Month: October 2013

Miles today: 22.4
Total miles: 1386.6

Not too much to report today except ohmygosh was it cold walking today. It was not only cold but it misted on us throughout the morning. We considered stopping at a shelter about six miles early but pushed on. I’m glad we did because the last six miles were nearly all downhill and as such, pretty easy. And the shelter we stayed at was at a much lower elevation so it was a bit warmer. We passed two groups of section hikers and each of them was kind enough to give us some food. So we enjoyed some fancy Mountain House meals for dinner.

Miles today: 22.3
Total miles: 1363.2

It was somewhat of an adjustment hiking today, getting used to “normal” trail after the comparatively easy trail in the Shenendoahs. All of a sudden, the weather has become quite a bit chillier during the day, only reaching the 50s rather than the 60s as it has been.
Today Delta and I met what may be the most badass and interesting guy I’ve met so far on the trail. His trail name was Free Bird and he’s thru hiked the AT three times. He’s also done the Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail several times each. And also a super tough trail through New Zealand. Oh, and this is all after he retired/quit his career as a professional wind surfer in Hawaii. One might think someone who has spent so much time alone in the woods would be slightly (or maybe mostly) crazy, but he was pretty down to earth and was so humble about all of his accomplishments. He was a nice reminder that you really can make your life into what you want it to be.

Our long day ended with a fun (not) 3000 foot climb up The Priest Mountain. This was our biggest climb since probably Vermont. Luckily the climb wasn’t too steep as it was drawn out over five miles but whew, that last mile and a half was a killer. We got to the shelter at the top of the mountain as daylight was quickly fading. It was freezing so high in elevation–I was very excited to jump into my sleeping bag. Unfortunately I awoke the next morning to discover nice had gotten into my food bag. I’d hung my food bag separately from my pack and when I opened my pack in the morning a mouse friend was right there to greet me! So I had a nice hole in my food bag and had to get rid of a mouse in my pack (he’d brought peanuts into my pack–didn’t even eat them all, what a shame). Oh well, such is life. This was the first time a mouse had gotten into my food so I suppose I’m lucky. Oh! But I forgot to write that in the shenendoahs I accidentally left my phone and headphones out of my bag beside my head one night and a mouse chewed through my headphones! Ugh. I think I was more disturbed by the fact a mouse was so near my head than I was they ruined my headphones.

After our last day in the shenendoahs, delta and I headed into Waynesboro VA. Deltas great uncle Ron and his wife Celia live in Waynesboro and generously allowed us to stay with them. They picked us up at the trailhead and drove us back to their house. Ron used to fly planes a lot and as such they live in this awesome neighborhood with a runway in the middle and airplane hangars at each house. It was so cool—I had no idea neighborhoods like that even existed. Ron and Celia made us feel so at home and took such good care of us. We got to take nice hot showers and then we had a nice classy snack of cheese and crackers and grapes and beers. They were also so hilarious and made me laugh throughout my visit. After we got settled, the four of us drove to Ming’s Garden, a Chinese buffet we’d been hearing about from northbound hikers since day three on the trail. I’d been looking forward to this restaurant for over a thousand miles so I was excited but a bit nervous it wouldn’t live up to my high expectations. It turned out my fears were unfounded: the food was in fact amazingly delicious and I think Delta and I somewhat grossed out but also oddly impressed Ron and Celia with the amount we could eat. I slept so well with a full tummy and in a real bed. It was so tough to leave the next day, especially when Celia kept asking “what can we do to make you stay another day?” But we have many miles to Georgia and its not getting any warmer so off we went! After getting errands done in the morning, we hiked a pretty easy twelve miles up to the top of Humpback mountain. We got there as it was getting dark, but just in time to see an amazing sunset. We camped right by a cliff with a great view of it, me in my tent and delta cowboy camping under the stars. It was really windy and chilly overnight.

