So let me tell you a little bit about my time in New York. It was hectic to say the least but fun-filled. Got up really early in the morning and went to everybody's favorite NYC weekday destination - the Today Show in Rockafeller Center. I got to actually shake hands with hosts Meredith Vierra and Matt Lauer. Martha Stewart was doing a segment and Meredith came over and brought us a taste. Then Matt saw our very ghetto sign and read that we had traveled along the AT and talked with us a few minutes. Very cool. Let me also tell you that I am wearing hiker clothes that have travelled all the way with me so I was not in my finest. After that, we walked around the city a bit and went to where Hobbit's daughter works - Murray's cheese. We got a personal tour and I got to check out how cheese is aged in the cheese cave and lots of sampling. Bought some cheese for the trail and then went to grab a slice of NY's famous pizza. We were all pretty tired by this point so we headed back to the apartment and rested for a bit. Rather my friends rested and I went, hailed my very first taxi on my own and tracked down my shoes at a shipping center in the Bronx. Go me. Had more trouble finding my new pack - eventually found it at a Fed Ex center in Manhattan. I had the pleasure of carrying around the large box to the nice restaurant we went to for dinner that evening. Nothing like synthetic clothing and a big cardboard box to make restaurant folks welcome you in. Actually this place was great and the food was outstanding. I even tried lobster for the first time and it was all it was cracked up to be and more. Mmm good! Hobbit was kind enough to treat me and I am ever so thankful!
5/24/07 20.4 miles to Kent, CT Took the early train from NYC back out to Pawling, NY. I even found my way around the city on my own. I am pretty proud of that as it is a very confusing city. One member of a trail angel family came to meet me at the station to pick up my stuff so I could do a slackpack to their house later that day. They call themselves Mac and Cheese - String is the daughter of the macs. They are the greatest family and I so enjoyed meeting them. They open up their home to thru-hikers and help them out, feed them, let them shower, give them a place to sleep that is not on the trail. Anyways, Cough Drop (from earlier in my hike) wanted to come say hello as he was passing through so we spent about 15 minutes catching up while he drove me to the trailhead. Him and his mother were headed to the beach for the weekend. It was so good to see them if only for a brief moment. Got back on the trail and it felt good to be back in the woods. The city was fun but a bit too chaotic for my taste. I love the simple rythmn of the trail, it is now a part of me. Today was incredibly hot and humid. Little did I know that tomorrow would be worse. But I kept trucking and eventually made it to Kent, CT. Mr. Mac picked me up at the trail head and took me to their house. Met back up with Tau there and had a wonderful dinner with Mr. Mac and String. So nice to have conversation and wine as we watched the sun disappear on their deck. What a pleasant evening. It was definitely a nice transition from the city back into trail life.
5/25/07 26.3 miles to a campsite near Great Falls. Had a bit of a late start this morning but it started out wondefully. Watched the sun come up via my bed on the sofa in the covered porch of Mac and Cheese's home. What a great way to wake up. Had a nice breakfast with the family and then off to Kent. I had to wait for the outfitter to open to replace my broken trekking pole. I had an enjoyable time people watching in downtown Kent, a small New England town. The outfitter apparantly broke down on the way to work so it was late to open. Luckily they had the piece I needed and it was covered under warranty so free - free is always good! Got a ride back to the trail by a nice Irish woman. That's where my late start came in - on the trial by 9:45 am is not always a good thing when it is supposed to be 95 degrees with 100% humidity. Holy cow it was warm. I was crawling up the mountains. I am not sure how I did so many miles with the heat but I just kept trucking. Took several breaks to soak the feet and even cooked dinner before moving on. I walked until past dark. It was at least cooler by this spot. I heard thunder and lightening in the distance so I thought I would have to go all the way to the next shelter but luckily it blew over so I camped in a nice open field under the stars. It was actually my first official night on the trail by myself. Scary a bit but empowering.
5/26/07 28.5 miles to MA 7 and Corn Crib. Another long day but it was a teensy bit cooler and a with a touch of a breeze. My appetite has started to be affected by the heat. I barely ate my dinner last night and I barely choked down the oatmeal this morning. This is not such a good thing when you are pulling down so many miles. My body is not happy with me. Burning too many calories and not inputting near enough. I am also really tired of most of my food. I guess I need to rethink some things the next time I am in town. Hiked six miles and came to Salsibury, CT. I met some folks having a yard sale that filled up my water bottles for me and chatted for a bit. Nice folks. Onward over the many mountains. Climbed Lions Head, Bear Mountain and Everett. Now Everett, not to be confused with Mt. Everest, felt like Everest on the way up due to the very steep climb. Saw all kinds of people today as it is Memorial day weekend and a very scenic area with lots of road access. Stopped and chatted with some but mainly kept moving. When I was about 3 miles from my final destination for the day, something major happened. Holy blood-sucking mosquitos batman! I hit the infamous Massachusetts mosquitos. These things were insane - probably 200 of them swarming me at once. I had heard about them but never dreamed they would be like that. I ran through that mile section in no time at all but it felt like forever. They got a bit better after that but not much. I probably got 50 bites, most of them around my armpit. Why do they like that area so much? Anyways, got to the road and was pretty excited about staying at the Corn Crib and I heard they had icecream for sale. Well the place was closed for the evening. I should have known but I guess I was being hopeful. I decided to still crash there as I was exhausted. Ended up sleeping in the greenhouse. Really neat place, wish I could have met the owner. Really need to figure out the food situation as I had trouble with dinner again tonight.
5/27/07 14.6 miles to Upper Goose Pond Cabin. So today I hit my lowest point on the trail. I am writing this a day later and things are much better but yesterday was definitely the hardest day for me so far. I got up just really exhausted. Doing these kind of miles over this terrain is just not a smart idea. I guess the combination of miles, heat, bugs, and not being able to eat caught up with me. I should have realized it was coming. I got on the trail really early but my heart was just not in it. My blisters on my heels also had come back with new shoes and I am losing the same toenail that just grew back. It was not my morning. I got about 6 miles to the first shelter and met this great family. I must have looked a mess. We got to talking and they were heading out a mile down the trail and heading home. They offered to take me a bit farther down the trail if it would help me out. This is called yellow-blazing, something I did not want to be a part of on the trail, but today was not my day. I decided to jump ahead about 12 miles and then hike 7 miles to this really great cabin called Upper Goose pond. I figured 15 was more doable than 27. I plan on coming back and doing that section when I finish but doing it today might have been hike ending for me and I am not ready to leave the trail. I guess I just felt that I needed to be at that cabin, it was a weird feeling. Thanks so much to Jessica, Brian, Eli and Wyatt (and Emma the dog) for helping a very weary hiker. They dropped me and already I felt a bit better. It was still a tough hike for me to get there (8 miles roughly) but I made it. Tau was there and also feeling sluggish. I told her what happened. Mainly I was still trying to justify it to myself. Took my shoes off and just relaxed. I jumped into the pond, bathed, swam a bit, canoed, sunbathed, read, journaled and made some new friends - the caretakers Mike and Penny. It was exactly what I needed. I am still a bit upset with myself that I skipped a few miles but in the long run, if it gets me to Kathadin, I am okay with that. Sometimes you just need to listen to your body.
5/28/07 21.1 miles to Dalton, MA. Got this morning feeling 100% better, thank God. Mike and Penny made us rasberry pancakes and I was on my way. Tau had decided to stay the night because it was such a great spot. Did I mention I was finally able to eat a full dinner last night and the caretakers even gave us saw fresh veggies to go with it. The food definitely made me feel better, my body was a bit malnourished. Got on the trail and even my feet felt okay. I guess attitude is everything. A little breakdown goes a long way. Made pretty good time today, even got the iPod out and danced a bit down the trail. It felt good to be enjoying my hike again. I guess I lost that a little over the past few days. Got into Dalton and met Tom right away. Tom is a magical trail angel that lets thru-hikers stay at his house. What I didn't know is that he lets you shower and even stay inside on the couch, what a treat! The laundry is closed today so I did a little handwashing. Pilgrim, from earlier in the hike, came to help Tau out and gave me a lift to get some dinner and is going to help me slack tomorrow. What a great guy. So many people out here to help us - it truly unbelievable. I know this section of my hike is going to be different. There are not as many thru-hikers around and the terrain gets tougher. I feel like today is the first day of the rest of my hike. I know I can make it, I just needed to have another award-winning growing experience. Here's to hoping I stay safe, continue growing and reach my dream.
Thanks for listening to my ramblings and again for all the love and suppor t that you all offer thru emails, comments and phone messages. They get me through! More pics later.
Love,
Kentucky Blue
Monday, May 28, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
I want to be a part of it - New York, New York!
Start spreading the news, da da da da da. Ha Ha. We have been singing that Frank Sinatra song since we got into the state. Now we have made it to the big apple. :)
5/19/07 17.3 miles to Wildcat Mountain Shelter. Damp cool day outside today. Tried out my new pack this morning and decided after the top of the first mountain that I was not a fan. I called REI from the top and ordered the one I should have gotten but was didn't so that is now coming to New York City and I will get it in a few days. Started raining shortly after that first hill and continued on most of the day. Sometimes heavy, sometimes not. We crossed over to New York after about 10 miles and that is when some serious rocks started. No one said there would be rocks in New York. It was mainly rocks on top of the ridge but with the rain, it was super slippery. I didn't know I signed up for rock climbing when I started the trail. Somehow Hobbit and myself made it through the day with only minor injuries (both of us scraped our knee on our last mountain of the day). Got into the shelter pretty early and climbed into dry clothes and our sleeping bags. Several section hikers caught up with us here and we all spent a cozy night listening to the rain and swapping stories. Even Squire made it. Happy to be warm and dry in my sleeping bag.
