July 4th, 1999
Independence Day. United States of America.

After many weeks of researching and learning about the Appalachian Trail I decided to take my first steps on it and see what it was all about.

The Appalachian trail stretches more than 2,160 miles from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine. It traverses the ridges of some of the most beautiful mount peaks east of the Mississippi river.

It passes through 14 states and is the longest marked footpath in the World.

On the 4th of July in 1999, Rob Stark, Tim Beebe and myself, Gordon Cimoli, decided to begin our journey on this legendary trail.

We walked only 13 miles that day, from North to South from Crandon to Bastian, Virginia. We had no packs but we did carry water.

During our 6 hour walk in the woods we experienced the full beauty and wonder of the Appalachian Trail-the AT...and from that experience I set off to continue the journey.

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