Days 81-84; 6/19/14-6/22/14

6/19: Day 81

Elkville Shelter (1,228.2)- Oven Bake Shelter (1,245.9)

Total: 17.7 Miles

Yet another midnight thunderstorm brewed over night. We woke with some condensation, but nothing we weren't able to manage. We slept in until 6:15 a.m., even though we had an easy day before this one. The goal today was only 17 miles, so we were in no hurry to be the first visitors through spider web kingdom. As Jeremy and I were sitting at the picnic table with Buzz, Tandem, and Mio; Jungle Jim and Mosey were endeavoring to battle the morning webs. We waved them goodbye, thankful we weren't the firsts, yet again. We broke camp around 8:45 a.m., and scurried up the steady, steep climb from the valley in which we slept. The Pennsylvania trail clubs don't seem to be fans of switchbacks (making the trail weave back and forth up the mountain rather than a steep straight up climb), because most of the climbs have been directly up the mountain. We hiked listening to our headphones as the rain started to drizzle upon us. At mile seven for the day around 11:30 a.m., we stopped at the Allenberry Trail Club Shelter for some lunch. We decided it was either there or on the side of the trail in the rain somewhere. About 45 minutes later, Mio, Buzz, and Tandem stopped in and had lunch with us. We watched as the rain fell, and each of us expressing our lack of want to hike further for the day. Eventually, we packed up and the five of us headed down the trail another six miles. About .2 off of the trail, there was a bar/restaurant and we decided to stop in to dry off a little bit. The man running the place sat us at a specific table with rubber covered seats, so we wouldn't destroy the wood chairs. We ordered some desserts and coffee while watching the World Cup. Buzz is really into Geo Cashing, so the conversation steered to all the epic finds of Geo Cashing. After a partial drying, we headed out to accomplish the last three miles to camp. Before getting completely out of the parking lot, the three guys discovered a Geo Cash within 100 feet. After 10-15 of searching they successfully located the 4 ounce box under a fallen sign while Tandem and I observed from the sideline taking pictures of they're childlike giddiness. As we continued up the trail, the rocks greeted us again. Thankfully, the rain had ceased but the rocks were still dampened. We carefully made it across what is called the "Knife Edge", and made it to the Oven Bake Shelter with all of our limbs still intact. Jeremy suggested we all set up camp above the shelter on the ridge line, so we could get the cool Canadian wind blowing in and hopefully dry out our tent. As we cooked dinner we reminisced on the day's journey, then headed to bed in the cool 53 degrees and heavenly wind blowing through our tent.

6.20: Day 82

Oven Bake (1,245.9)- Palmerton (1,253.6)

Total miles: 7.7

This morning we started off completely rejuvenated with one of the best nights rest in a while. With a  cool breeze all through the night, we woke completely dry and even somewhat chilly. It was like being in a climate controlled environment  void of humidity. As we packed up, we exchanged phone numbers with Buzz, Mio, and Tandem, since we planned on going into Palmerton and they were heading further north. We said our goodbyes and hiked on. A couple miles into the morning we stubbled upon our first Pennsylvania trail magic! Even though we weren't hungry, we used it as an excuse to take a break. We enjoyed some Cheese Danishes and apples. It was delicious! The rest of the crew caught up at that time and we chatted some more before heading on. We ended up hiking with them all the way to Palmerton. We said our final farewells at the intersection to continue north or head into town. They went north and we headed to town. We immediately we able to get a ride by these two Polish ladies. They were on there way back from a farmers market that had authentic polish foods, in which they kindly offered to us! They gave us Keishbach and multigrain bread. They were so kind! After, we checked in at the Jailhouse Hostel which was a free hostel the City of Palmerton hosted for hikers, and it's located in the basement of the city hall. We met a Ridge-runner named  Blue Eyes and chatted with him for a bit. Conveniently, there was a laundromat across the street from the hostel, so we did laundry after showering. I went to a local market down the street to get change and they gave me two free pieces of fruit because Jeremy and I were hikers! It was such a blessing. The hospitality in this town has been unbelievable. There are some great people here! The remainder of the evening was full of simplicity and rest. We purchased some resupply items and ate bagels and butter for dinner. It has been awhile since we've only hiked 8 miles throughout the day, but we enjoyed the downsize in the pace.

6/21: Day 83

Palmerton (1,253.6)- Leroy Shelter (1,269.4)

Total miles: 15.8

Getting back to the trailhead was remarkably easy this morning. Blue Eyes had his truck at the hostel and was able to drop us off after a tasteful breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. Today's terrain started out with a 900  ft. climbed out of the valley of Palmerton. This climb consisted of scrambling, bouldering, and a slight amount of crawling. We were very appreciative to be doing this section over dry rocks because it would've been near impassable if it was raining. We had to ditch our poles for a bit because this climb needed the attention of all limbs. After the climb, there was a two mile section of tick infested tall grass that we were warned about before stumbling across it. Right before the section we sprayed a vigorous amount of deet on the exposed sections of our legs, sock, shoes, and shorts. As we walked the two mile section, we periodically examined our legs for ticks and successfully found not a one. Every gnat that landed on them instantly died, which was a bit gratifying since they're usually trying to leech to your eyeballs. We haven't used any bug spray thus far because the deet is terrible for your body since it cannot break down the chemical; however, we were pleased that it prevented any ticks from latching to us today. 

Another eventful site this morning was walking through a Superfund site. This was an area of forest that had been destroyed by zinc smelting from the town of Palmerton. In 1980, the Environmental Protection Agency shut down the cause the pollution and declared it a superfund site, and efforts to revegetate it are currently being made. To us, it looked a tornado had came through and wipes out the trees in this section. It was a sad site indeed, but the vegetation is coming back. 

The rest of the day was rather uneventful which we were thankful for. Today was the first day of summer, and in commemoration of the Summer Solecist, some thru-hikers have a tradition to hike naked. We did not participate in this tradition nor did we see any hikers participating. However, we did speak to some sectioners that were rather appalled to witness this uncensored tradition. 