5/20/07 21.7 miles to Palisades Parkway and Holiday Inn Express. So this day turned out a bit differently than I planned. Rainy and chilly this morning so no one wanted to get going out on the rocks again but by the time we did, the rain had tapered off thank God. And what a climb it was this morning - more hand climbing over the slippery rocks and the terrain was tough. Apparantly our days of 25 miles are over - we are in New England. Walking along the trail this morning and saw a bear! I actually got a look at this one. He was probably a yearling and very curious - even got up on his haunches to check us out. Definitely glad we were all travelling ina group. Hobbit tried to get me to walk in the back and I said no way! Got to the road and all of us were exhausted already after only 10 miles. Tried to call this adventure leadership camp that was in the area that help out hikers with slackpacking and lodging. Couldn't get ahold of them all day so on we went. The terrain got better and it turned out to be a beautiful day. Got to go through Lemon Squeezer and ran into all kinds of day hikers. Got to the very busy Palisades Parkway and both of us were pretty tired and ready to quit for the day. Hobbit was nice enough to splurge on a hotel room so I got my own queen size bed for the night and a much needed shower. I bought a very large pizza and cheesecake and we were set for the night.
5/21/07 26.5 miles to a campsite 1.5 miles from 301. Long day today and happy to be setting up camp - cowbody style. Had a great continental breakfast at the hotel - filled up on all kinds of juices, we about cleaned them out. Got a ride back out to the trail from a guy getting ready to graduate from West Point this week. He is the son of a guy that has been reading Hobbits online trail journal - how cool is that. Back on the trail and headed up several steep climbs. At the top of one of the climbs, I passed a rattlesnake sunning itself on the rocks. I was trying to tell Hobbit about it and he stopped right by the snake, I just couldn't get the words out. Glad it turned out okay. That snake must have been old to not have rattled at us! On the climb up Bear Mountain, we ran into Holly and Amanda again. They are section hikers who were headed to the hotel we were at the night before. It was pretty cool to see that the trail headed right in the Bear Mountain Zoo so we checked out the school groups and the critters. Across the Hudson River with some neat views of the skyline of New York City and up to Graymoor Monestary. Had a nice lunch there in the afternoon and back on the trail. Long afternoon of hiking but we made it to the road we wanted to get to. It took us awhile to find a campsite and it wasn't the best but we were tired so there we camped.
5/22/07 22.8 miles to Pawling, NY and then the train to NYC. Got up and out of camp by 6 am. A little motivation goes a long way. I was really tired this morning, guess I will be needing the day off tomorrow. Stopped and had several snacks, trying to get myself some energy. All of us were pretty pooped. There are so many ticks in the area that the trail conference posts signs at all the road crossings warning hikers about lyme disease. One of the symptoms is being really fatigued so ofcourse everyone is paranoid about it. I am definitely keeping a look out as I find several ticks everyday. Made pretty good time today even though I felt sluggish. Got to Pawling before 3 pm. Grabbed a sandwich and some soda and bought our tickets for the city. Pretty exciting to sit on the train and people watch after all this time. There is so many people and they all smell so clean and they are all in their own little worlds. Got into Grand Central Station and it was crazy. Everybody rushing around trying to get somewhere. It is definitely a different world than the one I live in on the trail. Hobbit's daughter picked us up there because we couldn't have gotten anywhere on our own. Walked around a bit and found a nice irish pub for dinner. I finally got a black bean burger! Headed towards Time Square and that was awesome being there, especially since we had our packs and still hadn't showered yet. What a surreal experience. Took the subway to her place and tried to figure out what is going on with my packages of new shoes and a new pack. Happy to be here!!
5/23/07 ZERO DAY ZERO DAY!!! Hitting the town today so I will post you on all of our adventures later.
Love,
KY Blue
5/19/07 17.3 miles to Wildcat Mountain Shelter. Damp cool day outside today. Tried out my new pack this morning and decided after the top of the first mountain that I was not a fan. I called REI from the top and ordered the one I should have gotten but was didn't so that is now coming to New York City and I will get it in a few days. Started raining shortly after that first hill and continued on most of the day. Sometimes heavy, sometimes not. We crossed over to New York after about 10 miles and that is when some serious rocks started. No one said there would be rocks in New York. It was mainly rocks on top of the ridge but with the rain, it was super slippery. I didn't know I signed up for rock climbing when I started the trail. Somehow Hobbit and myself made it through the day with only minor injuries (both of us scraped our knee on our last mountain of the day). Got into the shelter pretty early and climbed into dry clothes and our sleeping bags. Several section hikers caught up with us here and we all spent a cozy night listening to the rain and swapping stories. Even Squire made it. Happy to be warm and dry in my sleeping bag.
5/20/07 21.7 miles to Palisades Parkway and Holiday Inn Express. So this day turned out a bit differently than I planned. Rainy and chilly this morning so no one wanted to get going out on the rocks again but by the time we did, the rain had tapered off thank God. And what a climb it was this morning - more hand climbing over the slippery rocks and the terrain was tough. Apparantly our days of 25 miles are over - we are in New England. Walking along the trail this morning and saw a bear! I actually got a look at this one. He was probably a yearling and very curious - even got up on his haunches to check us out. Definitely glad we were all travelling ina group. Hobbit tried to get me to walk in the back and I said no way! Got to the road and all of us were exhausted already after only 10 miles. Tried to call this adventure leadership camp that was in the area that help out hikers with slackpacking and lodging. Couldn't get ahold of them all day so on we went. The terrain got better and it turned out to be a beautiful day. Got to go through Lemon Squeezer and ran into all kinds of day hikers. Got to the very busy Palisades Parkway and both of us were pretty tired and ready to quit for the day. Hobbit was nice enough to splurge on a hotel room so I got my own queen size bed for the night and a much needed shower. I bought a very large pizza and cheesecake and we were set for the night.
5/21/07 26.5 miles to a campsite 1.5 miles from 301. Long day today and happy to be setting up camp - cowbody style. Had a great continental breakfast at the hotel - filled up on all kinds of juices, we about cleaned them out. Got a ride back out to the trail from a guy getting ready to graduate from West Point this week. He is the son of a guy that has been reading Hobbits online trail journal - how cool is that. Back on the trail and headed up several steep climbs. At the top of one of the climbs, I passed a rattlesnake sunning itself on the rocks. I was trying to tell Hobbit about it and he stopped right by the snake, I just couldn't get the words out. Glad it turned out okay. That snake must have been old to not have rattled at us! On the climb up Bear Mountain, we ran into Holly and Amanda again. They are section hikers who were headed to the hotel we were at the night before. It was pretty cool to see that the trail headed right in the Bear Mountain Zoo so we checked out the school groups and the critters. Across the Hudson River with some neat views of the skyline of New York City and up to Graymoor Monestary. Had a nice lunch there in the afternoon and back on the trail. Long afternoon of hiking but we made it to the road we wanted to get to. It took us awhile to find a campsite and it wasn't the best but we were tired so there we camped.
5/22/07 22.8 miles to Pawling, NY and then the train to NYC. Got up and out of camp by 6 am. A little motivation goes a long way. I was really tired this morning, guess I will be needing the day off tomorrow. Stopped and had several snacks, trying to get myself some energy. All of us were pretty pooped. There are so many ticks in the area that the trail conference posts signs at all the road crossings warning hikers about lyme disease. One of the symptoms is being really fatigued so ofcourse everyone is paranoid about it. I am definitely keeping a look out as I find several ticks everyday. Made pretty good time today even though I felt sluggish. Got to Pawling before 3 pm. Grabbed a sandwich and some soda and bought our tickets for the city. Pretty exciting to sit on the train and people watch after all this time. There is so many people and they all smell so clean and they are all in their own little worlds. Got into Grand Central Station and it was crazy. Everybody rushing around trying to get somewhere. It is definitely a different world than the one I live in on the trail. Hobbit's daughter picked us up there because we couldn't have gotten anywhere on our own. Walked around a bit and found a nice irish pub for dinner. I finally got a black bean burger! Headed towards Time Square and that was awesome being there, especially since we had our packs and still hadn't showered yet. What a surreal experience. Took the subway to her place and tried to figure out what is going on with my packages of new shoes and a new pack. Happy to be here!!
5/23/07 ZERO DAY ZERO DAY!!! Hitting the town today so I will post you on all of our adventures later.
Love,
KY Blue
Picture Time
So I am finally able to get some pictures uploaded. Hope you enjoy. The half gallon challenge, met at the official halfway point (big sign), climbing up the many rocks in Pennsylvania, which way do i go?, they expect me to climb up this?, the crew (Tecumseh and Moxie, Hobbit, Tau, me, and Pilgrim), beautiful lady slippers, my new pack I am getting rid of looking at New York view, me and Hobbit at the lowest point on the trail right by the bears den at Bear Mountain Zoo - that's right, we walk right through the zoo!, and two smelly hikers in Times Square with backpacks on. Can't beat that.
Friday, May 18, 2007
New Jeseiy take two
Sorry about the interruption - here is the exciting conclusion to part one.
5/15/07 15.6 miles to Delaware Water Gap and the Mountain Church hostel. Pilgrim was kind enough to escort our packs around to DWG from Wind Gap. A nice slackpacking opportunity that we were not going to pass up. Not a bad hike at all. Pretty excited to be so close to New Jersey (only a half mile at the end of the day). Enjoyed a nice breakfast before heading out early (hooray for donuts and juice!) Passed through some beautiful scenery and quite a few day hikers. You can definitely tell that most colleges are out for the summer. Got into DWG pretty early, enjoying a frosty beverage right when we get there - thanks Pilgrim! Headed into town to pick up fuel and check out the church hostel. Wondeful accomodations, got to meet Pastor Karen and enjoyed my third shower in three days (I am beginning to get used to these showers, it will be hard going back to one every four or five days!). I also enjoyed spending time with my fellow hikers. We had a great dinner and then said goodbye to Pilgrim. Headed in to do some journaling and then had a poetry reading - everybody reading their favorite poems - it was just a really cool night. It will be hard to say goodbye to Tecumseh and Moxie tomorrow, we had a lot of fun hiking with them. Also got to talk to Guthook on the phone, my hiking buddy from when we first started. He is a week again and also having a grand adventure. It was good to catch and relay some trail stories - miss you buddy!