The rest of the Shenendoahs after leaving Thornys was really enjoyable. We had four great days in the park. The trails in the park are extremely well maintained and even on decent uphills it feels easier with the well made switchbacks. And the views and foliage were phenomenal. It feels good to be back in the mountains and the beautiful orange, red, and yellow leaves are just icing on the cake.
Now that the government decided to reopen the once empty, peaceful park is now chock full of tourists. The trail crosses skyline drive, the road all tourists drive, probably almost 50 times total, often at scenic overlooks with pullouts for people to pull over at. At one of these overlooks I took a 15 minute break and in that short amount of time I came up with an entertaining game: determining what category each car that pulls over will fall into. We have the Total Drive By: the car that pulls off skyline into the overlook area but drives ever so slowly by the overlook without ever stopping and then pulls back out onto skyline. Next we have the Hesitant Glancers: those that pull into the overlook area, stop for a second while still in their car but are apparently unimpressed and pull right back out. Following that is the Drive By Photographer: these more dedicated tourists take the time to not only pull off the road AND stop their cars but they also take out their phones/cameras and take a photo of the view from the comfort of their car!!! Wow. After them we have the even more enthused tourist: the Out the Window Photographer: these people are willing to take enough time out of their day to not just pull off the road, not just stop their car, and not just take a photo… They go the extra mile and ROLL DOWN THEIR WINDOW, extending their arms extending their camera outside of their car to get a photo. The final, and rare, type of tourist is the most adventurous: the Out of the Car Tourist. These daring types are willing to stop their cars and do more than just open their windows to get a photo: they will take the time to get out of their car to take a look and capture their photo. There are two subcategories: the car shutter offers and the car idlers which are pretty self explanatory. It is a fun game to try to guess what each car will be as they pull in. Obviously I’m being pretty judgmental but it made me a bit sad to see people so unwilling to even get out of their car and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Oh well, to each his own.
I’ve been told by an embarrassing number of people that I write about food a lot in this blog. I was totally unaware I was doing this but I suppose it shows where my true allegiances lie. So, to avoid becoming an outright food blog, ill just quickly state that with the park now open I got to enjoy yummy snacks at the park waysides, including the Shenendoah special blackberry milkshake.
I saw a bunch of deer all throughout the park, nearly all of which were totally unafraid of humans. I turned the corner once and nearly ran straight into a deer. I think it scared me more than I scared it! It didn’t move even when I got within feet of it and only did when I started loudly talking to it. It allowed me to get a nice close up photo at least!
Ill miss the shenendoahs for their beautiful views but I’m glad to be getting into less touristy areas once we leave.

The past three nights Delta and I have been staying with our friend Thorny who we hiked with during the 100 mile wilderness back in Maine. We hadn’t seen him since then way back in July so it was great not only to have a place to stay but also to see an old friend. Thorny lives outside Front Royal, VA. He slackpacked us for two days, one easy 11 mile day and then a long 24 mile day in Shenendoah National Park. Hiking in the shenendoahs was a crazy experience because the park is technically closed due to the government shutdown. Thorny said that this time of year is usually super busy in the park, with traffic all throughout skyline drive, the road running the length of the park. The AT crosses skyline drive many times— we probably had seven or eight crossings in the one 24 mile day alone. It was eerie—the roads were silent and empty and littered with leaves. The parking lots and overlooks stood silent and uninhabited. It was pretty cool being the only people in the park besides the rangers. Some thru hikers ahead of us were spotted by rangers while hiking in the park while it was closed and were kicked out. So we had to be careful. It was kind of fun running across the road crossings where the rangers might spot us.

The shenendoahs are absolutely beautiful especially this time of year. We haven’t been in real mountains since Vermont/NH so it feels good to finally have beautiful views again. The foliage is so colorful and pretty as well. I couldn’t help but grin as I walked down the leaf covered trail. We also spotted three bears! Well delta saw the mom and two cubs but I only saw one of their bums. Better than nothing I guess.