We made it the shelter by 5 p.m., and were surprised to see our Korean friends, Tent Maker and First A, we met back at Macfee's Knob in Virginia. When they got to Daleville, VA, they flew to NY and started hiking south, so that is how we ran into them. We were alerting them of some sections to beware of, and they did the same for us. We asked them how rocky the terrain would be tomorrow and Tent Maker said it wasn't that bad, but First A said in response to Tent Maker, "(in a Korean accent) Oh yes it bad. You scream! You say Eee AHH OOO EEE!" Jeremy and I laughed for a good five minutes. They're such a comical couple. After they left, we did our routine- Jeremy set up the tent and I got some water and filtered it. We were in our tent and ready for bed by 7:30 p.m. There were some sectioners we chatted with for a little while, but no other thru-hikers showed up while we were socializing. Jeremy noticed that I had miscalculated tomorrow's mileage. Instead of what I thought to be 15 miles, it will actually be 20, and tomorrow is suppose to be the most consistent rocky terrain yet. However, tomorrow evening Jeremy's grandparents plan to pick us up, so regardless of the terrain tomorrow will be a glorious day!

6/22: Day 84

Leroy Shelter (1,269.4)- Delaware Water Gap (1,289.6)

Total miles: 20.2

Our original plan for this morning was to break camp by 6:30 a.m., but we didn't end up waking up until then. Since it was the last night in the woods for a week, we thought we could prolong our time in the tent for a bit longer. We left camp by 7:40 a.m., and initiated our 20 mile day. The rocks accompanied us this morning, midday, and into the evening. By the end of the rocky streak our ankles should've been awarded an Olympic medal for the gymnastic excursion they put forth. The trail finally gave us a break the closer we got to the Delaware Water Gap. We arrived in town at 4:30 p.m., and stopped by a quaint little coffee and ice cream parlor. We enjoyed a couple French Press coffees, and initiated our relaxation period. In about three hours we were going to be heading back to Harper's Ferry, and our feet could taste the pleasure of soft cushiony carpet rather than a 20 mile long rock beating. 

After our coffee, we walked a block to a church hostel to wait the remaining two hours for our pick up. We talked with some hikers and the pastor of the the church for a little bit, and we got to see Blue Eyes again! Also, Honey Bear showed up with one of his friends and we talked with him about his adventures since we had seen him last at the hiker feed. He was in the middle of telling us about cooking some squirrel roadkill when Jeremy's grandparents showed up at 7:30 p.m. We said goodbye to the fellow hikers and drove off ever so happy to be with family again. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel on the way home and reminisced with Jermey's grandparents about our time on the trail thus far. We made it back to the RV in Harper's Ferry by midnight and went straight to bed. A 20 mile day of walking and a 4 hour drive makes one long day. We are so grateful to be taking this break though, and so thankful for wonderful family that loves us so much to pick us up and take us in!

One of the many shelters on the A.T.

Gilligan, Mio, and Buzz looking for a Geo Cash

The Knife's Edge

Scrambling on the wet rocks

Buzz, Tandem, and Mio

First Pennsylvania trail magic!

The PA rocks are legit.

The Keishbach and Bread we got from the polish ladies!

Hanging out in our rain gear at the laundromat! 

Part of the climb out of Palmerton.

The old factory in Palmerton that produce the zinc smelting that destroyed the vegetation on the Blue Mountain.

The aftermath of years of zinc pollution.

More PA trail blessings!

Tent Maker and First A, our Korean friends!

Blue Eyes and Gilligan

PA trail at its finest!

No more rocks pleeeeease!

Day 73-80, 6/11/14- 6/18/14

6/11: Day 73 

Pine Grove State Park-Boiling Springs

Total: 21 miles

Last night, for the third night in a row, it rained. We heard thunder before bed far off in the distance, but around midnight the sky's opened up in a big way. It's been nice that it hasn't been raining during the day. The Kallins got out of camp a little quicker than we did since they have new gear waiting for them at the post office and it closes at 4:30 p.m. We, on the other hand, meandered about drinking coffee and making jokes about the many faces of expressions Dawn makes. One is called the "stink eye", but my favorite is her "Gurrrr" face. Maybe I can sneak a picture sometime. We started walking about 8:40 a.m. Since it's been raining every day for the last three days, it has progressively became more and more humid. I've heard the expression "the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife." It felt like the air was so thick I could of traded my shoes for a canoe. Pennsylvania is fairly flat, but by the top of every little up hill I was swimming in sweat. Yesterday, we passed the current half-way point, but today we passed the original half way point. I think it's so cool to be walking a path that has been around for nearly a century. On the other hand, I wonder what went through the minds of my predecessors as they passed these land marks. Our last couple of miles ended with ultra flat corn and wheat fields. We are beginning a 14 mile stretch of farm land that is renowned for its flatness. Upon arriving to Boiling Springs, we must of looked confused about where we were, because less than five minutes after we began to orient ourselves with the map and where we wanted to go a lady pulled over. We asked her if she knew where the Allenberry Inn was, and she offered to take us. It was so awesome! Free ride! When we got to the Allenberry, it was not at all what I expected based on what I had heard. It was full of huge old trees with moss hanging so low they grazed the ground in the breeze. The facilities had been built some time in the 1960's, renovated in the 1980's, and not much had been done since. Despite it's outdated decor, it was a very charming place. It also sported a room for $40, breakfast for $6, which was awesome, and a hot tub. All of which surpassed expectation except the hot tub; it was luke warm. Upon getting our room we decided to order in pizza from a recommended Italian place. We've learned it's almost always a safe bet to go with what the locals recommend. Two large pizzas really hit the spot and gave us left overs to munch on at our purgative. Over all, it's turned out to be a great day. 

6/12: Day 74 

Zero day at Allenberry Inn

Total: 0 miles

Last night it rained basically all night. We were so glad to be under a roof. We woke around 7:45 a.m., and moseyed our way to breakfast. My first goal of any morning meal is coffee. During college, I became an avid coffee drinker. The waitress brought some and it was an excellent cup. For $40 a night, I really feel like I'm getting my money's worth. We ate breakfast and then started our zero day routine of hanging around the hotel. This place is unique in that it hosts a lot of senior citizen events. Around 10:45 a.m. a whole tour bus full showed up. It was so fun getting to chat with some of them, they where all very intrigued by our journey. One gentleman asked if we were thru-hiking when we said yes he tossed us a guide to all the trails in Pennsylvania. We thanked him and laughed after because hiking anymore than we have to is out of the question. 