5/16/07 24.8 miles to Brink Road Shelter. So more food in the morning (as usual, we cannot get enough town food) and then an early start on the trail. Full packs today after two days of slacking. More rocky terrain as we enter New Jersey. So excited to enter state number eight! We heard the rocks would be ending but today was not our day. I had something happen to my hip today due to my hip belt I think or possibly a sting/bite of somesort. All I know is that it is not a pleasant feeling. Started as a big swollen welt and now it is an open weeping sore - thanks for listening. I will keep an eye on it and hopefully it will clear up. Saw my first porcipine on trail today, I don't think I have ever seen one in the wild - pretty cool. He just scampered off before I had a real good look. Also spotted a pileated woodpecker - must be a good day for wildlife. Thought there was a storm coming so Tau, Hobbit, and I made some seriously good time after lunch. Got another break in before the storm came. Had a bit of thunder, lightning and rain but not too bad. Got a bit damp as we traipsed up and down over several ridges. Amazing foggy misty views of the New Jersey and surrounding mountains. Got into camp pretty early with very soggy feet. And I must say the mosquitos were quite excited to see us - they have arrived!!! In bed pretty early with bug head net securely fastened.
5/17/07 24.9 miles to Jim Murray property shelter. Another large mileage day - Hobbit is grumbling but doing an excellent job of hanging with us and we so enjoy his company! On the trail by 6 am due to the fact that after 3 and a 1/2 miles, we got a second breakfast at Joe to Go right on the trail. I love egge and cheese bagels. After a quick refueling, headed up the mountain to our next adventure. Got some pretty good views in today. Enjoyed the highest point in New Jersey at High Point State Park. Met two section hikers that just got on the trail this morning - Holly and Amanda from South Carolina. They are headed to Maine as well from New Jersey. Heard of this great "secret shelter" available to long distance hikers by Jim Murray who hiked the AT in 1989. He owns a lot of property and opens up his cabin, privy and shower to hikers. It was amazing to have a hot shower right on the trail. The property was beautiful and Jim even payed us a visit to say hello - really nice guy. A pleasant addition to the property was his two boistrous donkeys. They made quite a bit of ruckus but it only added to the charm of the place. Nothing like loud donkeys in the background to lull you to sleep!
Met Squire, another section hiker, at the secret shelter. Nice guy from massachusetts that was excited to talk to us thru-hikers about our hike thus far - hopefully he will join us in Vernon tomorrow.
5/18/07 13.6 miles to Vernon, NJ. Another town stop - woohoo! On the trail by 6 this morning (anyone else noticing a trend here?) and enjoyed a solitary hike through the mist this morning. A bit cool out and a wonderful morning for a hike. There were these awesome marshy areas and wildlife management areas that we walked through - quite a treat. I saw all kinds of birds but particulary excited about the swans and the great blue heron. We heard there was a cremery right at the road to town so we all planned to meet there. Nothing like hot cocoa and half a loaf of homemade zucchini bread to make you feel all warm and cozy inside. After we got our fill, we caught a ride to town and checked out St. Thomas church hostel. Very nice digs again. Shower, laundry, internet, everything a thru-hiker could want. I was excited about my maildrops because I had a new pack, new shoes and a new water bladder coming. Everything worked out great besides the fact they sent me the wrong size of shoes - oh no! My trail runners are about ready to kick the dust but hopefully they will hang on a few more days. Called REI and they said they would ship the right pair overnight to New York so I should receive them on Tuesday. It's always something but hey, no worries. Checked out my new pack and got organized this afternoon. Towns are usually more stressful than the woods because we have so much to get accomplished. I always long for my woods time when I am in town. I wonder how it will be when my woods time is up. Don't really want to think about that quite yet. Enjoyed a nice dinner with Hobbit, Tau and even Squire joined us. Another day is gone and New York calls to us tomorrow.
Thanks for reading and bearing with me as I try and keep this blog up to date - the internet is hard to get to out here some times. I hope everybody is enjoying their spring as much as me.
Love,
Kentucky Blue
hopefully post some pics soon - couldn't do it here!
5/15/07 15.6 miles to Delaware Water Gap and the Mountain Church hostel. Pilgrim was kind enough to escort our packs around to DWG from Wind Gap. A nice slackpacking opportunity that we were not going to pass up. Not a bad hike at all. Pretty excited to be so close to New Jersey (only a half mile at the end of the day). Enjoyed a nice breakfast before heading out early (hooray for donuts and juice!) Passed through some beautiful scenery and quite a few day hikers. You can definitely tell that most colleges are out for the summer. Got into DWG pretty early, enjoying a frosty beverage right when we get there - thanks Pilgrim! Headed into town to pick up fuel and check out the church hostel. Wondeful accomodations, got to meet Pastor Karen and enjoyed my third shower in three days (I am beginning to get used to these showers, it will be hard going back to one every four or five days!). I also enjoyed spending time with my fellow hikers. We had a great dinner and then said goodbye to Pilgrim. Headed in to do some journaling and then had a poetry reading - everybody reading their favorite poems - it was just a really cool night. It will be hard to say goodbye to Tecumseh and Moxie tomorrow, we had a lot of fun hiking with them. Also got to talk to Guthook on the phone, my hiking buddy from when we first started. He is a week again and also having a grand adventure. It was good to catch and relay some trail stories - miss you buddy!
5/16/07 24.8 miles to Brink Road Shelter. So more food in the morning (as usual, we cannot get enough town food) and then an early start on the trail. Full packs today after two days of slacking. More rocky terrain as we enter New Jersey. So excited to enter state number eight! We heard the rocks would be ending but today was not our day. I had something happen to my hip today due to my hip belt I think or possibly a sting/bite of somesort. All I know is that it is not a pleasant feeling. Started as a big swollen welt and now it is an open weeping sore - thanks for listening. I will keep an eye on it and hopefully it will clear up. Saw my first porcipine on trail today, I don't think I have ever seen one in the wild - pretty cool. He just scampered off before I had a real good look. Also spotted a pileated woodpecker - must be a good day for wildlife. Thought there was a storm coming so Tau, Hobbit, and I made some seriously good time after lunch. Got another break in before the storm came. Had a bit of thunder, lightning and rain but not too bad. Got a bit damp as we traipsed up and down over several ridges. Amazing foggy misty views of the New Jersey and surrounding mountains. Got into camp pretty early with very soggy feet. And I must say the mosquitos were quite excited to see us - they have arrived!!! In bed pretty early with bug head net securely fastened.
5/17/07 24.9 miles to Jim Murray property shelter. Another large mileage day - Hobbit is grumbling but doing an excellent job of hanging with us and we so enjoy his company! On the trail by 6 am due to the fact that after 3 and a 1/2 miles, we got a second breakfast at Joe to Go right on the trail. I love egge and cheese bagels. After a quick refueling, headed up the mountain to our next adventure. Got some pretty good views in today. Enjoyed the highest point in New Jersey at High Point State Park. Met two section hikers that just got on the trail this morning - Holly and Amanda from South Carolina. They are headed to Maine as well from New Jersey. Heard of this great "secret shelter" available to long distance hikers by Jim Murray who hiked the AT in 1989. He owns a lot of property and opens up his cabin, privy and shower to hikers. It was amazing to have a hot shower right on the trail. The property was beautiful and Jim even payed us a visit to say hello - really nice guy. A pleasant addition to the property was his two boistrous donkeys. They made quite a bit of ruckus but it only added to the charm of the place. Nothing like loud donkeys in the background to lull you to sleep!
Met Squire, another section hiker, at the secret shelter. Nice guy from massachusetts that was excited to talk to us thru-hikers about our hike thus far - hopefully he will join us in Vernon tomorrow.
5/18/07 13.6 miles to Vernon, NJ. Another town stop - woohoo! On the trail by 6 this morning (anyone else noticing a trend here?) and enjoyed a solitary hike through the mist this morning. A bit cool out and a wonderful morning for a hike. There were these awesome marshy areas and wildlife management areas that we walked through - quite a treat. I saw all kinds of birds but particulary excited about the swans and the great blue heron. We heard there was a cremery right at the road to town so we all planned to meet there. Nothing like hot cocoa and half a loaf of homemade zucchini bread to make you feel all warm and cozy inside. After we got our fill, we caught a ride to town and checked out St. Thomas church hostel. Very nice digs again. Shower, laundry, internet, everything a thru-hiker could want. I was excited about my maildrops because I had a new pack, new shoes and a new water bladder coming. Everything worked out great besides the fact they sent me the wrong size of shoes - oh no! My trail runners are about ready to kick the dust but hopefully they will hang on a few more days. Called REI and they said they would ship the right pair overnight to New York so I should receive them on Tuesday. It's always something but hey, no worries. Checked out my new pack and got organized this afternoon. Towns are usually more stressful than the woods because we have so much to get accomplished. I always long for my woods time when I am in town. I wonder how it will be when my woods time is up. Don't really want to think about that quite yet. Enjoyed a nice dinner with Hobbit, Tau and even Squire joined us. Another day is gone and New York calls to us tomorrow.
Thanks for reading and bearing with me as I try and keep this blog up to date - the internet is hard to get to out here some times. I hope everybody is enjoying their spring as much as me.
Love,
Kentucky Blue
hopefully post some pics soon - couldn't do it here!
New Joisey Baby
Hello again!! I made it to the great state of New Jersey (see phonetic spelling above :) Pretty excited to be here and suprinsingly the scenery has been spectacular.