It was also great slackpacking only carrying water and snacks for the day. It’s amazing how easy hiking is when you’re only carrying a few pounds! Not to mention, we were spoiled to the max during the three days we spent with thorny. He was the best host I could ask for. Seriously, I am so grateful for him. We got to shower nightly and do our laundry (twice!) and watch movies and sleep in a real bed. But not only that… He made us breakfast each morning and dinner at night and took us out to eat. He had to drive an hour to take us to the trail twice and did so happily. He is such an incredibly kind, not to mention awesome person. To prove that point, consider this.. He just returned from a solo trip to South America where he participated in a raft race down the amazon river… In which participants had to build their own rafts. Anyway, we were so spoiled and enjoyed it thoroughly. It was tough to leave but luckily the government reopened so we have lodges with snacks and such in the shenendoahs now.

Miles today: 6.9
Total miles: 1167.5

Guess what: rain again today! Boo. Luckily it was an easy 7 miles to town but they dragged on in the gross weather. We crossed the border from Maryland into West Virginia. Hello state number 10! There is an ATC office in Harpers Ferry and they take thru hikers photos here, keeping track of the numbers of hikers each season. Thus it is a rite of passage and a kind of halfway point (although we’ve already passed halfway in miles a few days ago). We walked through the quaint historical town of harpers ferry (again, the history nerd in me would’ve loved to explore more but didn’t due to the weather). We finally got to the ATC office and I was surprised to find myself a little chocked up. I think seeing firsthand the office and ATC sign I’d only seen in pictures before really hit home that I’ve made it halfway. I am so proud of myself and so grateful to have come so far. I don’t think I even believed I could walk all the way to West Virginia from Maine. But I’ve done it! I warmed up inside and browsed all the hiker photos and waited for the rest of the crew to get here. We got our photos taken–I am Southbounder 130 for the season. After that we went and got food at a local Italian place and then i picked up my new shoes at the post office. I got my old shoes back in Monson Maine at mile 115, so these have lasted me over 1000 Miles. But they are on their last legs–the traction is totally gone and the soles are peeling (thanks Pennsylvania rocks). I loved the shoes and when ordering a new pair wanted the same ones. I called Keen and submitted a warranty form and was shocked to find out they accepted it–keen gave me new shoes for free! I was very excited to pick them up at the post office all pretty and clean and not smelly. After that we checked into the Teahorse Hostel for the night. Had the weather not been so terrible I probably would have went on but to keep my sanity and stay warm I let myself enjoy a night inside and warm.

Miles today: 16.6
Total miles: 1160.6

It was rainy out today and cold. We had planned to maybe get to Harpers Ferry today but the weather nixed that plan. The trail crosses a lot of interesting historical sites, mainly locations civil war battles, but I didn’t spend as much time as i wouldve liked reading the info guides due to the rain. It was a steady downpour at some points in the day but wouldnt have been terrible had it been warmer out. I took cover under a little pavilion with only 3.8 miles to the shelter. I got freezing cold after breaking for a while and mustered up the energy to get hiking again. It was raining so hard and the trail was one giant river. I was so fed up with the weather and just wanted to be at the shelter so I booked it as fast as I could. I power walked/jogged the 3.8 and passed both Blue Sky and Delta who had left a while before me. I made good time and got to the shelter in under an hour. We were all so glad to change into warm dry clothes and get in our sleeping bags. The shelter was really nice and we slept in a little loft. Later in the evening the rain and wind picked up even more. As the drops beat down hard on the roof I was grateful not to be out in the rain. I haven’t encountered rain that strong in a long time. Can’t wait to put on wet cold clothes tomorrow. Not.