For lunch, we ate our left over pizza and settled in for an afternoon nap. Before this trip I had two main jobs that would usually let me take a nap during the day. I really miss those times. My brother found our hammock and he is sending it to us soon, so let the day napping begin! Last on our list of zero day activities was dinner. We were able to get a ride with a fellow hiker, Mio, to the same place that brought us pizza last night. The place was full of Italians, no wonder the pizza was so good. It made me miss the authentic Italian food places we have close to where we live. With full bellies, we waddled back to our bed. The night ended with us watching Dennis Quaid in his portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis. At first, I thought the movie was a comedy, but then I figured out he was really playing a person. We finished that movie with a different view of the song "Great Balls of Fire," and the morals Jerry Lee Lewis lived his life by. After all, he did marry his 13-year old cousin when he was 22. 

6/13: Day 75 

Allenberry Inn-Darlington shelter

Total: 13 miles

Have you ever looked forward to something for weeks and then it turn out to be a bust. Today was one of those days. It started out so good. We woke about 7:45 a.m., took showers, and got to breakfast in time to sit and chat with friends. Just before we started hiking, a thunder storm rolled through so we let that pass. We expected it to be humid and overcast all day. Those are pretty small irritants in the grand scheme of things. The anticipation for today has been the 14 miles of farm land we would be crossing. Technically, we had already crossed two miles of it, which was incredibly flat, so we were excited for another easy 12 miles. It was flat, but it was also a swamp. To be honest, I took it harder than I should of, but I can't describe how disappointed I felt. For weeks, we both had looked at this piece of terrain on the elevation map and lined for its flatness. Instead we spent hours slipping and sliding through the mud and fording creeks just deep enough to cover our ankles and soak our feet. At one point, we reached a set of train tracks. I had to sit down and collect myself. The A.T. is full of many physical challenges, but the biggest hurdles are always mental. My tender wife sat next to me and it was so comforting for her to give me a hug. We stopped at a nice picnic table by a pond for lunch. The sun was shinning, and it was nice to watch the geese swim around the pond. Just as we packed up to leave, the mother of all rain storms burst forth in a manner reserved to describe the battle of the bulge in WWII, and the intensity with which the Kool-Aid man jumps through walls in his commercials. I had a steady stream of water flowing down my face as did Dawn. Literally, a second after it ended we reached what would have been shelter, many of our hiker friends had taken shelter and were still dry. One remarked to make sure and take cover so we didn't get wet. It was funny, but my soaked boxers didn't laugh as the rubbed my thighs red. We made it to a shelter after just 13-miles. It was 5:30 p.m., and we decided to cancel our ambitious goal of 21-miles that day and camp for the night. It's been an insanely challenging day, but none the less the joy of The Lord is our strength. We will not be conquered by a foot path. 

6/14: Day 76 

Darlington Shelter-Peters Mt Shelter

Total: 22 miles

Promptly at 5:00 a.m. this morning I woke up. Last night, we got into camp early so we decided to wake early and get an early start on the day. We left camp at 6:30 a.m. and by 11:00 a.m. we had done 13-miles and made it to the grocery store. It was a local grocery store and we met the owner. We recognized that he was the owner because he was standing directly under his picture. He offered us a ride back to the trail when we finished our shopping. We hit up the hot food at the deli and then began our shopping. For the last 1,100 miles, we've basically eaten the same food, so we decided to change up a couple things. Dawn bought a loaf of bread that she smashed down to packable size. I bought Nutella and peanut butter for lunch. When combined on a piece of bread it's like eating a giant Reese's cup. We also both bought bagels and butter for breakfast which is a lot of carbs and fats. Different food is a huge moral boost. We hiked out with our friend Aerie. We met him 500-miles ago, and it's been awesome hanging catching back up with him. We were able to talk to him about the Lord for a good two hours while hiking. He had some questions and The Lord really helped me answer them. He commented on noticing how Dawn and I treated one another and how we set a good example of what love should be. We told that him it was all the Lord's doing. It was a really awesome time.

For the second night in a row, we made it to camp at a good time. The thing about hiking this long of a duration is you need at least a part of the day to relax. If we leave camp late the pre-hike relaxation isn't good because the coming miles are hanging over your head, but if you get to camp early it's so nice to have the miles behind you and a hot cup of tea before bed. This rhythm of waking early and relaxing before bed has made so much difference in moral. We will have to keep this up. Life is good.  

6/15: Day 77

Peters Mt Shelter-PA HWY 443 

Total: 22 miles

Once again we woke up with the sunrise this morning. Actually, I was up before sunrise, I had to slowly wake my sleeping beauty. One aspect of getting up and leaving camp so early is that the first one down the trail breaks all the spider webs. Lucky for me, someone camped not too far down the trail so I wasn't the web catcher today. Not much happened during our day. When we got to camp, we figured out there was a town with pizza within a couple miles. Since there were 10 or more people camping, we sent a delegation of two to obtain pizza for the group. Two guys volunteered for the task and set out for the road to start thumbing for a ride. We expected them to be gone for at least two hours, because between getting to the road, buying pizzas, and a ride back it was no small task. Not even an hour later, here comes Mosey and Scuffy with eight large pizza, pies, and sodas for every one. It felt like Christmas morning, only this time Santa hand delivered the gifts! We all sat around and ate to our hearts content, and our bellies bulged with satisfaction. Dawn was so sweet at the end. There were pizza leftovers, so she made every one a little zip-lock baggie of leftovers to eat later when we got hungry. She'll be a great mother one day! We settled into our tent about 7:45 p.m., and I fell asleep immediately. Life goes easy. 