5/8/07 4.6 miles to Clarks Ferry Shelter. Spent most of the day in town, getting caught up on things and resting. Tau needed some help updating her blog so I helped with some typing. Good times! We were also waiting on a package so Tau was kind enough to buy me a few brews while waiting for helping her out. We didn't leave town til about 6 pm. It was an interesting climb up the mountain after our "happy hour" but we were happy to make it to the shelter. It was really hot out that day. Headed to bed shortly after arriving in camp, anxiously awaiting another day of the joyous Pennyslvania rocks!
5/9/07 24.3 miles to Rausch Gap campsite. Didn't feel all that hot today mainly because the humidity and temperature were both pretty high. Had some significant climbs over small, sharp rocks that just make your feet feel all kinds of interesting sensations. But did meet some nice section hikers today. Also was able to soak my feet in this really cool creek around lunch time. This does wonders for aching feet. I try to do that at least twice a day if water is available. This turned out to be quite the exciting afternoon. I was walking nonchalantly walking the trail and heard a terrifying sound - rattles too close for comfort. I jumped back quickly, said a few choice words and realized I was no more than a foot away from a very large timber rattlesnake. He was coiled up, rattling away and not happy to see me. I decided to take the long way around him and heard those rattles as I walked away from him down the trail. Needless to say, I was a bit edgy the rest of the afterrnon. Made it camp and found a nice spot by the creek to take a spit bath and relax the evening away. Ahh the adventures in the great outdoors!!
5/10/07 33.3 miles to Eagles Nest Shelter. That's right, I said 33. Who's a rock star, I'm a rock star!!! Ha ha. Didn't plan on doing 33 miles today, it just kind of happened. Woke up around 4:30 and was on the trail by 5:45 am. Felt really good today and was trying to beat a bit of the heat. We made it 17.3 miles to the 501 shelter by 12:30 pm. Not too shabby. Met up with two section hikers from Germany at the shelter and we were all thankful we had the ability to order pizza directly to the shelter as it was right next to Hwy 501. Had half of a large pizza and a large pepsi and we were ready for more hiking. Who knew! Said goodbye to our new friends and headed off around 2:30. I forgot to mention this shelter also had a solar shower. I use the term solar loosely as it a hose attached to a big tank and as far as I could tell no "solar" had hit the shower yet. But still very thankful that the shelter maintainer had gotten the shower working the day before. Feels so good to be clean. Started clouding over just as we'd completed about 6 more miles. Ran into a section hiker we had met right before Duncannon - Don from Baltimore. Really nice guy and we were oh so happy to stop and chat for a few minutes and give ourselves a breather. Looked like a big storm was coming and since we are trying to have relatively light loads at the moment, neither of us is carrying a tent. So pretty much, make it to the shelter or be really wet. Made it to the shelter just in time, right around dark. Who knew you could walk thirty miles all in daylight hours. What a day, my feet and whole body hurt but it felt amazing to push my body to the limit. I felt really alive all day.
5/11/07 21.3 miles to near Gold Spring. Not really sure I wanted to be out of bed this morning after a long day like yesterday but we were still on the trail pretty early, after a nice long stretch. One motivator today is that we were going through Port Clinton, a town with restaurants. And we all know how much thru-hikers like food and lots of it. My ankles were giving me a hard time after yesterday so I took it slow going over the rocks and down the steep decline into Port Clinton. Had a bit of trouble finding the 3-C's diner and I must say I got a bit cranky when we got lost. But, a nice section hiker named Jim from Washington said he would look after our packs and pointed us in the right direction. After a huge second breakfast, we lounged around the Port Clinton pavillion, a cozy home away from home for thru-hikers. Team Mike who thru-hiked last year came in to say hello and we got some tips for farther up north. Decided to push on a few more miles up the trail but boy was it hard to leave the cool pavillion. After several steep climb, we made it to Pulpit Rock and the Pinnacle, both amazing views of the Pennsylvania valley. It was almost dark by this time but we got a breather when the rocky trail turned into a gravel/dirt road - thank God! After a few miles on the road, found two guys camping with their dog in this nice campsite in a field. Sat down to say hello and ended up spending the night as they gave us a baked potato roasted in the fire, peanuts, cracker jack. all kinds of good stuff. Thanks Frank, Randy and Leroy the dog!
5/12/07 20.6 miles to Bake Oven Knob Shelter. Got up with no water this morning so we quickly packed up and headed for the nearest spring. A few miles later, we hit a very nice spring, drink up and had breakfast. Beautiful saturday morning. Saw several turkey hunters out this morning, not always a welcome sight when you are a hiker but nothing you can do but hike on. After a nice long rocky climb, met two weekenders who were very friendly. Always nice to talk to people out on the trail and exchange pleasantries and information. People are my favorite part of the trail, I love all the interesting people who have come into my life on the trail that normally, our paths would never cross. I am especially grateful for my hiking partner Tau. We have a blast out here and keep each other on our toes. I met some Mennonite section hikers right before lunch time. I really enjoyed talking to them. At the Allentown Shelter is also where I met Hobbit. He started hiking January 31st and we have been chasing him for awhile. He is awesome!! Also caught up with Tecumseh and Moxie who we met in Harpers Ferry. They are section hiking PA to ME. They did the first section last year. All three of them are amazing people. We all ended up at the same place today and had a great time. Before we got to the shelter, we stopped by the Blue Mountain B&B which happened to have a restaurant. Nothing like a tasty beverage to make your ankle feel better and get you over the supposed worst rocks in the state of Pennsylvania. I don't know if it was the company or the beverages, but they didn't seem all that bad. Maybe we have just seen so many rocks so far that by this point, nothing surprises us! I had a great day today and was happy to make it to the shelter before the rain came.
5/13/07 7.3 miles to Slatington, PA. This turned out to be one of the most interesting days on the trail. Got up and moving pretty early as it was a town day and that is reason for inspiration and motivation. Walked with Tau and Hobbit into town. On the way in, I took a bit of a stumble and scraped my knee and shin pretty good on a rock. Battle scars! We were able to get a ride into town pretty quick by a nice guy named Alex. Decided to hit up breakfast first at the diner, so good!! After breakfast, we went to check out our accomodations. Fine Lodging said they had a hiker bunkroom but it wasn't open for the season yet so the owner said we could camp in his backyard. We think a nice grassy open area. Oh no, think more like nice closed in junkyard. There was so much stuff back there. I wish I could post pictures because nothing I say could give this place justice. We all look at each other and start busting a gut. But hey, that is what the trail is all about. Ira was a great guy and let us take showers and camp out, even gave us a mattress to sleep on so we were pretty thankful. I didn't think Tecumseh and Moxie would want to stay there but here they come, ready to set up camp with us. We ended having a great afternoon. Did some laundry, got to know Hobbit a little better, and ate some icecream. After all of our tasks were completed, we headed to "the shack" for dinner. Several pitchers of Yunegling and a big haddock dinner and I was all set for the evening. Even put a little jukebox music on. Doesn't get much better than that - really enjoyed the company and conversation. Thank-you fellow hikers!
5/14/07 20.7 miles to Wind Gap, PA. We decided to set up a slackpack with Ira so we could stay at another hotel the next night. Also found out that Pilgrim wanted to help us out in the area. He thru-hiked in 2004 and then section hiked this year to Harpers Ferry. I met him down south and he is just a great guy. He wanted to meet us in Wind Gap tonight and slack us the following day to Delaware Water Gap. Yeah!! Anyways, picked up my mail drop first thing in the morning and was on the trail by 9 am. Quite the climb out of the gap but when you are not really carrying a pack, life is good. Interesting scenery at first as the area has been affected by zinc smelting. Pretty much everything is dead for a few mile stretch. Got out of that and back into the shade. Found some trail magic by Boomer at the first trailhead we come to - water and candy. Thanks! Met Pilgrim at the hotel later that afternoon. We all decide to squeeze into one room because Pilgrim was nice enough to help us with the cost of the room - really thankful as all of us are getting low on funds! Headed into town for a chinese dinner. Got my braised tofu with broccoli - so good and then hit the supermarket for a few things before heading back to the hotel. Into bed shortly after as I was wore out!
5/8/07 4.6 miles to Clarks Ferry Shelter. Spent most of the day in town, getting caught up on things and resting. Tau needed some help updating her blog so I helped with some typing. Good times! We were also waiting on a package so Tau was kind enough to buy me a few brews while waiting for helping her out. We didn't leave town til about 6 pm. It was an interesting climb up the mountain after our "happy hour" but we were happy to make it to the shelter. It was really hot out that day. Headed to bed shortly after arriving in camp, anxiously awaiting another day of the joyous Pennyslvania rocks!
5/9/07 24.3 miles to Rausch Gap campsite. Didn't feel all that hot today mainly because the humidity and temperature were both pretty high. Had some significant climbs over small, sharp rocks that just make your feet feel all kinds of interesting sensations. But did meet some nice section hikers today. Also was able to soak my feet in this really cool creek around lunch time. This does wonders for aching feet. I try to do that at least twice a day if water is available. This turned out to be quite the exciting afternoon. I was walking nonchalantly walking the trail and heard a terrifying sound - rattles too close for comfort. I jumped back quickly, said a few choice words and realized I was no more than a foot away from a very large timber rattlesnake. He was coiled up, rattling away and not happy to see me. I decided to take the long way around him and heard those rattles as I walked away from him down the trail. Needless to say, I was a bit edgy the rest of the afterrnon. Made it camp and found a nice spot by the creek to take a spit bath and relax the evening away. Ahh the adventures in the great outdoors!!