Miles today: 20.7
Total miles: 1140.0

We had a lazy morning with lots of breaks. After about three miles we crossed the mason Dixon line from PA into Maryland. State number 9! The trail then went straight through a state park with a beautiful scenic overlook. We lounged on the benches there for an hour or so. Then we got back to walking and took a long lunch at Raven Rock Shelter. The shelter was just built in 2010 and was so nice. It looked like a little Lincoln log cabin and had two floors and nice big windows and fire pit with benches around it. It was pretty chilly out today though, probably in the 50s so I cut my lunch shorter than the guys and set off walking again around 1230. The rest of the day the trail was pretty easy. Maryland has been more rocky than I expected but nothing I can’t handle. Toward the end of the day three miles from the shelter for the night I met a guy who had thru hiked three times before. His trail name is Hit. He was really interesting and had some great advice, having hiked both north and southbound and learned a lot about what works and doesn’t. Even better, he stopped by the shelter after I got there and gave Blondie and me the best trail magic. He’d just been out for a night and gave us nearly all his leftover food (and his two friends, Czech girls also gave us theirs). We were so grateful and amazed by his generosity–we devoured the chips, sausages, chocolate, gummy worms, and even beer. He also gave me new batteries for my headlamp which I desperately needed. I hope to be able to give backto the trail and future thru hikers in a similar way after I finish. Well it’s off to bed for me. It is supposed to be cold and rainy all day tomorrow. And for the next few days I think. Not looking forward to it but oh well, what can you do.

Miles today: 17.9
Total miles: 1123.4

I slept so well last night bundled up in my sleeping bag against the cold night air. It’s been so warm lately that the nights have also been mild. This made it far more difficult to get up in the cold morning. Putting on my still wet and freezing hiking clothes from yesterday caused me to scream much to the entertainment of my fellow hikers.

The hiking today was really nice. Some rolling ups and downs but in general pretty easy trail. It was nice to have the crisp fall air back–much better hiking weather. We caught up to Potter, who we’d last seen in Duncannon. Yesterday we’d been talking about the buffets in Waynesboro, the upcoming town we planned to go into to resupply. We planned to go in tomorrow, but as I was hiking I got to thinking how nice it’d be to go today. When we were all taking a break this morning I looked in the guide and found an earlier road we could hitch into town from, letting us be able to go today instead. I talked up the buffet and got everyone on board! Food convinces hikers of anything pretty easily. With thoughts of food distracting us, the day seemed to fly by.

I got to the road around 345 to find Blondie. We got a hitch amazingly quickly to the Walmart and resupplied quickly. As we were packing our food in our packs outside the store, a man offered us a ride back to the trail. We told him we were going to a buffet two miles down the road and he said he’d drive us. Awesome! We didn’t even have to hitch. As we finished packing up and were waiting for him to finish his shopping, another guy came and offered us a ride. People in this town are so nice.

A short while later we were at Golden Corral. It was me, Blondie, Delta, and Blue Skies. flaco and Potter had yet to show up. We wasted no time pigging out and all getting multiple plates. It was heaven. Seriously, what a deal. I ate so much food. For only $10.99! I have to go to buffets more often. As we began our venture into dessert, flaco finally showed up. No one had picked him up so he’d had to walk several miles. Apparently the kind people we’d encountered didn’t see him. After we ate all we could handle we realized we had maybe overdone it. We had some trouble just sitting normally, let alone even walking to the bathroom. It was a tough time in my life. Possibly the only time I’ve definitely felt like I couldn’t eat more. If you know me you know how rare/nonexistent this feeling is for me. Finally we recovered enough to venture outside and try to find a hitch. It was getting late and the sun was setting. Luckily a nice woman in a mini van packed us all in and we got back to the trail. We walked a very short distance, found the first relatively flat ground and set up camp for the night, going to bed with uncomfortably full stomachs.

Miles today: 13.6
Total miles: 1105.5

It was rainy today and cold and not fun to walk in. We passed the real halfway point (no marker though) which was exciting. We felt lazy today and cut the day way short. We got to the shelter by 1 and it was so incredibly nice. There were two separate little shelters connected by a covered breezeway with a picnic table. There were hanging plants and potted plants and a little gate. And even cards and checkers. The shelters in this section are all maintained by the Potomac ATC and are apparently all pretty nice. It was a great place to call an early day

I made a hot lunch for the first time and spent some time reading and relaxing. When Flaco and Delta got to the shelter the four of us played cards. We discovered that Canadians call the game BS “cheat”. How adorable. Silly Canadians. It was a nice easy and relaxing day and I only felt a little guilty when the rain stopped and we didn’t hike any further.