6/16: Day 78 

PA 443-French and Indian War Monument

Total: 22 miles

Since the beginning, we've heard about the rocks in PA, but we haven't seen them yet. We woke up and got out of camp early, and I broke spider webs for 6-miles until we reached another shelter. Also, no big deal, but WE HAVE LESS THAN 1000-MILES LEFT!! Now instead of counting up how many miles we've done since Springer Mt., we are counting down the miles ahead of us. It's such a feeling of relief to be on the down hill slope of the milage chart. Just before finishing today, we reached a blue-blazed trail that we thought was our destination. Normally, water sources and shelter paths are marked with blue-blazed trails. We had our doubts so we decided to hold off on setting up the tent. Dawn went hunting for the water and I sat down to look at our guide book. About 25 minutes later, she came back empty handed. She wasn't happy to say the least, and I couldn't blame her. Any time you walk so far it's very disheartening to do something and get no results. We gathered our stuff, pushed another mile, and found the monument we were shooting for. I offered to get the water and it happened to be just around the corner. She setup the tent, and did a great job. All of our hiking friends caught up, and we settled in for a night of hanging out and cooking dinner. Our group now consists of the following: Mio, Buzz&Tandum (father and daughter), Scuffy, and Mosey& Jungle Jim (father and son), and Aerie. Hopefully we'll be together for a bit longer. When we cooked dinner and ate we heard the low rumble of a building thunderhead in the distance. Around 7:30 p.m. we began to see lighting- a lot of lightening. At 8:00 p.m., the sky let go of their payload. One of  the guys in the group doesn't have a tent. We had offered for him to take shelter in our tent vestibule, but he didn't take us up on the offer. I hope he survives the night with at least a small amount of comfort and sleep. For us, life goes easy. 

6/17: Day 79 

War monument-Port Clinton PA pavilion

Total: 15 miles

It stormed hard most of the night, but our NEMO tent hasn't let us down yet. Even with a little condensation and humidity we stayed relatively dry. We started hiking with a skip in our step today. With so few miles to accomplish, we looked forward to the opportunity of going to town and hanging out for the day. We have found the rocks that everyone spoke of, and they are just as sharp and pointy as everyone has forecasted. It's been said that PA is where boots come to die, and I believe it. That slowed our town progress some, but we still made it in by 1:00 p.m. One of the huge things about Port Clinton is 1-mile down the road they have a Walmart and Cabelas. We hitched in with no problem thanks to a sign we got from Scuffy, it said "Ride Please, AT Thru Hiker." Upon arrival we found a Five Guys Burgers!! That place was awesome! I got a giant burger and so did Dawn. Then we walked over to Cabelas to check it out. It was so big! The door greeter told us it was 6-acres of outdoor goodies. They also had some of the coolest exhibits I've ever seen in a store like it. They had North America, Africa, and Antarctic taxodermed animals on display. Dawn was so nice to walk around with me as I oogled at the many items I wanted to buy. It was a good thing I would've had to carry anything I bought on my back, or I would've maxed out our budget for the week. When we left I asked a guy if he would take us over to Walmart. It was an awkward exchange. He said "I'm not from here." I said "It's right over there," as I was pointing to the store. He then declined. At that point we decided to just walk. We bought food, and I even found time to play on the electric wheelchair. Hitching back to camp took no time, and Mio even caught up with up as we we about to get a ride. Scuffy's did sign did the trick again. It took less than five minutes for someone to offer three dirty hikers a ride. As we sat around camp another hiker, who has a car, offered to take all of us to Cabelas. How could I turn that down?! So back we went. The main purpose of this trip was to charge our cellular devices. As we did that, I went to the gun counter and held some guns which was awesome, but sad since I couldn't shoot any of them. Though my mind wanted to wander all over the store, my legs gave out on me. After an hour or so Dawn and I found some display lawn chairs and posted up with the rest of our group. We all got in the truck that brought us and drove back around 8:45pm. Tonight as I lay in the tent, it is the hottest and most humid to date. I'm literally laying still and continuing to perspire. The weather channel shows it's going to cool off in two nights to the mid-50's. I'm praying that comes to pass. Nobody hikes the trail to live in comfort, the heat and humidity will eventually pass. 

6-18: Day 80 

Port Clinton-Eckville Shelter

Total: 15 miles

Last night was a sweat fest. At no point did I even think about using a sleeping bag or my fleece. Yesterday we got offered by a fellow hiker who has a truck right now to slack pack us. Around 6:30 a.m., we got up and around and by 7:45 a.m. we were walking out of camp with no little more than some snack bars and a couple bottles of water. The trail was pretty easy today except a few rocky parts. The last 4-miles or so was on a forest road. Forest roads are truly gems. They are normally very well graded if on a hill, and almost always less rocky than walking through the woods. We made it to the destination no later than 2:00 p.m. and none of our gear was there. We'd been told by others that it had been dropped but now it was missing. Both of us started to get a little worried wondering whether we would see our gear again. A couple locals, a few towns back, had warned us of some packs going missing and we desperately didn't want that to be us. The rest of our crew showed up. No one had the guy's phone number but we found his email address and sent him a message. Turned out he had taken another hiker who had gotten hurt to a clinic. What a guy! Around 3:30 p.m., he showed up with the gear and all of our worst fears were gone. It turned out to be frivolous worrying in the first place. It ended up being a great night of hanging out with a little bubble of hikers. One of the guys with us, Buzz, was a scout master of 26-years who recently resigned from his position, he personally saw 45 Eagle Scouts come through his troop. Many of which went on to be very driven and successful young men. That lead to a conversation about merit badges in scouts. One of the rarest badges is the invention badge. It was only ever awarded to 10 scouts and was discontinued not long after it's inception. We joked that one of the ten scouts had probably invented a time machine so he could be 11-years old again so he could have more time to earn more merit badges. It was pretty hilarious at the time. Buzz is also hiking with his daughter. She is a recent college grad like ourselves. It's been really cool to learn of their hike. Buzz is so happy to have his daughter with him, he says he has learned so much about her. I can only imagine what this experience must mean to a father. We've also been hiking with a guy named Mio. Apparently, when he started he trail he didn't know what the drink mix Mio was and proceeded to squirt it straight into his mouth. He said it tasted awful. He is also a recent college grad and really funny. The five of us combined make for great hiking. I think I've learned more in the last 5-days about random trivia than I have he whole rest of our hike combined. 