5/10/07 33.3 miles to Eagles Nest Shelter. That's right, I said 33. Who's a rock star, I'm a rock star!!! Ha ha. Didn't plan on doing 33 miles today, it just kind of happened. Woke up around 4:30 and was on the trail by 5:45 am. Felt really good today and was trying to beat a bit of the heat. We made it 17.3 miles to the 501 shelter by 12:30 pm. Not too shabby. Met up with two section hikers from Germany at the shelter and we were all thankful we had the ability to order pizza directly to the shelter as it was right next to Hwy 501. Had half of a large pizza and a large pepsi and we were ready for more hiking. Who knew! Said goodbye to our new friends and headed off around 2:30. I forgot to mention this shelter also had a solar shower. I use the term solar loosely as it a hose attached to a big tank and as far as I could tell no "solar" had hit the shower yet. But still very thankful that the shelter maintainer had gotten the shower working the day before. Feels so good to be clean. Started clouding over just as we'd completed about 6 more miles. Ran into a section hiker we had met right before Duncannon - Don from Baltimore. Really nice guy and we were oh so happy to stop and chat for a few minutes and give ourselves a breather. Looked like a big storm was coming and since we are trying to have relatively light loads at the moment, neither of us is carrying a tent. So pretty much, make it to the shelter or be really wet. Made it to the shelter just in time, right around dark. Who knew you could walk thirty miles all in daylight hours. What a day, my feet and whole body hurt but it felt amazing to push my body to the limit. I felt really alive all day.
5/11/07 21.3 miles to near Gold Spring. Not really sure I wanted to be out of bed this morning after a long day like yesterday but we were still on the trail pretty early, after a nice long stretch. One motivator today is that we were going through Port Clinton, a town with restaurants. And we all know how much thru-hikers like food and lots of it. My ankles were giving me a hard time after yesterday so I took it slow going over the rocks and down the steep decline into Port Clinton. Had a bit of trouble finding the 3-C's diner and I must say I got a bit cranky when we got lost. But, a nice section hiker named Jim from Washington said he would look after our packs and pointed us in the right direction. After a huge second breakfast, we lounged around the Port Clinton pavillion, a cozy home away from home for thru-hikers. Team Mike who thru-hiked last year came in to say hello and we got some tips for farther up north. Decided to push on a few more miles up the trail but boy was it hard to leave the cool pavillion. After several steep climb, we made it to Pulpit Rock and the Pinnacle, both amazing views of the Pennsylvania valley. It was almost dark by this time but we got a breather when the rocky trail turned into a gravel/dirt road - thank God! After a few miles on the road, found two guys camping with their dog in this nice campsite in a field. Sat down to say hello and ended up spending the night as they gave us a baked potato roasted in the fire, peanuts, cracker jack. all kinds of good stuff. Thanks Frank, Randy and Leroy the dog!
5/12/07 20.6 miles to Bake Oven Knob Shelter. Got up with no water this morning so we quickly packed up and headed for the nearest spring. A few miles later, we hit a very nice spring, drink up and had breakfast. Beautiful saturday morning. Saw several turkey hunters out this morning, not always a welcome sight when you are a hiker but nothing you can do but hike on. After a nice long rocky climb, met two weekenders who were very friendly. Always nice to talk to people out on the trail and exchange pleasantries and information. People are my favorite part of the trail, I love all the interesting people who have come into my life on the trail that normally, our paths would never cross. I am especially grateful for my hiking partner Tau. We have a blast out here and keep each other on our toes. I met some Mennonite section hikers right before lunch time. I really enjoyed talking to them. At the Allentown Shelter is also where I met Hobbit. He started hiking January 31st and we have been chasing him for awhile. He is awesome!! Also caught up with Tecumseh and Moxie who we met in Harpers Ferry. They are section hiking PA to ME. They did the first section last year. All three of them are amazing people. We all ended up at the same place today and had a great time. Before we got to the shelter, we stopped by the Blue Mountain B&B which happened to have a restaurant. Nothing like a tasty beverage to make your ankle feel better and get you over the supposed worst rocks in the state of Pennsylvania. I don't know if it was the company or the beverages, but they didn't seem all that bad. Maybe we have just seen so many rocks so far that by this point, nothing surprises us! I had a great day today and was happy to make it to the shelter before the rain came.
5/13/07 7.3 miles to Slatington, PA. This turned out to be one of the most interesting days on the trail. Got up and moving pretty early as it was a town day and that is reason for inspiration and motivation. Walked with Tau and Hobbit into town. On the way in, I took a bit of a stumble and scraped my knee and shin pretty good on a rock. Battle scars! We were able to get a ride into town pretty quick by a nice guy named Alex. Decided to hit up breakfast first at the diner, so good!! After breakfast, we went to check out our accomodations. Fine Lodging said they had a hiker bunkroom but it wasn't open for the season yet so the owner said we could camp in his backyard. We think a nice grassy open area. Oh no, think more like nice closed in junkyard. There was so much stuff back there. I wish I could post pictures because nothing I say could give this place justice. We all look at each other and start busting a gut. But hey, that is what the trail is all about. Ira was a great guy and let us take showers and camp out, even gave us a mattress to sleep on so we were pretty thankful. I didn't think Tecumseh and Moxie would want to stay there but here they come, ready to set up camp with us. We ended having a great afternoon. Did some laundry, got to know Hobbit a little better, and ate some icecream. After all of our tasks were completed, we headed to "the shack" for dinner. Several pitchers of Yunegling and a big haddock dinner and I was all set for the evening. Even put a little jukebox music on. Doesn't get much better than that - really enjoyed the company and conversation. Thank-you fellow hikers!
5/14/07 20.7 miles to Wind Gap, PA. We decided to set up a slackpack with Ira so we could stay at another hotel the next night. Also found out that Pilgrim wanted to help us out in the area. He thru-hiked in 2004 and then section hiked this year to Harpers Ferry. I met him down south and he is just a great guy. He wanted to meet us in Wind Gap tonight and slack us the following day to Delaware Water Gap. Yeah!! Anyways, picked up my mail drop first thing in the morning and was on the trail by 9 am. Quite the climb out of the gap but when you are not really carrying a pack, life is good. Interesting scenery at first as the area has been affected by zinc smelting. Pretty much everything is dead for a few mile stretch. Got out of that and back into the shade. Found some trail magic by Boomer at the first trailhead we come to - water and candy. Thanks! Met Pilgrim at the hotel later that afternoon. We all decide to squeeze into one room because Pilgrim was nice enough to help us with the cost of the room - really thankful as all of us are getting low on funds! Headed into town for a chinese dinner. Got my braised tofu with broccoli - so good and then hit the supermarket for a few things before heading back to the hotel. Into bed shortly after as I was wore out!
Monday, May 7, 2007
State # 7
Hello all. I am going to attempt to update the blog all the way to the present but unfortunately no picture updates due the computer I am using being a bit out of date. But hey, beggers can't be too choosey and I am happy to have this opportunity to use it!
Back to 4/24/07 - 26.2 miles to Hightop Hut. Very long day today - pretty cool to think I walked an entire marathon in one day over several large mountains. Bad news today about my water bladder in my pouch. It sprung a leak and got quite a few things wet in the pack. I emptied it out and carried on. Nothing you can much do about it while hiking. Right after I had stopped for lunch, I saw the tail end of something black. I saw my first bear on the trail - woohoo! Can't say I mind seeing the back end as it was running away from me. Freaked me out a bit but just say a few songs really loudly for the next mile and I was good to go. Was planning on meeting up with Tau and Salamander at the Pinefield Hut and I got there pretty early. I was able to dry everything off and soak my feet in the stream. I even took a bit of a spit bath - what a treat. I can't tell how good it feels to change your undies when you only get to do it once every few days. After cooking an early dinner, the crew decided to head to the next shelter. We had a blast that afternoon - it was a bit cooler outside and we all hiked together. Got to the shelter right at dark and realized we had finally caught up with two other thru-hikers - Orange Blaze and Juniper. Ate a snickers and called it a night.
4/25/07 24.4 miles to Rock Spring Hut. Another early morning trying to beat the heat of the day. I had my shirt off and was hiking in my sports bra within 5 minutes. But I am not complaining, it is beautiful out there. My legs felt like they had lead in them in the morning but eventually got moving. A big treat today was hiking 12 miles and then getting a rootbeer and a huge icecream sandwich at the campground store that happened to be open! Took a long lunch break there and continued on in the park. Due to several ice storms that happened the past year, there are crazy downed trees in the park. It looks pretty bad in some areas but the trail crews are trying to get it cleaned up. I was a bit disappointed with how the park looked but everyone said it is just because of the storms. I will have to check things out later when it gets cleaned up and there are some leaves on the trees. Long afternoon of hiking. It looked like it might rain but it held off and I was greatful to get to the shelter. Met up with the thru-hikers and several section hikers - Rags and John. They were both really great folks. My body is definitely tired after two really long days of hiking.
4/26/07 15.7 miles to Pass Mountain Shelter. Decided to give the body a bit of a break today. Foggy and misty in the morning. We heard we would pass by Skyland lodge right around breakfast time and decided to try it out. Man was it tasty. I had this great omelette, biscuit and potatoes. We were a bit underdressed as wet smelly hikers but we definitely spent our fair share on breakfast. Tau, Salamander and I decided to hang out a bit at the lodge where it was warm and dry. All of us were exhausted and realized it might not be a bad idea to just head to the next shelter - 10 miles vs another 16. Got to hang out with Rags and John again. Not a bad day. We hiked together again and got to the shelter early enough to rest and cook dinner. If you saw the picture of the kissing tree from the last blog, that was that shelter.
4/27/07 23.6 miles to Tom Floyd Shelter. Our last day in the Shenendoahs!!! Pretty excited to be getting out of the park, one step closer to Harpers Ferry. Had another place to stop for breakfast this morning - just a bit farther. Had some egg and cheese sandwiches and a blackberry milkshake and it was worth every penny. Is anyone else noticing a trend in me talking about food? It is pretty much what thru-hikers think about all day, every day. :) The weather warmed up again and I wasnt' complaining this time as I had gotten soaked a few minutes before breakfast and the breeze wasn't helping things. Me, Tau and Salamander hiked together again today. They keep me entertained. We have the most random conversations but I love every minute of it. They are both great people and I am thankful to be hiking with them. Got to the edge of the park almost at dark. Decided to have a celebratory drink - toasted the Shenendoah's and each other and hiked the last few miles to the shelter. What a day, what a day.
