AT 1988 Trip Plan

“No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.”

Field Marshall Helmuth Carl Bernard von Moltke

No trip itinerary survives more than a few weeks on The Trail, either, but make one anyway.

Behold one page of my 1988 thru-hike trip plan.

AT 1988 Trip Plan page 1

The complete itinerary is included below in searchable text format. Soon my 1988 trail journal will be posted, so you can see how closely I followed the plan.

(miles from Springer)
Springer Mountain 0.0 6/6 M
Gooch Gap 16.7 6/7 T
Neaes Gap 31.6 6/8 W
Rocky Knob 49.4 6/9 R
Addis Gap 63.4 6/10 F
Muskrat Creek 80.7 6/11 S
Rock Gap 109.6 6/12 S
(Buried drop)
Cold Spring 125.7 6/13 M
Sassafras Gap 144.1 6/14 T
BOX 1 164.4 Fontana Dam, NC PO 28733 2mW
Fontana Dam S 165.7 6/15 W
(miles from Fontana Dam)
Derrick Knob 20.4 6/16 R
Ice Water Spring 40.7 6/17 F
Cosby Knob 60.7 6/18 S
Groundhog Cr 78.3 6/19 S
Deer Park Mtn 100.7 6/20 M
Box 2 103.9 Hot Springs, NC 28743 0m G
Little Laurel 123.2 6/21 T
Hogback Ridge 144 6/22 W
No Business Knob 162 6/23 R
Cherry Gap 185 6/24 F
Roan Highlands 203.3 6/25 S
Apple House 212.8 6/26 S
Box 3 213.3 Elk Park, NC 28622 2.5mE G
Laurel Fork 234.4 6/27 M
Vandeventer 251.2 6/28 T
Abingdon Gap 274.1 6/29 W
Box 4 283.9 Damascus, VA 24236 0m GLM
(miles from Damascus)
campsite 11.8 6/30 R
Grayson Highlands Park 33.7 c1.2mE 7/1 F
Trimpi Shelter 53.6 7/2 S
Chatfield 70.9 74.9 G 7/3 S
Knot Mole Branch 89.7 7/4 M
Jenkins 109.6 7/5 T
(121.2 Bland, VA 1.8mW GM)
Helvey’s Mill 123.5 7/6 W
Wapiti II 146.6 7/7 R
Box 5 162.8 Pearisburg, VA 21334 1mE GM 7/8 F
Pine Swamp 181.5 7/9 S
Sarver Cabin 205.9 7/10 S
Catawba 226.3 c G 7/11 M
Lamberts Meadow 239.0 7/12 T
Box 6 248.8 Cloverdale, VA 24077
Wilson Creek 261.4 7/13 W
Cove Mtn 274.3 7/14 R
Thunder Hill 290.2 7/15 F
Johns Hollow 307.5 7/16 S
Brown Mtn Creek 325 7/17 S
The Priest 347 7/18 M
Box 7 351.7 Tyro, VA 22976 1.2mE G
Maupin Field 360 7/19 T
Waynesboro motel 377.7 7/20 W
(miles from Rockfish Gap)
Blackrock Hut 20.1 7/21 R
Hightop Hut 41.5 7/22 F
(Lewis Mtn Campground 53.1 GLC .1mW)
Rock Springs Hut 65.4 7/23 S
Pass Mtn Hut 80.4 7/24 S
Tom Floyd Wayside 103.5 7/25 M
(miles from Front Royal, VA)
Box 8 6.8 Linden, VA 22642 0m
Manassas Gap 10.6 7/26 T
Rod Hollow 24.2 7/27 W
Keys Gap 47.8 7/28 R
(Harpers Ferry, WV, ATC HQ)
Crampton Gap 64.6 7/29 F
Box 9 64.2 Burkittsville, MD 21718 1.2mE G
Hemlock Hill 7/30 S
(PA-MD line 94.7)
(miles from PA-MD line)
Tumbling Run 7.8 7/31 S
Birch Run 27.0 8/1 M
Moyers Campground 47.6 8/2 T
Darlington 70.3 8/3 W
Box 10 82.1 Duncannon, PA 17020 0m GLM
Peters Mtn 92.5 8/4 R
Rausch Gap 109.8 8/5 F
Hertzlein Campsite 129.9 8/6 S
Port Clinton 148.4 8/7 S
Box 11 148.4 Port Clinton, PA 19549
Allentown Hiking Club 172.8 8/8 M
George Outerbridge 191.4 8/9 T
Leroy Smith 208.1 8/10 W
Box 12 227.9 Delaware Water Gap, PA 18327 0m RGLM
(miles from DW Gap)