Tonight it's supposed to rain again, go figure, and possibly more tomorrow. At this point we are used to it. However, wet feet are something I hope to never get used to. 

Some unfriendly clouds

Hiking the farm land

My pack is a drying rack on sunny days

Our two man pizza delegation

Cabelas with Dawn

My Beard thus far 

I found a friend

The pizza circle

Cabelas animal display

Days 70-72, 6/8/14-6/10/14

6/8: Day 70

Rocky Run Shelter (1035)- Raven Rock (1055.6) 

Total: 20.6 miles

Catching Up With Old Friends

 

We slept in this morning since we didn't get to bed until 10:30 last night. We broke camp around 9 am. It was really nice to just relax and slowly pack everything away. Two miles from the shelter was a campground that had showers, so we got to take showers in the middle of the woods. It was amazing. Today was a bit rocky terrain. There were plenty of flat sections but also several mile-long section of sharp, butt biting rocks. One of the things we were excited about today was to see the original Mount Washington Monument. It's this huge rock cylinder that had a spiral staircase going up the center if it. From the top you could see the a plentiful view of farmland and mountains. It was pretty amazing. Our stay their was short because it was a sunny Sunday around 11 am, which is prime time for day hikers. After, we headed about five miles we had a quick lunch. By the 12th mile of the day, it started to drizzle. We hit more rocky sections which even more difficult when wet. It's like trying to walk across a slimy, wet river bed. By mile 14 we had had enough. Our ankles were ultra tender from the slippery rock beating we had put them through, so we decided to slim our total mileage for the day by five and just stop at the next shelter. When we got to the Ensign Cowall Shelter, we were greeted by some sectioners. We chatted with them and they asked us if we met the Kallin family. We told them that we started the same day and hiked with them for a while in the beginning and asked where they were headed. They said to the next shelter. So we make a quick decision to catch up with them tonight otherwise we might not be able to again. That motivated us to do the extra five miles we had originally planned to do. We got to camp by 7:40 pm, and greeted the surprise and excited Kallins.  We shared hugs and said we'd catch up in the morning since it was past the kid's bedtime. It started to downpour just as we were eating dinner in the shelter. We second guessed our decision to set up our tent instead of sleeping in the shelter. None the less, we headed to our tent and enjoyed a peaceful nights rest while the rain fell heavily upon our tent home.

6/9: Day 71

Raven Rock Shelter (1055.6)- Caledonia Campground (1079).) 

Total: 23.4 miles

Hello Pennsyvania 

This morning we woke up to a highly condensated tent. It down poured until 2 or so in the morning last night.   We had another slow morning of getting around. We played catch up with the Kallin's sharing stories back and forth. We all broke camp around 8:45 am, and headed on the days adventure. We ended up hiking with the Kallins all day which made the day fly by. We stopped by a park and played for a little bit, and shortly after we crossed the Mason-Dixon Line/ the border into PA. We joined the Kallins in there rituals of sitting in a circle and passing out candy to each person while saying something nice about them. It was a neat tradition and gives recognition to the ones your thankful for and love. 

Around 1:00 pm. We stopped for some lunch and chatted about our final goals for the day. Jeremy and I planned on hiking at least 23 miles to make it to a pizza place for dinner .3 miles off the trail. The Kallins agreed that that sounded like a great reward for a decent day of hiking. We cut our lunch short, so we could knock out the next 13 miles before 7:00 pm. A little down the trail, we doubled checked that the pizza place was at the right road crossing we had in mind. Sure enough it was, but it ended up they were closed on Mondays, which happens to be today. We were super disappointed. Robinhood was the fist of the Kallins we caught up with and we broke the news to him. He replied, "Aw man. Well, we can still hike the 23 miles." Haha, I thought it was a pretty mature response for a 9 year old. When we broke the news to the rest of the Kallins, they were positive and still anticipated we could find some way to get some pizza. We got to the campground around 7:00 pm, and Jeremy and Mama Bear (Kallin) ran off to check in at the office, while I stayed with Cartwheel soaking my feet in the creek. Jeremy and Mama Bear came running back rejoicing that they found a ride to get some pizza. We waited around until they got back and low and behold they bring pizza, ice cream, and chocolate milk. We all feasted as the sun set, very thankful for a fulfilling meal and the generosity of yet another stranger. God is good.

6/10: Day 72

Caledonia Campground (1079)- Campground (1099)

Half-Way to Katahdin 

This morning we woke up to another highly condensated tent. The weather has started this pattern of down pouring every night for the last couple nights. Going to bed last night was mildly difficult because the humidity was at 91 percent. In laymans term, it was hot and sticky. Thankfully, the rain was over with by the time we woke. When we woke, we had no motivation to hike. We discussed taking a zero day but that didn't pan out. We decided to move on around 10 am. After 30 minutes of walking, we were back in the rhythm. We were excited to reach the official half-way point, and do the half-gallon of ice cream challenge. We had lunch at a quaint little cabin about 8 miles into the day. Then we pushed on taking little to no breaks. We caught up with the Kallins at the half-way marker--mile 1092.5! They were getting ready to light some sparklers, and they gave us two also to celebrate. We took some memorable pictures, and moved on to the other halfway point (erected in 2011, so the mileage isn't 100 percent accurate). The next half-way point we reached was a lot more realistic. It was a big wooden sign with the miles to Springer and Katahdin. We took some fun pictures next to it, and hurried on to the Pine Grove General Store for the half-gallon challenge! We made it to the store by 5:30 pm, so we had 1.5 hours to finish our ice cream. The four that participated in the challenge were: Me, Cartwheel, Robin Hood, and All In. Out of the four I was the only one to successfully finish the whole half gallon (the "half-gallon" was actually only 3.5 quarts, so about a pint short of a real half-gallon). It was way more than enough ice cream though. I felt nauseous for about 20 minutes then it passed. I made the mistake of getting mint chocolate chip, so I spit out the chocolate chips while I was eating the ice cream, and ate them after I was done to make it fair. At that time a 2011 southbound thru-hiker by the name of Bob White came to see the Kallins and give them a dog pack. She also brought some salad, tomatoes, feta cheese, and watermelon, and she shared it with everyone! It was so nice having fresh food on the trail! Thanks Bob White! We had dinner by the lake where there is a swimming hole, bathrooms, and showers! Everyone jumped in the lake, showered, and then we had dinner. After dinner, we hiked about one mile up the mountain and made our tent homes there. It was an awesome and very rewarding day.

