Tuesday – 26 May

2026 Appalachian Trail plans are to fill in the section from Rutland, Vermont, to Dalton, Massachusetts, 134 miles; and a short section in Massachusetts, north of Great Barrington, 25 miles. Filling in these sections will mean I have completed the Appalachian Trail from the start in Georgia North to Pinkham Notch in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, 1,875 miles. I am not sure the last 300+ miles north of Pinkham Notch are on my bucket list although Bob P and I have had conversations about hiking the 100 Mile Wilderness in Maine.

My plan is to drive from Manassas to Williamstown, Massachusetts on Tuesday and have dinner and stay with an old IBM friend, Bob M. Wednesday morning I will be meeting a shuttle driver, another Bob, for the ride to the Inn at Long Trail in Rutland, Vermont.

I will hike south for a week and take a zero day at the Wicked Waystation lodge for two nights. My pack will be extra heavy during the first section with a week’s food supply. There are no easy resupplies without hitching into town. I have mailed my food drop to the Wicked Waystation for the next section. My food will be much lighter for the second half since there is on trail resupply after four nights. After another day or two, Bob P will meet me for the second half of this section.

Bob P and I also plan to complete a short section that we skipped in 2024. We will probably take a day or two off and then cover that section in three days, two nights.

After a long drive from Manassas to Williamstown, Massachusetts, it is great to visit Bob M again and meet Linda. Dinner with Bob and Linda was a short walk then followed with some local ice cream.

Tomorrow, time to get started. I meet Bob the shuttle driver at nine for a ride to the Inn at Long Trail. After a steep, uphill half mile I will be back on the AT where I finished after heading south through the Whites. A short 3.7 miles on the AT will get me to my first campsite.