Cattywampus and Iceman arrived into Delaware Water Gap, PA yesterday (Thursday) evening in the pouring rain. Actually, it stopped raining a few miles before town. We stayed at the church hostel and were fortunate enough to arrive an hour before a big hiker feed hosted by the church and town folk. What luck! It was super crowded however, 20-25 thru hikers; definitely the most thru-hikers we've seen at one place. Kind of crazy. Cool town though. Taking a zero day today for mental and physical mending. DWG is right on the PA-NJ border so when we hike out tomorrow we'll be leaving this state for good. Since this is our last stop in Pennsylvania I've got the hankering to write an...
Ode to Pennsylvania
Oh Pennsylvania, you suck
You really, really suck
No, seriously, you suck big time
You are hot, buggy, spring-less, rocky, poison ivy-filled, viewless, and you smell bad too
I thought I was going to like you when I first met you, but sometime after Duncannon your true spirit shone thru
Tomorrow I leave you for good, hopefully forever
Good riddance, who needs you?, coal-shmoal...
F.U. PA!!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Duncannon, PA to Palmerton, PA
Mile 1247.5! Both exciting and depressing. Thats a long way to walk. Pennsylvania is proving to be a hot, buggy, rocky, viewless, dry (very few water sources), poison ivy-filled state. I didn't mind southern PA too much, but lately its been hard going. Spirits waivering, right foot really hurting (and the rocks don't help), sweating every day. Hiking the A.T. is much tougher mentally than I could have ever imagined. Really, really looking forward to the Northeast, but that is still a ways off. We still have lots more hot, buggy, rocky, viewless, waterless, poison ivy-filled terrain to cover before its gets better. What have I gotten myself into?
Staying at the "Jailhouse Hostel" in Palmerton, PA tonight. An old police station that the city allows hikers to stay in for free. Palmerton is a weird and kind of wonderful town. I'm glad we stopped here. We are back amongst a group of other thru-hikers which is fun since we seemed to be all by ourselves for a while.
If I had known there would be this much poison ivy on the AT I very likely would not have chosen to hike it. Its ridiculous sometimes, actually nearly all the time. I have no idea how I have avoided contracting it but I hope my luck holds. Did I mention that I hate bugs and heat?
We saw 6 Timber Rattlers on the trail the other day (Sunday). We've seen probably over a dozen now (never more than one a day until now though) and often times they scare the living shit out of me when I walk up on them. Like the first one we saw yesterday which was hidden between some rocks, that I nearly walked over not 30 seconds after I think we saw another copperhead slither by. Then a really, really big one was pointed out to us just off the trail while we were on a break not 2 miles later. Then, on the same break, we went up to look at a viewpoint where we heard some rattlers had been sunning earlier and we saw 4 more rattlers in 2 sets - one set intertwined - not 5 feet from each other. It felt like the snake den out of Raiders of the Lost Arc. Got some good photos and videos. They are amazing creatures. Sure wish all poisonous snakes had rattles to warn you. Good stuff.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, we'll hike out of Palmerton towards Delaware Water Gap, PA where we'll hopefully spend the night on Thursday. I hope I make it. I sure wasn't expecting my body to be in this much pain, this late in the hike. I've lost all hope that my body will heal while I'm on the trail. Now its just a game of mental toughness. I hope I win.
Day 84, 15 July: Duncannon, PA - Peters Mtn Shelter [1148.6], 11.3 mi / 2000ft gain
Day 85, 16 July: Peters Mtn Shelter - camping near Swatara Gap [1172.1], 23.5 mi / 2900ft gain (saw a really fat Timber Rattler on the trail this day)
Day 86, 17 July: Swatara Gap - 501 Shelter [1183.5], 11.4 mi / 1900ft gain (rain cut our day short again. Sweet, fully enclosed shelter with outside shower)
Day 87, 18 July: 501 Shelter - Port Clinton, PA [1207.2], 23.7 mi / 2000ft gain (ole foot really hurtin lately)
Day 88, 19 July: Port Clinton, PA - Eckville Shelter [1222.4], 15.2 mi / 2500ft gain (this shelter was like a hostel bunkhouse really. also saw possibly our first copperhead)
Day 89, 20 July: Eckville Shelter - Bake Oven Knob Shelter [1239.8], 17.4 mi / 2600ft gain (saw 6, yes 6, rattlers on the trail this day)
Day 90, 21 July: Bake Oven Knob Shelter - Palmerton, PA [1247.5], 7.7 mi / ??ft gain (spirits were waivering lately and foot really sore, so called it a short day)
Staying at the "Jailhouse Hostel" in Palmerton, PA tonight. An old police station that the city allows hikers to stay in for free. Palmerton is a weird and kind of wonderful town. I'm glad we stopped here. We are back amongst a group of other thru-hikers which is fun since we seemed to be all by ourselves for a while.