Maryland was full of history!

George Washington Monument 

The Kallin family at the half-way mark!

Half-way there!

Our half-way warrior poses!

Before the half-gallon challenge..

...after the half-gallon challenge

Jeremy chose the tummy ache free option.

Yummy feta, tomato, and watermelon salad that Bob White brought us!

Days: 61-69; 5/30/14- 6/7/14

5/30: Day 61

Zero Day in Waynesboro, VA

Today will be our 7th zero day of the trail. After an awesome hiker feed the Lutheran Church Hostel hosted last night, we woke up refreshed and well nourished. We ate some cereal for breakfast and enjoyed some coffee and orange juice while chatting with some other friend hikers. After breakfast, we headed out to tour the town of Waynesboro. It was founded in 1787, and had a lot of neat older buildings and plenty character for a quaint, little town. We had lunch at Ming Garden Chinese Restaurant. Despite some people's theories about eating Chinese food and hiking, we decided to brave it especially since a buffet is a novelty to a hiker. We were the very first people in the restaurant, and we got the best and freshest of everything. It was awesome, and we definitely got our monies worth. After lunch we went to the library to hang out for the rest of the afternoon. We met a local named James who was dealing with some addiction issues, so we were able to pray with him for some freedom and deliverance. The neat thing about James was he came and sought us out, we didn't seek him out. That seems to be the trend while we out here. It's so great seeing The Lord work. He just needs willing hearts to carry out the tasks. 

Later, we went to Krogers to resupply for the Shenedoah's. We got back to the church hostel as the doors were opening at 5 pm. When we arrived we saw some sectioners (Mofo, Cruiser, Piligrim, and Wambo) we met and chatted with the night before. They had just gotten back from slack packing the first 15 miles of the Shenandoah's. We commented on how awesome that was and how we wish we could have done that. They offered to slack pack us the next day if we were willing to do 28 miles. We eagerly agreed! They invited us to dinner and we all ate at Chick Peas. It was a Mediterranean place that was probably the best food we've had on the trail yet. We ordered an Italian dish--eggplant Parmesan, which was absolutely phenomenal. The rest of the evening was spent hanging out with our fellow hiker friends at the hostel and just having a dandy time.

5/31: Day 62

Waynesboro, VA (857.8)- Loft Mountain Campground (885.9) 

Total: 28.1 miles

Today marks the 2 month period since Jeremy and I started hiking the A.T. We celebrated this accomplishment by doing our biggest day yet! Yes folks, you read it right, 28 miles. It's has been the longest distance traveling on foot in a day either one of us has done ever. We are pleased to bump up our top number by a couple more miles. Another thing, we both lost over 20 lbs each! The 20+lbs of gear we've carried on our back since Springer Mountain, GA, that is. We did our first yet slack packing. Slack packing is where you have your gear shuttled to your final destination for the day, and the only items you carry are food, water, toilet paper, ect. This means no sleeping bags, tents, camp shoes, cook stove, extra clothes, ect. It is an amazing feeling. We even trail ran a couple miles! You can do almost anything with only 5lbs on your back. 

Since we entered the Shenadoah National Park today we had on our minds that we were determined to see a bear. To this point, we have hiked 885 miles and have not seen one bear. Every previous thru-hiker promised us we would see one in the Shenedoah's. All day, I was looking in trees, behind boulders, and down the side trail searching for these Shenadoah black bears. I even made up a bear call and started calling for them! We would pass by day hikers, and they would brag about just seeing a bear, but every time the bear was gone by the time we arrived. On our 28th mile, 50 feet before the first campsite at Loft Mountain, there it was. A big black fury butt 20 ft away from us, and running further. I just said, "It's a bear!! It's a bear!! It's a bear!!" Alas, we saw our first bear of the A.T. 

As we came into camp, I had to share with everyone about the first bear I had seen, including the owner of the tent the bear was patrolling. He seemed the least excited about it, but none the less I had seen my first bear! The rest of the evening was pretty relaxed. We just chatted with our section hiker friends and met a couple more thru-hikers--Bageara, Viking, and another Scout. That about sums up our day. 

6/1: Day 63

Bootin Gap (914.9)- Loft Mnt. Campground (885.9) (southbound)

Total: 29 miles

Happy June! Our gift today was another awesome day of slack packing! Also, it is yet again our biggest day--29 miles. When we woke up this morning we were pretty exhausted. It was a nice, chilly morning of breaking camp and starting off our hike. Our awesome section hiking friends dropped us and two other hikers off at Bootin Gap which is 29 miles north of the Loft Mountain Campground. Then we headed south on the A.T. toward Loft Mountain. We passed so many of our hiker friends that were a day or two ahead of us. It was neat to see so many of them! We also received some trail blessings from Mama Goat. Her daughter is hiking the Pacific Crest Trail this year, so Mama Goat wanted to do as much as she can to help hikers out since her daughter is one of them. Thanks Mama Goat!!

About 12 miles from our final destination for the evening, we came across two guys telling us about a bear a couple yards back and off the trail. I get super excited while they are clearly rattled by their encounter with it. I moved past them searching for this bear so I could capture it's image. Jeremy spots it almost immediately. Eventually, I see it but it was way too far for a clear picture. I tried to get its attention by whistling, hitting a rock with my hiking pole, and even calling, "Beeearr". None of the latter worked. So, I gave my bear call a shot. "Rawwerrrr.....Raaawwerrrr". Next thing we know, this massive black bear comes running towards us! My first thought is ruuuun! Quickly I realize how foolish that was because a bear is way faster. The only other option was to ward it off with our trekking poles. Thankfully, the bear stopped about 30 feet in front us and stared. We videoed it for a while and the continued on. After that exciting experience we pushed it to camp so we could get ther by 6 pm to eat at the wayside. We made it to camp at 5:50 pm. The sectioner's saw us coming, and they applauded us for another big day in the bag. Cruiser let us borrow his truck so we could get some real food, and we got to eat until our hearts were content. We brought some ice cream back for the guys, and called it a night. Another big day down, and many more miles to go. 

