge towards Stony Man, Hawksbill and beyond.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors #landscapephotography #Virginia #mountains #nature #forest #nationalparks #AppalachianTrail

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May 24, 1983: I awoke cold and clammy this morning and lay in my sleeping bag fascinated, watching tiny wisps of cloud swirl in through the gaping holes in the shelter’s wall above my head, drift leisurely across the ceiling, and slip out of the open side.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors #landscapephotography #NorthCarolina #Tennessee #nature #mountains #forest #AppalachianTrail

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September 25, 1983: I became briefly lost while returning down the side trail from Moxie Bald to the AT.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors #landscapephotography #Maine #nature #mountains #forest #AppalachianTrail