4/28/07 7.1 miles to Jim and Molly Denton Shelter. Had a nero day today. We walked 3 miles to the road and got a ride into Front Royal, VA. Did some laundry, got some more food for the trail and ate some amazing mexican food. It's amazing how clean you can feel even if you don't shower just by putting clean clothes on. (there was no place to shower in town without paying, we figured we could wait two more days) Stopped by the outfitter on the way out of time and met Brandon - the owner. He was kind enough to give us a ride back to the trail. I was still stuffed from lunch but we had to hoof it 5 miles to the shelter. Thankful to get there and let the food settle. Not suprinsingly, I was hungry again and thankful I had thought to get a sub from Blimpie before leaving town. Sometimes you get sick of dinners you cook out here. And I can officially not eat any more trail mix. There's only so much you can stomach. Currently, i prefer snickers bars and a variety of granola and other candy bars.
4/29/07 28.2 miles to Bears Den Hostel. This was a very long day but eventful nonetheless. Got up early and did 3 miles to the road to meet Jeremy and his dad. They had a bit of time finding us but they got there and Jer's dad was kind enough to take our packs so they would be waiting for us at Bears Den. I don't think Jer knew what he was getting into but he won the trooper award for the day. From the road, we had 25 miles which included devils roller coaster. If you don't know what that is, it is a stretch of 10 miles that has 6 separate climbs of a signifincant elevation gain and loss. They even put up a sign warning hikers about it. The first part of the day was great - we were ambling along enjoying the scenery and then realized we needed to kick it up a notch in order to get into the hostel on time. By this point, poor Jer has blisters on several parts of his feet but he wasn't complaining. I can't believe I asked him to hike 25 miles in one day. I didn't do that until I had been on the trail for a month. He did it cold turkey!! Took a long break before the roller coaster and then took to the trail. Me and Tau jumped ahead to check in on time. Even we were dragging by that point. We roll in right at dark and Greg was there waiting for us. (Greg's one of my roomies from college) He came to take our packs to Harpers Ferry so we could slack pack again. So thankful for him and Jeremy for giving us a bit of a break with the packs. Checked in at the hostel, got our pint of Ben and Jerry's and pizza and finally sat down. I can't believe I ate a whole pizza by myself. I guess you could say I was hungry. We all got showers and just went to bed - an exhausting day for everybody but what an experience! I know Jer will never forget it.
4/30/07 20.7 miles to Harpers Ferry, WV. Jer decided to not hike with us again and let his blisters and his body recover a bit. I can't say I blame him. Bears Den was such a neat place - this old castle turned into a hostel. I wish I could have stayed and really enjoyed it but WV awaited. Got up and made pancakes. Decided what would go better with pancakes then our leftover ice cream from last night. What a treat. Don't know if I should try it at home but I need all the calories I can get out here. Hiked out around 9:45 and made plans to meet Jer and Greg in Harpers Ferry later that day. Had a nice break at Blackburn Trail Center. What a great place - it is maintained by the PATC and would have been a nice place to spend the night but we were headed a bit further. The terrain was really rocky today and I was still tired from yesterday. Me and Tau desperately wanted to get to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's headquarters before they closed so we could sign the official trail register. We rocked out 12 miles in 4 hours. We were moving and made it ther around 5:30. They close at 5 but they were nice enough to let us in to sign. We got our pictures taken and signed in. We were #22 and 23 for thru-hikers heading north to pass through harpers ferry this year. Not too shabby if you ask me. Headed down the trail a bit farther to historic harpers ferry. what a beautiful town. The place we wanted to go for dinner was closed but the owners lived next door and offered us a beer while we were waiting for Greg. Very thankful! Headed to the only place in town that was open - a very nice tavern and finally got some grub. Ended up being quite the dinner party -Greg, Jer, Tau, Salamander, myself and a wild salmon farmer from Scotland that Salamander ran into on the way to the tavern. It made for excellent dinner conversation. While eating dinner, Greg mentioned that his hot water heater has busted and flooded the basement. Since all of us were staying there, he would have to suffer through our stench til the next morning when it would be fixed. Thanks Greg for everything, especially putting up with us all. Hit the Home Depot on the way home to buy the heater. Another long day but so greatful to be sharing it with all these amazing people.
5/1/07 zero day in Harpers Ferry! only my fourth day off on the trail and i so enjoyed it. We had quite a bit to do as usual being a hiker only in town for a short time once a week or so. Hit the ATC headquarters again so Sal could sign in since he got in too late the night before. Checked out historic harpers ferry again -the outfitter there was in the coolest old building. Finally got a hat that fit and would keep my scalp from burning in the sun! Ate at the restaurant we had wanted to try the night before - loved the crab cake sandwich. Headed back to Greg's and we all just crashed for awhile. Cooked a great big dinner with veggie burgers, chips, beans and beer. We were all too stuffed for the dessert we bought but ofcourse we found room later. It was great to finally catch up with Jeremy and Greg. It had been a few years since I had seen either of them.
5/2/07 17.5 miles to Boonsboro, MD. So we were spoiled one more day. Jer was kind enough to take our packs to his parents house in Boonsboro and they were kind enough to open up their home to three hungry and stinky thru-hikers. This terrain felt great - we rocked out the mileage in no time. Maryland was good to us. We passed by several historical landmarks and it was just a beautiful day outside. Jer picked us up from the trail and took us on a tour of Boonsboro. Another great town along the trail. Even Nora Roberts (famous author) calls Boonsboro her home. Got some much needed ice cream from the cremery and even got to see where Jer's grandparents live. Their farm has quite a bit of Civil War history. Headed to Jer's parents house and his mom cooked us veggie lasagna with salad, bread, and ice cream and brownies for dessert. We have been spoiled several days in a row now. We even watched a movie - I felt almost like a normal person. Jer had to head out that night but promised his mom would take us to the trail the next day. Thanks Jer and Laurie and Lindsey for all of your hospitality!!
5/3/07 18.6 miles to Devils Racecourse Shelter campsite. It was really hard hiking today with packs on with slackpacking the past few days. My pack felt like someone had snuck bricks in. So today was a bit slow moving but we got there. Took several long breaks and enjoyed every minute of those breaks. Passed by the original Washington monument and Annapolis rocks - both really neat spots. Met several guys out on a bachelor party weekend in the woods at the shelter. We decided to cook dinner at the shelter and hike back up the trail (very steep climb) and camp on top of the mountain so we wouldn't have to do it first thing in the morning (very thankful the next day!).
5/4/07 23 miles to Caledonia State Park area. Salamander invited us to join him and his mom for dinner as she was coming to pick him up for a few days off the trail. We just needed to meet her at the state park. You don't have to ask us twice to come to dinner. I slept really well last night - guess I needed the rest. Got a bit turned around this morning. Me and Tau were hiking together and talking as usual. Not really watching for white blazes. Realized it pretty soon and got back on the trail in no time. Salamander was now in front of us so we were able to sneak up on him a bit and surprise him. He thought it was pretty amusing. Got to the park and was able to soak my feet - they always enjoy getting iced down after all those miles. Sal's mom was going to be a bit late but me and Tau decided to wait and have dinner. Again, dinner at a restaurant sounded much better than anything we were going to cook. Plus I wanted to meet Sal's mom. We end up going to this great bistro only a few miles from the trail. It is by far the best food I have had since I have been out here. I had crab au gratin with linguine - it was amazing. Thanks Sal's mom for treating us to that great meal. She dropped us back to the park and we said our goodbyes to Salamander. Hopefully he will catch up to us after he takes time off. I really enjoy hiking with him. Tau and I were too stuffed to go far so we just threw our bags down and camped under the stars.
5/5/07 26.3 miles to Tagg Run campsite. We weren't sure how many miles we were going to do today and decided to play it by ear. The terrain finally calmed down a bit. By the way, did I mention I made it to Pennsylvania - woohoo - state number 7, 7 more to go! Headed out of the park to the first shelter and met some really nice section hikers. Darryl went to Eastern Kentucky University just like me and now lives in Pennsylvania. Nice to have some Kentucky connections. Made great time getting to the next shelter and Tau caught up with me there. A really great shelter - wished I could stay but decided to push on. There is something called the half-gallon challenge that takes place at Pine Grove Furnace State Park. It involves being able to eat an entire half-gallon of ice cream in one setting. I wasn't sure if I was up to the challenge but when I got to the store and realized it was only open on weekends and I had arrived on a Saturday, I decided it was meant to me. I took my tub of Moose tracks and set to work. I am proud to say I ate 2/3 of it. I probably could have finished it off but I would have been really sick. As it was, my tummy wasn't too happy but at least not puking. Took some time to rest and thought it might not be a bad idea to hike some more so my tummy could work out some of that ice cream. Headed up the trail another 7 miles and it did the trick. Like a champ, i was even able to eat dinner upon arrival into camp. Got to love the thru-hiker appetite.
5/6/07 26.8 miles to Darlington shelter. no rational person would plan on hiking two 26 mile days in a row but who's rational out here? :) Got up this morning after not sleeping too well and headed to Boiling Springs, PA. Up and over a few mountains and we were just in time for lunch. Decided to eat at the only place open in town - italian. Another amazing meal which included sun-dried tomato bisque manicotti, salad, fresh bread and a picture of root beer. Talk about being too stuffed to hike another 14 miles. It took a lot of convincing to get Tau up from her spot in the sun napping to go hiking. I wasn't too keen on the idea either but it meant a fairly easy day tomorrow so onward we pressed. It was a long afternoon but relatively flat. My dogs were barking especially the last four miles. Got into camp and met some more section hikers who were really friendly. Ate a quick snack and collapsed into my bag. Oh the joy of the thru-hiker life.