*** *** motel 8/11 R
Brink Rd 24.5 8/12 F
High Point 44.1 8/13 S
campsite 67.6 8/14 S
Box 13 (motel) 89.5 8/15 M
William Brien Mem. 101.2 8/16 T
Dennytown Rd campsite 124.6 8/17 W
Morgan Stewart 144.1 8/18 R
Webstuck 160.5 8/19 F
(CT-NY line) 161.4)
(miles from CT-NY line)
Mt Algo Lean-to 11.0 8/20 S
Box 14 11.3 Kent, CT 06757 .5mE GLM
Dark Entry 24.3 8/21 S
Pine Knoll Lean-to 41.8 8/22 M
Bond Lean-to 58.4 8/23 T
Glen Brook 67 8/24 W
Mt Wilcox Lean-to 86.1 8/25 R
Box 15 93.0 Tyringham, MA 01264 0.0m L
October Mtn Lean-to 108.1 8/26 F
Bassett Brook campsites 132.1 8/27 S
(VT-MA state line) 145.9
(miles from VT-MA state line)
Congdon Camp 10.0 8/28 S
Story Spring 32.9 8/29 M
Mad Tom 52.4 8/30 T
Greenwall 73.3 8/31 W
Box 16 75.2 Wallingford, VT 05773 3.5mW GLM
Governor Clement 87.1 9/1 R
Stony Brook 104.7 9/2 F
Cloudland 122.5 9/3 S
Box 17 137.5 Hanover, MA 03755 0.0m GLM
Velvet Rocks 139 9/4 S
Smarts Mtn 161.7 9/5 M
Jeffers Brook 184 9/6 T
Kinsman Pond 202.7 9/7 W
Mt Guyot 223 9/8 R
Box 18 (motel) 246.6 Mt Washington, NM 03589 9/9 F
Osgood tentsite 255.2 9/10 S
Rattle River 277.9 9/11 S
(Gorham, NH) 279.5 G 1mE 9/12 M
(ME-NH line 0.0)
(miles from ME-NH line)
Carlo Col 0.5 9/13 T
Frye Notch 19.9 9/14 W
Elephant Mtn 39.9 9/15 R
Piazza Rock Lean-to 62.2 9/16 F
Spaulding Mtn Lean-to 78.5 9/17 S
Box 19 91.1 Stratton, ME 04982 5mW GLM
Horns Pond Lean-to 96.4 9/18 S
Jerome Brook Lean-to 109.9 9/19 M
Pleasant Pond Lean-to 133.4 9/20 T
Breakneck Ridge Lean-to 153.9 9/21 W
Box 20 162.9
Old Stage Road Lean-to 167.1 9/22 R
Cloud Pond Lean-to 185.5 9/23 F
Logan Brook Lean-to 208.8 9/24 S
Potaywadjo Sp Lean-to 231.5 9/25 S
(Abol Bridge 264.5 G 0m)
Daicey Pond 271.8 9/26 M
Baxter Peak 279.0 9/27 T

For my 2012 long section hike to attempt Trail Completion, I am using a spreadsheet with some useful features for revisions. I’ll cover that in a later post.

Notes:

  • Trip plan was composed on a text editor running on a home-brew PC compatible with 8088 CPU, printed on an Epson MX80 dot matrix printer, and then reduced to half-size on a copier. Editor was see.exe (bundled with the Desmet C compiler) which I still sometimes use today.
  • Trail miles are given from state borders and other landmarks as noted because the Appalachian Trail Data Book 1987 presented miles that way, not cumulative miles from Springer.
  • When depending on mail drops, as I was, be certain to add day-of-week to your trip plan. Arriving at a post office on Sunday may result in disappointment. Now with some post offices having reduced hours on Saturday this is even more of a factor. On the other hand, you will diverge from your original schedule eventually, so be aware.
  • Although I didn’t get as far as New Hampshire, I now realize that I over-estimated how far I could walk each day on that section of the trail. Pay attention to large daily elevation changes.