If I had known there would be this much poison ivy on the AT I very likely would not have chosen to hike it. Its ridiculous sometimes, actually nearly all the time. I have no idea how I have avoided contracting it but I hope my luck holds. Did I mention that I hate bugs and heat?
We saw 6 Timber Rattlers on the trail the other day (Sunday). We've seen probably over a dozen now (never more than one a day until now though) and often times they scare the living shit out of me when I walk up on them. Like the first one we saw yesterday which was hidden between some rocks, that I nearly walked over not 30 seconds after I think we saw another copperhead slither by. Then a really, really big one was pointed out to us just off the trail while we were on a break not 2 miles later. Then, on the same break, we went up to look at a viewpoint where we heard some rattlers had been sunning earlier and we saw 4 more rattlers in 2 sets - one set intertwined - not 5 feet from each other. It felt like the snake den out of Raiders of the Lost Arc. Got some good photos and videos. They are amazing creatures. Sure wish all poisonous snakes had rattles to warn you. Good stuff.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, we'll hike out of Palmerton towards Delaware Water Gap, PA where we'll hopefully spend the night on Thursday. I hope I make it. I sure wasn't expecting my body to be in this much pain, this late in the hike. I've lost all hope that my body will heal while I'm on the trail. Now its just a game of mental toughness. I hope I win.
Day 84, 15 July: Duncannon, PA - Peters Mtn Shelter [1148.6], 11.3 mi / 2000ft gain
Day 85, 16 July: Peters Mtn Shelter - camping near Swatara Gap [1172.1], 23.5 mi / 2900ft gain (saw a really fat Timber Rattler on the trail this day)
Day 86, 17 July: Swatara Gap - 501 Shelter [1183.5], 11.4 mi / 1900ft gain (rain cut our day short again. Sweet, fully enclosed shelter with outside shower)
Day 87, 18 July: 501 Shelter - Port Clinton, PA [1207.2], 23.7 mi / 2000ft gain (ole foot really hurtin lately)
Day 88, 19 July: Port Clinton, PA - Eckville Shelter [1222.4], 15.2 mi / 2500ft gain (this shelter was like a hostel bunkhouse really. also saw possibly our first copperhead)
Day 89, 20 July: Eckville Shelter - Bake Oven Knob Shelter [1239.8], 17.4 mi / 2600ft gain (saw 6, yes 6, rattlers on the trail this day)
Day 90, 21 July: Bake Oven Knob Shelter - Palmerton, PA [1247.5], 7.7 mi / ??ft gain (spirits were waivering lately and foot really sore, so called it a short day)
Harpers Ferry, WV to Duncannon, PA
This stretch of trail between Harpers Ferry and Duncannon was really flat, fast, and easy. Nevertheless, the fact that we had only hiked half the trail was a bit overwhelming. It was exciting and depressing all at once.
Duncannon was a cool place. We stayed at the historic Doyle Hotel; a run down place with a lot of character and friendly people. A $25 hotel room is hard to find these days! Also found the last good food bargain in this country. For breakfast I had 3 thick, 'big-as-your-head' blueberry pancakes at a diner across the street for $2.90! I couldn't finish them and I have a thru-hikers appetite!! NICE.
Day 76, 7 July: Zero Day 9: Harpers Ferry, WV (this was a planned zero day)
Day 77, 8 July: Zero Day 10: Harpers Ferry, WV (this was an unplanned zero day!!)