6/2: Day 64

Booten Gap (914.9)- Byrds Nest Shelter (934.7) 

Total: 19.8 miles.

Today was a challenging day. Wait, who am I kidding? Everyday is a challenging day out here. It started with our alarm going off at 5:30 in the morning. As soon as I moved, the muscle pains from my hips down start shooting fireworks off awaking my lower body limbs. I moved slow because any sudden movement could send a shock of unwanted pain through my feet. It's another day of hiking. 20 miles would be the goal, and to accompany us would be all of our gear in our packs. Ahh, we gained that 20+ lbs back that we so happily lost. We scurried around, made some breakfast, and packed up our belongings to move on. It had been such an awesome two days of slack packing and staying at the Loft Mountain Campground. We are so appreciative of Wambo, Cruiser, Piligrim, and Mofo's generosity in slack packing us. They are the coolest guys! Hopefully we'll be able to see them again before Harper's Ferry. 

Anyway, Wambo and Cruiser dropped us off at Bootin Gap and we said our goodbyes. We headed up the mountain and it felt like our packs were carrying enough bricks to build a small house. We made it six miles and decided to stop off at one of the Shenedoah's waysides to have a later second breakfast. We ended up staying there for two hours. This is where we shared some heartfelt thoughts on our journey and what's to come. We both admitted we missed home, a lot. This trip has been difficult. The honeymoon of the A.T. is way past over, and now we're just anticipating being done. Since we're within a week of being halfway finished, it is starting to set in that we still have to do everything we just did allllll over again. It is sobering. We also keep hearing of people dropping out. We have a mission though, and giving up is a choice just like finishing is a choice. We're going to stay focused and accomplish what we set out to do. Everyday we're going to find something that excites us and pursue it. We are determined and we will finish.

6/3: Day 65

Bryds Nest Shelter (934.7)- Gravel Springs Hut (952.2).

Total: 17.5 

Today was a much better day than yesterday. Our bodies have finally adapted to the heavy packs, and we were cruising again. Well, minus the 3 hour break we took. We had a short day, only making it a little over 17 miles. We were able to eat lunch at the last wayside in the Shenandoah's, and ended up staying there for three hours. Since we left so late, we decided to follow the majority of thru-hikers to the next shelter only six miles away. We got there easily and without much agony. We chatted with some section hikers about our adventure so far, made some dinner, and headed to bed. It was a pretty simple day.

6/4: Day 66

Gravel Springs Hut (mile 952.2)-Manassas Gap Shelter (976.3). 

Total: 24.1 

Today we had a higher mileage goal than the previous. 24 miles. There wasn't much motivation. The morning sort of dragged on. When we finally made it to lunch we were so hungry the high humidity and gnats didn't bother us much. We also made it out of the Shenandoah's. We made it out before noon, so it took us 4.5 days. Right over 100 miles in 4.5 days. The Smokey Mountains in the earlier stages of our hike took us 4.5 days as well but they were only 76 or so miles long. My have we come a long way! Right before we exited the SNP, we saw a mama bear and her two cubs grubbing in the woods right off the trail. We watched for about 15 minutes as we were trying to get some good pictures of them. We got a couple but most of the pictures were obscured by the tree branches.

About a mile after lunch, mile 13, we came across this Mountain Home B&B. We decided to check it out. The owner, Scott, was super friendly. He gave us a tour of his property including the mid-1800s home soon to be transformed into a Bed and Breakfast. It was one of the neater things we've seen on the trail. He gave us some lemonade and we chatted for a bit. We really wanted to stay there but we knew we needed to put in another 10 miles to be able to make it to the Bears Den Hostel the next day. He understood and highly recommended the Bears Den. That's one of the things Jeremy and I both appreciated about Scott. He didn't try force his place on us just to get our money. He was a real genuine guy who enjoyed helping hikers out. Around 3:30pm we headed out to finish the remaining 10.5 miles to Manassas Gap Shelter. At mile 18 or so, our legs and feet started to feel the miles. The sky darkened as a light rain started to fall. We saw another bear just hanging out on the trail. It scampered into the woods as we approached. We were surprised to see one outside of the Shenadoahs.  After that, we came across the Jim and Molly Denton Shelter. We stopped there for our last snack as it just started to pour. This shelter is one of the nicer ones. It was remodeled recently and had a huge front porch. We deliberated over staying at this shelter. We waited 10 minutes for the downpour to lighten and decided to push on and do the remaining six miles to our destination. There was a group of high schoolers that were doing a section of the trail, and they seemed to be surprised we were leaving a dry shelter to walk another six miles in the rain. We waved farewell and trekked on. The last six miles went by relatively fast. We made it to our final destination just slightly dampened but thrilled there was room in the shelter, so we could preserve our tent from the night's forecast of thunderstorms. We made our dinner and hurried off to bed because the next day was going to be another big day.

6/5: Day 67

Manassas Gap Shelter (976.3)-Bears Den Hostel (999.1). 

