Well here we are, at the Doyle Hotel in Duncannon, Pennsylvania. It's been a great past week, with CC Rider and I pulling 4 or 5 20 mile days in a row. At this rate, we'll be in Maine in no time! But, alas, it can't last forever... The rocks in Pa so far aren't too bad and we haven't seen ANY rattle snakes. There has also been a plethora of state park vending machines. No, I didn't do the 1/2 gallon challenge, (eating a 1/2 gallon of ice cream @ the park the 1/2 way point on the trail is in) but I am gaining an appreciation for ice cream.
Unfortunately, my pack has finally been weighed, and I've decided it needs to go on a diet so it weighs less than 38lbs. yea, I'm pretty glad I didn't weigh it at the beginning or I never would've made it this far.
We're taking the 4th of july weekend off and going back to State College to enjoy the festivities and cheer my sister Gretchen on in her triathlon. See you there!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
woot!
So not too much has happened in the past three days, but we did pass the 1000 mile marker and get out of the 550 or so miles of Virginia-onto new states! We also did a marathon 2 days ago-26.2 miles- from Dick's Dome Shelter to the Blackburn AT center, over the 'roller coaster', to get some free dinner. Those people were so nice to make us salad and spaghetti, but I my knees were definitely hurting yesterday. My time in this marathon, including breaks for food and water, was almost exactly 12 hours, from 6:15am to 6:15pm-ish. We will be in Duncannon in about 8 days, trying to make it to Gretchens in Reading for the Fourth of July! Let's see if we make it.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
How hot is hot?
Did you know your earlobes sweat? I didn't until hiking in humid, 95 degree weather for a few days. We were on a siesta schedule for half of this past week because of the heat and humidity- get up @ 5, start hiking by 6, take a break from noonish to fivish, continue hiking til 7 or 8. I hope to not have to do that again for a while. Finally, when we got to Big Meadow campground, a cold front moved through and cooled it down to the low 80s. I don't think I had ever been so excited about a cold front in my life. Oh, and we got to shower @ the campground and eat real food as well @ the wayside-yummy.
So we'vre decided that in Shennandoah National Park, they really need to re-route the AT so it goes past some exciting parts, as opposed to the boring, not-many-views part it traverses now. We did, however, see many bears and too many deer to count. We saw so many bears, I think I may be good on sightings for the rest of the trip. In one day, hiking the 20 miles into Big Meadows campground/lodge, CC Rider and I saw 8 bears collectively. 3 of them being a mother and her 2 cubs about 35-40ft. from us, not really caring when we made noise. We also got a dinner time visit from another mother and her cub being about 25-30ft. away, but we scared them away by barking @ them.
It has been figured out that we'll be in PA by the end of the week, and probably in Duncannon (the closest place to State College) about a week after that. I'll try to update everyone on a more definite arrival date as we get closer, so anyone who wants to visit can, but that's the plan so far. I still can't believe I'm almost half done with this, we'll be in Harpers Ferry on the 19th!
In other news, I needed to get a small hip belt because my medium was cinched as tight as possible and still bruising my hips from being loose. I also finally lost the dead toenail I had. That is all:)
So we'vre decided that in Shennandoah National Park, they really need to re-route the AT so it goes past some exciting parts, as opposed to the boring, not-many-views part it traverses now. We did, however, see many bears and too many deer to count. We saw so many bears, I think I may be good on sightings for the rest of the trip. In one day, hiking the 20 miles into Big Meadows campground/lodge, CC Rider and I saw 8 bears collectively. 3 of them being a mother and her 2 cubs about 35-40ft. from us, not really caring when we made noise. We also got a dinner time visit from another mother and her cub being about 25-30ft. away, but we scared them away by barking @ them.
It has been figured out that we'll be in PA by the end of the week, and probably in Duncannon (the closest place to State College) about a week after that. I'll try to update everyone on a more definite arrival date as we get closer, so anyone who wants to visit can, but that's the plan so far. I still can't believe I'm almost half done with this, we'll be in Harpers Ferry on the 19th!
In other news, I needed to get a small hip belt because my medium was cinched as tight as possible and still bruising my hips from being loose. I also finally lost the dead toenail I had. That is all:)
Friday, June 6, 2008
I finally REALLY saw a bear!
Ok, so it was actually two bearcubs, but that counts as one real-size bear, right? They were running down a tree and then, thankfully, in the opposite direction from where I was standing. It was scary, not as scary as rattlesnakes though. I have not yet seen any of those in person, just other people's pictures.
So, in the past however long it's been since I last wrote, it has gotten exponentially hotter, and we have gone further north. The troupe I'm traveling with has lost a female(Trout), and picked up a male(Buckeye), which makes the ratio 3:1. This makes me sad, because for the most part, our conversations now consist of fart jokes and discussion of body parts. Buckeye is soon to leave us to wait for his ex-lady, Pax-a-lot.
We hit the trail after Pearisburg with high spirits and some other spirits too, yum. We hit some memorial Sunday trail magic, a sandwich never tasted so good. The next day, after crossing Dragon's Tooth and right before McAfee's Knob, we sadly bid farewell to Trout and her father drove her to the truckstop to shower before the trek home. We saw sunset on the Knob, then traveled on.