5/7/07 11.4 miles to Duncannon, PA I can't believe I actually caught up my journal. I am currently in Duncannon at the Doyle Hotel. This hotel is 102 years old, pretty crazy. My feet were not excited about hiking this morning but they were fine once we started moving. Took several breaks and was really excited to make it to town. Just relaxing today, enjoying the nice weather and hopefully I will catch up with some folks on the phone later.
I can't believe how fast time is going right now. I want to savor every minute of this experience. Hope you enjoyed the update and I will try and get some pics up soon!
Much love,
Kentucky Blue
Back to 4/24/07 - 26.2 miles to Hightop Hut. Very long day today - pretty cool to think I walked an entire marathon in one day over several large mountains. Bad news today about my water bladder in my pouch. It sprung a leak and got quite a few things wet in the pack. I emptied it out and carried on. Nothing you can much do about it while hiking. Right after I had stopped for lunch, I saw the tail end of something black. I saw my first bear on the trail - woohoo! Can't say I mind seeing the back end as it was running away from me. Freaked me out a bit but just say a few songs really loudly for the next mile and I was good to go. Was planning on meeting up with Tau and Salamander at the Pinefield Hut and I got there pretty early. I was able to dry everything off and soak my feet in the stream. I even took a bit of a spit bath - what a treat. I can't tell how good it feels to change your undies when you only get to do it once every few days. After cooking an early dinner, the crew decided to head to the next shelter. We had a blast that afternoon - it was a bit cooler outside and we all hiked together. Got to the shelter right at dark and realized we had finally caught up with two other thru-hikers - Orange Blaze and Juniper. Ate a snickers and called it a night.
4/25/07 24.4 miles to Rock Spring Hut. Another early morning trying to beat the heat of the day. I had my shirt off and was hiking in my sports bra within 5 minutes. But I am not complaining, it is beautiful out there. My legs felt like they had lead in them in the morning but eventually got moving. A big treat today was hiking 12 miles and then getting a rootbeer and a huge icecream sandwich at the campground store that happened to be open! Took a long lunch break there and continued on in the park. Due to several ice storms that happened the past year, there are crazy downed trees in the park. It looks pretty bad in some areas but the trail crews are trying to get it cleaned up. I was a bit disappointed with how the park looked but everyone said it is just because of the storms. I will have to check things out later when it gets cleaned up and there are some leaves on the trees. Long afternoon of hiking. It looked like it might rain but it held off and I was greatful to get to the shelter. Met up with the thru-hikers and several section hikers - Rags and John. They were both really great folks. My body is definitely tired after two really long days of hiking.
4/26/07 15.7 miles to Pass Mountain Shelter. Decided to give the body a bit of a break today. Foggy and misty in the morning. We heard we would pass by Skyland lodge right around breakfast time and decided to try it out. Man was it tasty. I had this great omelette, biscuit and potatoes. We were a bit underdressed as wet smelly hikers but we definitely spent our fair share on breakfast. Tau, Salamander and I decided to hang out a bit at the lodge where it was warm and dry. All of us were exhausted and realized it might not be a bad idea to just head to the next shelter - 10 miles vs another 16. Got to hang out with Rags and John again. Not a bad day. We hiked together again and got to the shelter early enough to rest and cook dinner. If you saw the picture of the kissing tree from the last blog, that was that shelter.
4/27/07 23.6 miles to Tom Floyd Shelter. Our last day in the Shenendoahs!!! Pretty excited to be getting out of the park, one step closer to Harpers Ferry. Had another place to stop for breakfast this morning - just a bit farther. Had some egg and cheese sandwiches and a blackberry milkshake and it was worth every penny. Is anyone else noticing a trend in me talking about food? It is pretty much what thru-hikers think about all day, every day. :) The weather warmed up again and I wasnt' complaining this time as I had gotten soaked a few minutes before breakfast and the breeze wasn't helping things. Me, Tau and Salamander hiked together again today. They keep me entertained. We have the most random conversations but I love every minute of it. They are both great people and I am thankful to be hiking with them. Got to the edge of the park almost at dark. Decided to have a celebratory drink - toasted the Shenendoah's and each other and hiked the last few miles to the shelter. What a day, what a day.
4/28/07 7.1 miles to Jim and Molly Denton Shelter. Had a nero day today. We walked 3 miles to the road and got a ride into Front Royal, VA. Did some laundry, got some more food for the trail and ate some amazing mexican food. It's amazing how clean you can feel even if you don't shower just by putting clean clothes on. (there was no place to shower in town without paying, we figured we could wait two more days) Stopped by the outfitter on the way out of time and met Brandon - the owner. He was kind enough to give us a ride back to the trail. I was still stuffed from lunch but we had to hoof it 5 miles to the shelter. Thankful to get there and let the food settle. Not suprinsingly, I was hungry again and thankful I had thought to get a sub from Blimpie before leaving town. Sometimes you get sick of dinners you cook out here. And I can officially not eat any more trail mix. There's only so much you can stomach. Currently, i prefer snickers bars and a variety of granola and other candy bars.
4/29/07 28.2 miles to Bears Den Hostel. This was a very long day but eventful nonetheless. Got up early and did 3 miles to the road to meet Jeremy and his dad. They had a bit of time finding us but they got there and Jer's dad was kind enough to take our packs so they would be waiting for us at Bears Den. I don't think Jer knew what he was getting into but he won the trooper award for the day. From the road, we had 25 miles which included devils roller coaster. If you don't know what that is, it is a stretch of 10 miles that has 6 separate climbs of a signifincant elevation gain and loss. They even put up a sign warning hikers about it. The first part of the day was great - we were ambling along enjoying the scenery and then realized we needed to kick it up a notch in order to get into the hostel on time. By this point, poor Jer has blisters on several parts of his feet but he wasn't complaining. I can't believe I asked him to hike 25 miles in one day. I didn't do that until I had been on the trail for a month. He did it cold turkey!! Took a long break before the roller coaster and then took to the trail. Me and Tau jumped ahead to check in on time. Even we were dragging by that point. We roll in right at dark and Greg was there waiting for us. (Greg's one of my roomies from college) He came to take our packs to Harpers Ferry so we could slack pack again. So thankful for him and Jeremy for giving us a bit of a break with the packs. Checked in at the hostel, got our pint of Ben and Jerry's and pizza and finally sat down. I can't believe I ate a whole pizza by myself. I guess you could say I was hungry. We all got showers and just went to bed - an exhausting day for everybody but what an experience! I know Jer will never forget it.
4/30/07 20.7 miles to Harpers Ferry, WV. Jer decided to not hike with us again and let his blisters and his body recover a bit. I can't say I blame him. Bears Den was such a neat place - this old castle turned into a hostel. I wish I could have stayed and really enjoyed it but WV awaited. Got up and made pancakes. Decided what would go better with pancakes then our leftover ice cream from last night. What a treat. Don't know if I should try it at home but I need all the calories I can get out here. Hiked out around 9:45 and made plans to meet Jer and Greg in Harpers Ferry later that day. Had a nice break at Blackburn Trail Center. What a great place - it is maintained by the PATC and would have been a nice place to spend the night but we were headed a bit further. The terrain was really rocky today and I was still tired from yesterday. Me and Tau desperately wanted to get to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's headquarters before they closed so we could sign the official trail register. We rocked out 12 miles in 4 hours. We were moving and made it ther around 5:30. They close at 5 but they were nice enough to let us in to sign. We got our pictures taken and signed in. We were #22 and 23 for thru-hikers heading north to pass through harpers ferry this year. Not too shabby if you ask me. Headed down the trail a bit farther to historic harpers ferry. what a beautiful town. The place we wanted to go for dinner was closed but the owners lived next door and offered us a beer while we were waiting for Greg. Very thankful! Headed to the only place in town that was open - a very nice tavern and finally got some grub. Ended up being quite the dinner party -Greg, Jer, Tau, Salamander, myself and a wild salmon farmer from Scotland that Salamander ran into on the way to the tavern. It made for excellent dinner conversation. While eating dinner, Greg mentioned that his hot water heater has busted and flooded the basement. Since all of us were staying there, he would have to suffer through our stench til the next morning when it would be fixed. Thanks Greg for everything, especially putting up with us all. Hit the Home Depot on the way home to buy the heater. Another long day but so greatful to be sharing it with all these amazing people.
5/1/07 zero day in Harpers Ferry! only my fourth day off on the trail and i so enjoyed it. We had quite a bit to do as usual being a hiker only in town for a short time once a week or so. Hit the ATC headquarters again so Sal could sign in since he got in too late the night before. Checked out historic harpers ferry again -the outfitter there was in the coolest old building. Finally got a hat that fit and would keep my scalp from burning in the sun! Ate at the restaurant we had wanted to try the night before - loved the crab cake sandwich. Headed back to Greg's and we all just crashed for awhile. Cooked a great big dinner with veggie burgers, chips, beans and beer. We were all too stuffed for the dessert we bought but ofcourse we found room later. It was great to finally catch up with Jeremy and Greg. It had been a few years since I had seen either of them.
5/2/07 17.5 miles to Boonsboro, MD. So we were spoiled one more day. Jer was kind enough to take our packs to his parents house in Boonsboro and they were kind enough to open up their home to three hungry and stinky thru-hikers. This terrain felt great - we rocked out the mileage in no time. Maryland was good to us. We passed by several historical landmarks and it was just a beautiful day outside. Jer picked us up from the trail and took us on a tour of Boonsboro. Another great town along the trail. Even Nora Roberts (famous author) calls Boonsboro her home. Got some much needed ice cream from the cremery and even got to see where Jer's grandparents live. Their farm has quite a bit of Civil War history. Headed to Jer's parents house and his mom cooked us veggie lasagna with salad, bread, and ice cream and brownies for dessert. We have been spoiled several days in a row now. We even watched a movie - I felt almost like a normal person. Jer had to head out that night but promised his mom would take us to the trail the next day. Thanks Jer and Laurie and Lindsey for all of your hospitality!!