Total: 22.8

This morning started off interesting. When we arrived at the shelter the night before, there was a man sleeping in a one person tent set up in the corner of the shelter. Well, no one had spoken with this guy because he was asleep the whole time. At about 10:45pm this guy decides to wake up. He makes all sorts of noises from rattling to creaking, zipping/ unzipping, pack shuffling, and on and on for what seemed like 30 minutes; meanwhile, all of this was being done in the dark with no headlamp. Well, when he finally gets cozy, he snores like a freight train. Jeremy described it as a bulldozer scraping against concrete. After being up for an hour, I was starting to get aggravated because I knew I needed the rest for another long day ahead. Finally, I was able to stick my ear plugs in far enough to dilute the noise and I put my fleece over my head to muffle out the excess. It was extremely difficult to wake this morning. At about 5:00 am, when we had originally planned on waking up, there was a steady downpour. There was no way we were going to trade our cozy, dry bags for wet clothing and soggy socks. So, we snoozed until 6am. By this time, the rain had let up some and it was only a slight drizzle. We did our normal camp routine and we were on the trail by 7:30 am. The morning was ultra muggy but we blazed through the first ten miles by 11:00 am. Eventually, we made it to the Bears Den Hostel. We made it there before their opening of 5pm, and we were able to take some showers and claim our bunks before check in. The shower was absolutely heavenly! The first ten minutes you usually just stand there and let the six days of filth build up soften and eventually wash away. Baby wipes and creek rinsing don't hold a candlestick to a hot shower. After our showers we were able to check in and get our dinner. The Bears Den offers a hiker special and for 30 dollars a person you receive: 1 13" tombstone pizza, a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, a pop, laundry, shower, a bunk, and self-serve pancake breakfast. It was one of the best hiker hostel deals on the trail yet. We highly recommend that place. They were very hospitable, and you got your money's worth. After dinner we debriefed for a bit and chatted with some newly met friends. It was just so nice to be full and clean. We were content.

6/6: Day 68

Bears Den Hostel (999.1)- Campground (1015.5) 

Total: 16.4 miles

Today has been the best day in quite some time. We woke around 6:15am, and headed to the breakfast room to get some coffee and make some pancakes. Jeremy mixed the batter and I started cooking the pancakes. He suggested I ask a guy if he would like some. I told him if I asked one person I'd have I ask all of them. He said I was right and that it was a good idea that we serve everyone. Well, no hikers turn down free already-made pancake. So we cooked pancakes for everyone until 7:30am, and then we sat down and chatted with the 15 plus hikers there. We met some ladies from Oklahoma who were going to section hike the Shenandoah's. One of the ladies was a youth leader, so it was neat talking with her! After breakfast, we packed up our gear and headed out around 9am. We had originally planned to make it into Harper's Ferry today but decided we would camp right before so we could hit it early Saturday morning. So, with knowing it was going to be a lower mile day of only 16, we just meandered through the woods quite content. Within our first mile of the day we hit the 1000 mile mark for the Appalachian Trail. Yes friends, we have walked over 1000 miles. Praise the Lord! This was an exciting accomplishment. The weather today was absolutely perfect. It was a high in the low 80s with really low humidity and a nice cool, continuous breeze. We stopped by the Burnhollow for lunch and the caretakers offered us a couple pops. We ate our lunch on a screen in porch which was the ideal setting for any hiker. You still get the sense of being outside, you're just not in the beaming sun with gnats trying to gnaw on your eyeballs. After lunch, we headed through the rocky yet basically flat last section of Virginia. We are very excited to be out of VA. We're just ready for something different. We like change! At mile 14 for the day, we came across a road crossing and when you looked to your right it said "Welcome to Virginia" and when you looked to your left it had a West Virginia sign. We decided to walk .3 miles off the trail to get some real food for dinner and we opted to go to the West Virginia side because Virginia had already consumed enough of our sweat and money. It's time to move on from VA! Bageara joined us at the restaurant and we all ate until we were full and satisfied. We walked the remaining 2.3 miles to the campsite. A couple of other thru-hikers were there, so we all shared some experiences of the trail thus far. One of the guys there was doing the trail for his 5th time and he's 63! His advice for life was to stay fit and life will be a lot more enjoyable. I couldn't agree more with that. It was a great evening to a pretty mild day. 

6/7: Day 69. 

Campsite (1015)- Rocky Run Shelter (1035) 

Total: 20 miles.

Well, we made it to Harper's ferry by 9:30 am! Harper's Ferry is the halfway point psychologically, but in reality it is around 65 miles shy of the real halfway mark for the A.T. First thing we did was head to the Appalachian Trail Center to get our pictures and thru-hiker numbers. As you may recall in the beginning, we were thru-hiker numbers 804& 805 to start the trail on March 31st. We managed to almost knock those numbers is half! We came in at numbers 445&446 to make it to the halfway point. We hung around the ATC for awhile. We looked at previous thru-hikers from decades ago. We found our friends, the Kallins, in the book from 2002. They are doing their second thru-hike this year but with kids this time! They are such a neat family! After looking through the book, we got a free shuttle to Walmart where we resupplied and ate. After resupplying, we weren't sure how to get back to the ATC because it was five miles away. Well, we were sitting outside of Walmart and a guy that worked at the hostel we had stayed at the night before was able to give us a ride. What are the chances he'd be there the same exact time?! The Lord provides every time. After we got back to Harper's Ferry, we walked down town and checked out the outfitter. We ended up seeing Scout and Aerie. We chatted with them for a bit then departed to the trail. We left town at 2:30 pm, and we still had 16 miles that afternoon. We hiked on and made it to our destination right before dark. We were in three different states today. We were in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. When we started into Maryland we decided to mention all of the things we were merry about. It was a good moral boost. It made us realize all the things we're so thankful for. So, today was a day of being thankful. We're especially thankful to be finished with Virginia!

A little history of Waynesboro, VA.

SNP Trail Market

SNP Mountains

Yet another mountain summit!

900 miles!

Mama Goats trail blessings!

Second Bear sighting of the Shenies.

It definitely is bear country in the SNP!

Approximately where we were located.

Second time to drive on a borrowed vehicle! This time is was a truck and Jeremy felt like a real man ;) thanks Cruiser!

Our meals at the Wayside, and we ate every bit plus ice cream!

The wildlife is plentiful and friendly.

Pretty views.

Some days we wish it was only a short day hike.

One of the SNP Huts.

Mofo, Wambo, Cruiser, and Piligrim. The awesome sectioners we hung out with for a couple days!

Mama bear and her cub.

It's a misty morning on the A.T.

Creek crossing

Getting closer to Harper's Ferry!

Bears Den Hostel

1000 miles!!!!

Happy to see this and to be out of Virginia! 

Hello HFNP!

Crossing over the Shenandoah into Harper's Ferry!

Shenandoah River

It's official; we're in the book!

Our halfway photo.

Leaving Harper's Ferry

Meowww.

Pretty sunset heading into camp.

Memorial Arch First New Jersey Brigade 1892.