The next day, we went over Tinker's Cliffs, to Daleville, where we promptly went to the mexican restaurant and ate, then went swimming in the HoJo pool. It was glorious after 4 days of sweating and not showering. We also ran into Blaze, who is unabashedly rocking the male hiking skirt and says he now swears by it. That night, I played a killer game of P&A with Doxie, Meatbag, Buckeye, Hare, CC, and Smokin' Joe. It lasted til 1am, which is about 4-5 hours after our normal bedtime.
After eating pizza for lunch the next day, we headed on. The mountain out of Dale/Trout-ville was pretty killer, but not too bad.
Then came the so-far highlight of the trip: jumping off the James River foot bridge! Oh yea, we got it on video. Of course I screamed, but it was awesome! The trail angel Ken who drove us into Glasgow to resupply was cool, as was showing up at a shelter to find a guy cooking pancakes and eggs for us, but jumping off the bridge was better!
Then, a few days later, we got a ride into the Dutch Haus B&B for the free lunch they offer hikers! Whoa lotsa trail magic, I'm starting to like Va.(except for all the biting insects)
After filling up on that, we couldn't walk over The Priest, so we stayed @ the Priest Shelter and let ourselves digest.
The next day was hot and humid, which I think I may need to get used to to hike until New England. So instead of walking up over the three ridges, some of us decided to blue-blaze(gasp) to some falls to refresh. It was soo cold, but felt amazing.
After crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway for the 25th time, we ran into a couple that had just gotten married by a J.P. on the trail! They gave us cliff bars and water! Thanks again Seth and Catherine!
Oh, I also once again avoided getting struck by lightning in the two storms we had to walk through, but didn't avoid freaking out just a little when the lightning got a bit too close.
I learned some new terminology as well: apparently to 'yogi' something means to get food from non-thru-hikers without actually asking for it. You can do this by engaging them in conversation and/or looking pitiful very close to their large cookout while eating raw ramen or something like it. They then offer you food and you take it and eat it-interesting, isn't it?
P.S.-I have named my hiker funk and it has been agreed upon as being truthful by other hikers as being almost dead-on: I smell like moldy baby pool after a few days of sweating and not showering. Thank goodness there aren't any enclosed spaces in the wilderness!
So, in the past however long it's been since I last wrote, it has gotten exponentially hotter, and we have gone further north. The troupe I'm traveling with has lost a female(Trout), and picked up a male(Buckeye), which makes the ratio 3:1. This makes me sad, because for the most part, our conversations now consist of fart jokes and discussion of body parts. Buckeye is soon to leave us to wait for his ex-lady, Pax-a-lot.
We hit the trail after Pearisburg with high spirits and some other spirits too, yum. We hit some memorial Sunday trail magic, a sandwich never tasted so good. The next day, after crossing Dragon's Tooth and right before McAfee's Knob, we sadly bid farewell to Trout and her father drove her to the truckstop to shower before the trek home. We saw sunset on the Knob, then traveled on.
The next day, we went over Tinker's Cliffs, to Daleville, where we promptly went to the mexican restaurant and ate, then went swimming in the HoJo pool. It was glorious after 4 days of sweating and not showering. We also ran into Blaze, who is unabashedly rocking the male hiking skirt and says he now swears by it. That night, I played a killer game of P&A with Doxie, Meatbag, Buckeye, Hare, CC, and Smokin' Joe. It lasted til 1am, which is about 4-5 hours after our normal bedtime.
After eating pizza for lunch the next day, we headed on. The mountain out of Dale/Trout-ville was pretty killer, but not too bad.
Then came the so-far highlight of the trip: jumping off the James River foot bridge! Oh yea, we got it on video. Of course I screamed, but it was awesome! The trail angel Ken who drove us into Glasgow to resupply was cool, as was showing up at a shelter to find a guy cooking pancakes and eggs for us, but jumping off the bridge was better!
Then, a few days later, we got a ride into the Dutch Haus B&B for the free lunch they offer hikers! Whoa lotsa trail magic, I'm starting to like Va.(except for all the biting insects)
After filling up on that, we couldn't walk over The Priest, so we stayed @ the Priest Shelter and let ourselves digest.
The next day was hot and humid, which I think I may need to get used to to hike until New England. So instead of walking up over the three ridges, some of us decided to blue-blaze(gasp) to some falls to refresh. It was soo cold, but felt amazing.
After crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway for the 25th time, we ran into a couple that had just gotten married by a J.P. on the trail! They gave us cliff bars and water! Thanks again Seth and Catherine!
Oh, I also once again avoided getting struck by lightning in the two storms we had to walk through, but didn't avoid freaking out just a little when the lightning got a bit too close.
I learned some new terminology as well: apparently to 'yogi' something means to get food from non-thru-hikers without actually asking for it. You can do this by engaging them in conversation and/or looking pitiful very close to their large cookout while eating raw ramen or something like it. They then offer you food and you take it and eat it-interesting, isn't it?
P.S.-I have named my hiker funk and it has been agreed upon as being truthful by other hikers as being almost dead-on: I smell like moldy baby pool after a few days of sweating and not showering. Thank goodness there aren't any enclosed spaces in the wilderness!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