5/3/07 18.6 miles to Devils Racecourse Shelter campsite. It was really hard hiking today with packs on with slackpacking the past few days. My pack felt like someone had snuck bricks in. So today was a bit slow moving but we got there. Took several long breaks and enjoyed every minute of those breaks. Passed by the original Washington monument and Annapolis rocks - both really neat spots. Met several guys out on a bachelor party weekend in the woods at the shelter. We decided to cook dinner at the shelter and hike back up the trail (very steep climb) and camp on top of the mountain so we wouldn't have to do it first thing in the morning (very thankful the next day!).
5/4/07 23 miles to Caledonia State Park area. Salamander invited us to join him and his mom for dinner as she was coming to pick him up for a few days off the trail. We just needed to meet her at the state park. You don't have to ask us twice to come to dinner. I slept really well last night - guess I needed the rest. Got a bit turned around this morning. Me and Tau were hiking together and talking as usual. Not really watching for white blazes. Realized it pretty soon and got back on the trail in no time. Salamander was now in front of us so we were able to sneak up on him a bit and surprise him. He thought it was pretty amusing. Got to the park and was able to soak my feet - they always enjoy getting iced down after all those miles. Sal's mom was going to be a bit late but me and Tau decided to wait and have dinner. Again, dinner at a restaurant sounded much better than anything we were going to cook. Plus I wanted to meet Sal's mom. We end up going to this great bistro only a few miles from the trail. It is by far the best food I have had since I have been out here. I had crab au gratin with linguine - it was amazing. Thanks Sal's mom for treating us to that great meal. She dropped us back to the park and we said our goodbyes to Salamander. Hopefully he will catch up to us after he takes time off. I really enjoy hiking with him. Tau and I were too stuffed to go far so we just threw our bags down and camped under the stars.
5/5/07 26.3 miles to Tagg Run campsite. We weren't sure how many miles we were going to do today and decided to play it by ear. The terrain finally calmed down a bit. By the way, did I mention I made it to Pennsylvania - woohoo - state number 7, 7 more to go! Headed out of the park to the first shelter and met some really nice section hikers. Darryl went to Eastern Kentucky University just like me and now lives in Pennsylvania. Nice to have some Kentucky connections. Made great time getting to the next shelter and Tau caught up with me there. A really great shelter - wished I could stay but decided to push on. There is something called the half-gallon challenge that takes place at Pine Grove Furnace State Park. It involves being able to eat an entire half-gallon of ice cream in one setting. I wasn't sure if I was up to the challenge but when I got to the store and realized it was only open on weekends and I had arrived on a Saturday, I decided it was meant to me. I took my tub of Moose tracks and set to work. I am proud to say I ate 2/3 of it. I probably could have finished it off but I would have been really sick. As it was, my tummy wasn't too happy but at least not puking. Took some time to rest and thought it might not be a bad idea to hike some more so my tummy could work out some of that ice cream. Headed up the trail another 7 miles and it did the trick. Like a champ, i was even able to eat dinner upon arrival into camp. Got to love the thru-hiker appetite.
5/6/07 26.8 miles to Darlington shelter. no rational person would plan on hiking two 26 mile days in a row but who's rational out here? :) Got up this morning after not sleeping too well and headed to Boiling Springs, PA. Up and over a few mountains and we were just in time for lunch. Decided to eat at the only place open in town - italian. Another amazing meal which included sun-dried tomato bisque manicotti, salad, fresh bread and a picture of root beer. Talk about being too stuffed to hike another 14 miles. It took a lot of convincing to get Tau up from her spot in the sun napping to go hiking. I wasn't too keen on the idea either but it meant a fairly easy day tomorrow so onward we pressed. It was a long afternoon but relatively flat. My dogs were barking especially the last four miles. Got into camp and met some more section hikers who were really friendly. Ate a quick snack and collapsed into my bag. Oh the joy of the thru-hiker life.
5/7/07 11.4 miles to Duncannon, PA I can't believe I actually caught up my journal. I am currently in Duncannon at the Doyle Hotel. This hotel is 102 years old, pretty crazy. My feet were not excited about hiking this morning but they were fine once we started moving. Took several breaks and was really excited to make it to town. Just relaxing today, enjoying the nice weather and hopefully I will catch up with some folks on the phone later.
I can't believe how fast time is going right now. I want to savor every minute of this experience. Hope you enjoyed the update and I will try and get some pics up soon!
Much love,
Kentucky Blue
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Harpers Ferry Baby!!!
Pictures above: Me and Mama Boots (trail legend), beautiful sunset over Humpback Mountain, the kissing tree with some friends (that's the type of tree it was, we all thought it was appropriate), the gunshow after finishing Shenendoah National Park (thank God), trillium (very nice to finally see some spring flowers), Bears Den Hostel with Salamander, Tau, and my friend Jeremy visiting, and me at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Headquarters - the unofficial halfway point on the trail - who can believe it?
4/19/07 20.1 miles to US 60. We figured it would be a good day to hike all day in the rain and then call the Dutch Haus Bed and Breakfast to pick us up to dry up and feed us yummy food. Ran into two trail maintainers that hiked the AT in 1987 - Flash and Hotflash. They left some doughnuts at the shleter as trail magic. They were so friendly. The Dutch Haus was amazing. They did our laundry, fixed some incrdible veggie lasagna and even gave me two desserts. Not too bad after a long day.
4/20/07 25.7 mile slack from US 60 to the Tye River. What a long day but not too shabby when you don't have to carry a heavy pack. Me and Tau ate a very large breakfast and then got a ride from Tyvek (section hiker) back to US 60. It was quite the climb that morning but the weather was amazing. After the first 15 miles, it took a bit of prodding for both of us to want to continue the last ten miles past the Dutch Haus but we perservered because it would make tomorrow a shorter day. Got to our meeting place at 7 pm, my dogs were definitely barking (feet hurting) but happy to be heading back to the Dutch Haus again. We finally got to meet up with some other hikers staying there. Mama Boots being one of them, she section hiked the entire trail awhile back with girl scouts and is somewhat of a trail legend. She had an injury on the trail the previous night resulting in stitches. It was great to talk to her and the other Kentucky folks that were hiking with her. At 79, she is still hiking the AT - amazing!
4/21/07 16.5 miles to a campsite near Humpback Mountain. Ate another very large breakfast (are you seeing a trend here?) and loaded our packs and headed up a very steep mountain that lasted all morning. And boy was it steamy out today? No shirts and a bit of a sunburn from yesterday made it a bit uncomfortable with the packs but alas, up we went. The views were amazing and we ran into all kinds of people. At our lunch break, Tau and I ran into a nice family from Charlottesville, VA. We took a nice long break talking with them and they even gave us a huge bag of peanut m&m's (one of my favorites!), hot cocoa for later and some Clif bars. Thanks so much if you read this - that candy got me through the day. Got back moving on the trail and did another 6 miles. The campsite selection wasn't that great so we kept hiking after we were tired and found this amazing campsite. I got to watch a beautiful sunset and just relax. Sometimes good things happen when you wait and are willing to go with the flow. Tau definitely helps me relax and go with the flow. I'm a bit of planner as you all know and she is anything but. Makes for a good team.
4/22/07 13.5 miles to Waynesboro, VA. The valley of hospitality, they call it and boy was it. Got up really early to beat the heat a bit and ran into Salamander at the Wolfe shelter around 9:30 am. Jason's mom(trail name) brought up hard boiled eggs and goobers and I got to chat with her for a few minutes - very appreciative!! Rested up and headed the rest of the way to Waynesboro. Salamander had headed out a bit before us and we found him not too far down the trail. Apparantly he had run into a timber rattlesnake and was a bit startled. Good times. We all cautiously went around it and safely made it to the Rockfish Gap. The people of Waynesboro were so friendly. They gave us a ride to the outfitter and then to town. Got showers at the YMCA and heard about a fly-fishing/wine-tasting festival in city. They heard we were thru-hikers and let us in for free! Let's just say it was an eventful afternoon. A good time was had by all. Got some groceries and more tasty beverages and grilled out by the river. Camped out that night and awoke with very damp sleeping bags!
4/23/07 15.8 miles to a campsite in the Shenendoah National Park. No one was feeling that hot this morning but we had lots to do. Hurriedly did laundry, had a big breakfast, and went to the post office to get our maildrops. My summer sleeping bag didn't arrive so I was pretty bummed. The ride we had arranged was waiting us but she was very sweet and patient as we were all running around trying to get things organized and mailed off. Finally got on the trail and entered Shenendoah park. Lots of blowdowns due to windstorms and ice storms this winter. So hot outside but at least Salamander, Tau and I were in it together. Made it to the first shelter and decided we didn't want to go 20 miles as planned. We headed to a spring and wittled the afternoon away with our feet in the stream. Thank God we changed our plans and decided to wait out the heat. We cooked dinner around 4 and then set out around 5 to find a campsite. Hiked about 6 more miles and found a nice spot. I am still realizing how nice it is to share this experience with these amazing people. We were all hot, not feeling well but we still had a great day. They were kind enough to deal with my moodiness over not receiving my package.
So I have run out of time at the library. I posted some pics and will finish up the blog hopefully later today. If not, sometime next week. I am so happy to be psychologically halfway and especially glad to be out of Virginia. Very long state!!! Looking forward to filling you all in on my adventures in Shenendoah National Park and to Harpers Ferry!!
Kentucky Blue
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