Day 78, 9 July: Harpers Ferry, WV - WV/MD border - Pine Knob Shelter (MD) [1036.4], 21.4 mi / 3800ft gain
Day 79, 10 July: Pine Knob Shelter - MD/PA border - Deer Lick Shelter (PA) [1059.1], 22.7 mi / 3900ft gain
Day 80, 11 July: Deer Lick Shelter - Fayetteville, PA resupply - Quarry Gap Shelter [1074.9], 15.8 mi / 2400ft gain (heavy rain shortened our day!)
Day 81, 12 July: Quarry Gap Shelter - Midpoint of A.T (1089.1 miles) - Pine Grove Furnace S.P. - James Frye Shelter at Tagg Run [1099.4], 24.5 mi / 2600ft gain (Hooray, we're half way.... We're only half way.....)
Day 82, 13 July: James Frye Shelter - Boiling Springs, PA - Darlington Shelter [1125.9], 26.5 mi / 3500ft gain
Day 83, 14 July: Darlington Shelter - Duncannon, PA [1137.3], 11.4 mi / 1400ft gain (stayed at the histroic Doyle Hotel, an awesome place)
Duncannon was a cool place. We stayed at the historic Doyle Hotel; a run down place with a lot of character and friendly people. A $25 hotel room is hard to find these days! Also found the last good food bargain in this country. For breakfast I had 3 thick, 'big-as-your-head' blueberry pancakes at a diner across the street for $2.90! I couldn't finish them and I have a thru-hikers appetite!! NICE.
Day 76, 7 July: Zero Day 9: Harpers Ferry, WV (this was a planned zero day)
Day 77, 8 July: Zero Day 10: Harpers Ferry, WV (this was an unplanned zero day!!)
Day 78, 9 July: Harpers Ferry, WV - WV/MD border - Pine Knob Shelter (MD) [1036.4], 21.4 mi / 3800ft gain
Day 79, 10 July: Pine Knob Shelter - MD/PA border - Deer Lick Shelter (PA) [1059.1], 22.7 mi / 3900ft gain
Day 80, 11 July: Deer Lick Shelter - Fayetteville, PA resupply - Quarry Gap Shelter [1074.9], 15.8 mi / 2400ft gain (heavy rain shortened our day!)
Day 81, 12 July: Quarry Gap Shelter - Midpoint of A.T (1089.1 miles) - Pine Grove Furnace S.P. - James Frye Shelter at Tagg Run [1099.4], 24.5 mi / 2600ft gain (Hooray, we're half way.... We're only half way.....)
Day 82, 13 July: James Frye Shelter - Boiling Springs, PA - Darlington Shelter [1125.9], 26.5 mi / 3500ft gain
Day 83, 14 July: Darlington Shelter - Duncannon, PA [1137.3], 11.4 mi / 1400ft gain (stayed at the histroic Doyle Hotel, an awesome place)
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
A couple more pics
Cattywampus and Iceman at Rockfish Gap near Waynesboro, VA
Getting ready to head into Shenandoah NP after a relaxing and luxurious town stop.
A drive by shooting from Catty's parents just after they dropped us off.
Getting ready to head into Shenandoah NP after a relaxing and luxurious town stop.
A drive by shooting from Catty's parents just after they dropped us off.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Waynesboro, VA to Harpers Ferry, WV
(1 other new post below this one)
I'm pleased to be writing this from Harpers Ferry, WV!
'Zeros'
As of today we have hiked 1015 miles of the AT!!! Today (Tuesday, 7 July 2009) is our first 'zero day' (day with zero miles hiked) since Pearisburg, VA which was nearly 400 miles ago. We've taken 1 zero day since leaving Watagua Lake, NC nearly 600 miles ago; so 1 zero day during the entire state of Virginia! We are pretty happy with our progress thus far but we are moving at a fairly average speed. We still need to pick up our daily milage and average close to 18 miles per day to finish by mid September.
'Bears'
We saw bears 4 out of the 6 days we were in the Shennies and also on our first day out of the Shennies. Something like 14 bears all together. We had no idea there where that many bears in the Shennies as people always play up the number of bears in the smokies. We had a couple of 'encounters' during which I was glad to have another person by my side. Momma bears are pretty protective of their cubs. And who knew bears where such agile tree climbers? Probably a quarter of the bears spotted were up in the trees!
