George Steffanos

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May 10, 1983, 43 years ago today: By 4:30, when I reached Betty’s Creek Gap, I had already surpassed my previous longest day, having hiked almost seventeen miles. At that point I caught an intense second wind and made the ensuing two-and-a-half-mile ascent of Albert Mountain without a stop.

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

May 10 at 5:06pmWeb
Show threadGeorge Steffanos22h ago
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The Appalachian Trail climbed diagonally across a steep mountain slope through dense thickets of rhododendron and other trees with a precipitous drop often only inches away to my right and vertical rock walls rising to my left. I crossed a gravel United States Forest Service road a couple of times before the steep, rocky quarter-mile scramble over giant boulders to the summit and its fire tower.
Show threadGeorge Steffanos22h ago
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There were some great views from the sun-warmed rocks around the summit, and the fire tower provided us with vistas which eclipsed those we had experienced this morning on Standing Indian. After our break atop the fire tower, all that remained for Dave and me was a half-mile hobble to Big Spring Shelter, where I discovered amazing new frontiers of pain the moment I removed my boots and full circulation of blood returned to my feet.
Show threadGeorge Steffanos22h ago

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They were brutally bruised and battered by the miles. So were Dave’s. We didn’t care. We had come almost twenty miles today and passed the hundred-mile mark on our hikes.

From my book Then the Hail Came (A Humorous and Truthful Account of a 1983 Appalachian Trail Thru-hike). Available in paperback, audiobook and eBook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QFG4ZR6

Then the Hail Came: A Humorous and Truthful Account of a 1983 Appalachian Trail Thru-hike: Steffanos, George: 9798792784185: Amazon.com: Books

Then the Hail Came: A Humorous and Truthful Account of a 1983 Appalachian Trail Thru-hike [Steffanos, George] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Then the Hail Came: A Humorous and Truthful Account of a 1983 Appalachian Trail Thru-hike

Show threadGeorge Steffanos22h ago
You can read or listen to my book for free if you are a Kindle Unlimited eBook or an Audible Plus audiobook subscriber. Both options are available from Amazon, where the paperback, eBook or audiobook can also be purchased.