'Shennies are NOT flat'
Whoever said that the Shennies were flat is spreading lies. By looking at our daily elevation gain - we hiked nearly 22,000 ft of elevation gain through the park - it is quite evident that they are not flat. They are however well graded with no steep climbs. We were misled into thinking they would be a cakewalk. They were NOT!
'Birthday Challenge 2 of 2'
I'm happy to announce that birthday challenge 2 of 2 was a GREAT SUCCESS!! We woke up at 3:42 AM (the exact time I was born) on July 5, left camp at 4:45 AM, hiked for 16 hours, 31 miles, and 7000 ft of elevation gain to celebrate the start of my 31st trip around the sun on this big, beautiful orb we call Earth! I was pretty tired that evening and Cattywampus made dinner for me and carried around a huge chocolate bar and some delicious cookies to surprise me with. What a gal!!
Okay and now for the day by day breakdown. Hope this is not too boring.....
Day 67, 28 June: Waynesboro, VA - Shenandoah N.P. southern boundry - Calf Mtn Shelter [859.5], 7.0 mi / 1900ft gain (short day because it was hard to leave town after staying at the Marriot!)
Day 68, 29 June: Calf Mtn Shelter - Loft Mtn campground [879.9], 20.4 mi / 4300ft gain (saw a wild turkey and chick and 7 bears this day including 2 sets of a mom and 2 cubs with the cubs climbing up into the trees to escape us!)
Day 69, 30 June: Loft Mtn - Lewis Mtn campground [905.6], 25.7 mi / 5700ft gain (saw a couple more bears on the AT this day)
Day 70, 1 July: Lewis Mtn - lunch and resupply at Big Meadows Wayside - camped near Skyland [921.6], 16.0 mi / 3400ft gain (got dumped/rained on this day for the first time since 17 June!)
Day 71, 2 July: Skyland - camped at Elkwallow Picnic Area [940.1], 18.5 mi / 3400ft gain (exact same elevation gain as previous day)
Day 72, 3 July: Elkwallow - Compton Gap Trail/Front Royal Hostel [955.8], 15.7 mi / 3100ft gain (fantastic hostel! saw another bear this day)
Day 73, 4 July: Compton Gap Trail - Manassas Gap Shelter [970.3], 14.5 mi / 3000ft gain
Day 74, 5 July: Manassas Gap Shelter - 'Roller Coaster' - 1000-mile mark - Blackburn ATC center [1001.0], 31+ mi (30.7 'AT miles' plus >.5 'off trail miles') / 7040ft gain!! (2nd part of the Birthday Challenge)
Day 75, 6 July: Blackburn center - Harpers Ferry Hostel [1015], 14.0 mi / 1400ft gain (got picked up by Trail Angel 'Blue Moon' and stayed with him this night and not at the hostel!)
Day 76, 7 July: Zero Day in Harpers Ferry
I'm pleased to be writing this from Harpers Ferry, WV!
'Zeros'
As of today we have hiked 1015 miles of the AT!!! Today (Tuesday, 7 July 2009) is our first 'zero day' (day with zero miles hiked) since Pearisburg, VA which was nearly 400 miles ago. We've taken 1 zero day since leaving Watagua Lake, NC nearly 600 miles ago; so 1 zero day during the entire state of Virginia! We are pretty happy with our progress thus far but we are moving at a fairly average speed. We still need to pick up our daily milage and average close to 18 miles per day to finish by mid September.
'Bears'
We saw bears 4 out of the 6 days we were in the Shennies and also on our first day out of the Shennies. Something like 14 bears all together. We had no idea there where that many bears in the Shennies as people always play up the number of bears in the smokies. We had a couple of 'encounters' during which I was glad to have another person by my side. Momma bears are pretty protective of their cubs. And who knew bears where such agile tree climbers? Probably a quarter of the bears spotted were up in the trees!
'Shennies are NOT flat'
Whoever said that the Shennies were flat is spreading lies. By looking at our daily elevation gain - we hiked nearly 22,000 ft of elevation gain through the park - it is quite evident that they are not flat. They are however well graded with no steep climbs. We were misled into thinking they would be a cakewalk. They were NOT!
'Birthday Challenge 2 of 2'
I'm happy to announce that birthday challenge 2 of 2 was a GREAT SUCCESS!! We woke up at 3:42 AM (the exact time I was born) on July 5, left camp at 4:45 AM, hiked for 16 hours, 31 miles, and 7000 ft of elevation gain to celebrate the start of my 31st trip around the sun on this big, beautiful orb we call Earth! I was pretty tired that evening and Cattywampus made dinner for me and carried around a huge chocolate bar and some delicious cookies to surprise me with. What a gal!!
Okay and now for the day by day breakdown. Hope this is not too boring.....
Day 67, 28 June: Waynesboro, VA - Shenandoah N.P. southern boundry - Calf Mtn Shelter [859.5], 7.0 mi / 1900ft gain (short day because it was hard to leave town after staying at the Marriot!)
Day 68, 29 June: Calf Mtn Shelter - Loft Mtn campground [879.9], 20.4 mi / 4300ft gain (saw a wild turkey and chick and 7 bears this day including 2 sets of a mom and 2 cubs with the cubs climbing up into the trees to escape us!)
Day 69, 30 June: Loft Mtn - Lewis Mtn campground [905.6], 25.7 mi / 5700ft gain (saw a couple more bears on the AT this day)
Day 70, 1 July: Lewis Mtn - lunch and resupply at Big Meadows Wayside - camped near Skyland [921.6], 16.0 mi / 3400ft gain (got dumped/rained on this day for the first time since 17 June!)
Day 71, 2 July: Skyland - camped at Elkwallow Picnic Area [940.1], 18.5 mi / 3400ft gain (exact same elevation gain as previous day)
Day 72, 3 July: Elkwallow - Compton Gap Trail/Front Royal Hostel [955.8], 15.7 mi / 3100ft gain (fantastic hostel! saw another bear this day)
Day 73, 4 July: Compton Gap Trail - Manassas Gap Shelter [970.3], 14.5 mi / 3000ft gain
Day 74, 5 July: Manassas Gap Shelter - 'Roller Coaster' - 1000-mile mark - Blackburn ATC center [1001.0], 31+ mi (30.7 'AT miles' plus >.5 'off trail miles') / 7040ft gain!! (2nd part of the Birthday Challenge)
Day 75, 6 July: Blackburn center - Harpers Ferry Hostel [1015], 14.0 mi / 1400ft gain (got picked up by Trail Angel 'Blue Moon' and stayed with him this night and not at the hostel!)
Day 76, 7 July: Zero Day in Harpers Ferry
Daleville, VA to Waynesboro, VA
Where was it that I left off? Ah, so much has happened since I last posted. I'll put the day-by-day breakdown at the bottom this time.
'Tender Feet'
Had a hell of a 225 miles from Pearisburg to Waynesboro wearing shoes that I had previously worn but no longer fit my feet. Hiking when every single step you take is painful is not fun! I'll never again use untested shoes for long distance hiking! ouch. I didn't even have any insoles for the first 150 miles until I got to an outfitter in Daleville.
'Summer Solstice, National Hike Naked Day - June 21st'
Not ones to shy away from any tradition, we fully welcomed the coming summer by partaking in one of the oldest and purest of AT traditions. The day was made all the more interesting by the numerous road crossings (Blue Ridge Parkway crossings no less). Fortunately we only ended up offending 2 or 3 people by days end. Very liberating.....
'Living Lare in Waynesboro'
Caroline's parents came to visit her in Waynesboro and ended up buying an extra room for a few hikers (4 total) to crash in. It was sooooo sweet! So thats how the other half live, wow! They did our laundry, took us to do our errands, and capped the night off by making home-made ice cream. Incredible! My stay in Waynesboro also included two All-You-Can-Eat buffets in less than 12 hours. First a Chinese buffet for dinner, then a fantastic breakfast buffet at the Marriot. Stuffed. Hard to go hiking after a day like that.... But the Shennies (Shenandoah National Park) awaited....
Day-by-day by day?
Day 59, 20 June: Daleville, VA - 1/3-of-the-way mark [726.1]- Wilson Creek Shelter [729.8], 11.2 mi / 2800ft gain (bugs are bad, bad, bad! and "the heat, my god, the heat"! Iceman was not made to endure hiking in the heat)
Day 60, 21 June: Wilson Creek Shelter - Bryant Ridge Shelter [750.4], 20.6 mi / 4000ft gain (Summer Solstice & National Hike Naked Day)
Day 61, 22 June: Bryant Ridge Shelter - camped at Marble Spring [767.6], 17.2 mi / 5200ft gain
Day 62, 23 June: Marble Spring - Punchbowl Shelter [785.8], 18.2 mi / 3900ft gain (saw another fat rattler on the trail this day)
Day 63, 24 June: Punchbowl Shelter - Buena Vista, VA resupply - camped atop Cold Mtn [802.1], 16.3 mi / 4600ft gain (great campsite/views, saw first skunk)
Day 64, 25 June: Cold Mtn - camped atop The Priest [818.4], 16.3 mi / 3600ft gain (great campsite/views again; discovered a little poison ivy on my back this AM!)
Day 65, 26 June: The Priest - BRP mile 9.6/Rusty's Hardtime Hollow hostel [838.3], 19.9 mi / 4500ft gain (cool place, but I think its lost its charm)
Day 66, 27 June: BRP mile 9.6 - Waynesboro, VA [852.5], 14.2 mi / 2200ft gain (living the life of luxery at the Marriot)
'Tender Feet'
Had a hell of a 225 miles from Pearisburg to Waynesboro wearing shoes that I had previously worn but no longer fit my feet. Hiking when every single step you take is painful is not fun! I'll never again use untested shoes for long distance hiking! ouch. I didn't even have any insoles for the first 150 miles until I got to an outfitter in Daleville.
'Summer Solstice, National Hike Naked Day - June 21st'
Not ones to shy away from any tradition, we fully welcomed the coming summer by partaking in one of the oldest and purest of AT traditions. The day was made all the more interesting by the numerous road crossings (Blue Ridge Parkway crossings no less). Fortunately we only ended up offending 2 or 3 people by days end. Very liberating.....
'Living Lare in Waynesboro'
Caroline's parents came to visit her in Waynesboro and ended up buying an extra room for a few hikers (4 total) to crash in. It was sooooo sweet! So thats how the other half live, wow! They did our laundry, took us to do our errands, and capped the night off by making home-made ice cream. Incredible! My stay in Waynesboro also included two All-You-Can-Eat buffets in less than 12 hours. First a Chinese buffet for dinner, then a fantastic breakfast buffet at the Marriot. Stuffed. Hard to go hiking after a day like that.... But the Shennies (Shenandoah National Park) awaited....
Day-by-day by day?
Day 59, 20 June: Daleville, VA - 1/3-of-the-way mark [726.1]- Wilson Creek Shelter [729.8], 11.2 mi / 2800ft gain (bugs are bad, bad, bad! and "the heat, my god, the heat"! Iceman was not made to endure hiking in the heat)
Day 60, 21 June: Wilson Creek Shelter - Bryant Ridge Shelter [750.4], 20.6 mi / 4000ft gain (Summer Solstice & National Hike Naked Day)
Day 61, 22 June: Bryant Ridge Shelter - camped at Marble Spring [767.6], 17.2 mi / 5200ft gain
Day 62, 23 June: Marble Spring - Punchbowl Shelter [785.8], 18.2 mi / 3900ft gain (saw another fat rattler on the trail this day)
Day 63, 24 June: Punchbowl Shelter - Buena Vista, VA resupply - camped atop Cold Mtn [802.1], 16.3 mi / 4600ft gain (great campsite/views, saw first skunk)
Day 64, 25 June: Cold Mtn - camped atop The Priest [818.4], 16.3 mi / 3600ft gain (great campsite/views again; discovered a little poison ivy on my back this AM!)
Day 65, 26 June: The Priest - BRP mile 9.6/Rusty's Hardtime Hollow hostel [838.3], 19.9 mi / 4500ft gain (cool place, but I think its lost its charm)
Day 66, 27 June: BRP mile 9.6 - Waynesboro, VA [852.5], 14.2 mi / 2200ft gain (living the life of luxery at the Marriot)
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