"A friend may be Nature's most magnificent creation."- Ralph Waldo Emerson
As I prepare to return to the trail in just under a month to finish the southern 600 miles, I thought a good way to get back in the mindset of hiking would be to finally (!) write up my adventures. Sorry to any and all who did not get their promised blog updates while I was on the trail. Zero days were too precious to spend typing.
From the beginning. (Luckily I did keep a pretty steady trail journal!)
Week 1:Day 1 Crampton Shelter, North from Harper's Ferry 11 miles.
I'm officially hiking the A.T!!! Started this morning not knowing which way to access the trail from the Teahorse Hostel where I stayed last night. Johnny Walker took a look over my pack and had a few suggestions, but nothing drastic- I'm weighing in at 34lbs with 5 days of food and 2L of water.
At the hostel I met Burning Leaf, Pigeontoe, Shaggy and Mama Skillet. Mama Skillet and Shaggy walked with me to the trail in the morning. Mama Skillet took a picture of my first step on the trail. Shaggy and I walked together all day-he is a section hiker from MA in his 4th year of hiking. He kept the perfect pace for me as he had done 20 miles yesterday and was looking to go a little slower today.
At the shelter I met Wonka- a girl soloing from GA, Tumbleweed (another first day female flipflopper!) and Nick a recent college grad. All of my gear worked well today except my spork, which broke in half when I mixed my concrete-thick mac and cheese.
Beautiful weather- cloudless sky, light breeze. High 30's in the morning warming to 70's. Tomorrow chance of rain. Plan to go 7 miles to Dahlgren campsite- they have warm showers- a treat if I get soaked.
P.S. Found a handle of Kentucky Bourbon in the shelter hiker box- passed it around in celebration of our first day completed!
Day 2 Pine Knob Shelter 13 miles.
Walked in the rain drizzle for about 5 hours today. Luckily not too heavy- the hardest part was taking off and putting on my rain jacket constantly. The hills warmed me up a good bit, but it was still chilly, about 55. I did discover that my rain jacket has zippers up the sides so that made it easier. Stopped for lunch at Dahlgren backpack camp, but continued on afterwards 6 miles because it was only noon. Tomorrow the plan is to chill for a late start and do 8 miles to the next shelter, but based on the terrain profile in the guidebook we may go further. Hiked all day with Tumbleweed, which was great. We plan to stay together until Waynesboro at least. Toes a little sore. Saw the Washington monument. The shelter is full of guys- thru hikers Captain America, Shaggy, Pops, Wet Beard and Obi Trail Kenobi. Weather cleared for dinner prep and campfire. Lots of good advice, jokes and laughs around the dinner table.
Received my trail name last night! "Ranger". Almost ended up as "Fresh Fish" thanks to Obi Trail Kenobi, but I nipped that in the bud. Took a shorter day which I believe was a good plan. 13 yesterday didn't feel too bad this morning, but the choice between an 8 mile and 13 mile day today was the deciding factor. Hiked with TW again- good pace! Got to the shelter about 4 pm and found out that pizza could be delivered to the road crossing so we ordered two large pies with pepperoni and sausage and ham. Was also provided with new spork- titanium! Perfect close to a rainy, grey day! Met three other flipfloppers and a south bounder in the course of the day. BC was the only other flipflopper at the shelter besides TW and me. So many laughs. Good food. Another campfire and hot chocolate with instant coffee, ginger and cinnamon. Town tomorrow, a day earlier than planned! Just joined by Slug and Hawkeye. Hawkeye is regularly doing 30 mile days. Recommended Superfeet insoles for the PA rocks.
Day 4 10 miles in Waynesboro, PA
Hiked into Waynesboro, PA. Had planned to make it in time to pick up a maildrop and bounce back out to a nearby campsite. Crossed the Mason-Dixon line today. The terrain was a 500 foot climb and descent on large rocks- very hard on the feet! By the time we got to town I was not in a good mood and a lot of pain. The bike shorts I was wearing under my hiking skirt were riding up and my legs were chaffing badly along with aching feet and arches on the verge of being pulled. Thought I would have to walk two extra miles to Walmart since there was no luck in getting picked up hitching. But as we walked down the street a lady doing yard work offered us first water, then a ride to and from Walmart, then family dinner, cell phone charging, showers and laundry. We missed the post office hours, so she offered us a stay in her heated and electrified garden shed (10x better than the backcountry shelters!). She was SO generous!! Tumbleweed, BC and I plus another hiker named Megamind ended up staying up till midnight. We named our trail angel Mama Speedbump (because of her driving style and the fact that she was a speed bump in our trail). In the morning Mama Speedbump drove us to the Post Office and McDonald's for breakfast. Couldn't ask for better trail magic!
BC and TW headed on to the campsite 1 1/2 miles North, but my feet were hurting and I mailed my shelter ahead to cut weight. It's a bit lonely- much different atmosphere than the previous nights, but kinda nice to take a quiet evening. I got insoles at Walmart for my feet which helps a bit, but I'm also going to slow the mileage down after tomorrow. Because I'm ahead of schedule my mail drop wasn't really needed- I should have bounced it ahead, but I wasn't thinking. Now I'm carrying 7 days of food with another mail drop in 3 days (with a coat in the box that I need) Rain expected tomorrow, so if I don't go as far as planned I won't be bothered.
Hiked all day in the rain, not too much fun. If it was a bit warmer, I wouldn't have minded getting wet, but it was low 50's and breezy. Stopped for lunch quickly to give my feet a rest, but started getting chilled so I moved on quickly. Now at Quarry Gap Shelter for the evening and in dry clothes. Looking forward to my sleeping bag!! I had a really tasty dinner- 4 cheese rice-a-roni pasta side and 2 cups of hot chocolate and tea. KNowing I'd have a shelter roof made all the difference finishing mileage today- the terrain was pretty level, but the rocks are kicking in and my feet are feeling it. Caught up with Tumbleweed, so I'm not an orphan tonite! Last night was weird with only day hikers and (I think) a homeless person talking about issues I didn't wan to hear. I ended up going to bed about 8 pm and slept until 7:30 which felt so good! Planning 13 miles tomorrow with level ground then picking up mail at least @ Pine Grove State Park. I may stay overnight if my feet are painful.
Day 7
Another rainy day. Drizzle for majority or the day, but much less windy than yesterday. The trail was pretty level, but my knees and arches still ached by lunch time. Broke out the ipod for motivation. Luckily the shelter was not full even though it's only a 4 person. Not as nice as the shelter last night at Quarry Gap which had a covered cooking area, but it's just our trio (BC joined last night as well) and almost bed time, so we have spread out and are cooking in the shelter. Yoda, a section hiker from the local area hiked in a 12 pack of beer which we shared with some others who were camping. Directly in front of the shelter there is a group of weekenders tenting so we people watched while eating dinner and drinking beer. So far they have a hammock slung with a trap draped over for rain cover and have dragged some large, damp logs from the woods and are chopping them with machetes for a fire.
Raining quite a bit currently, so I'm heading to bed. Tomorrow we hit Pine Grove SP and I'll decide whether or not to stay. Met a thru hiker named Sunshine and her buddy Matt. They will nearo at Pine Grove, so I may be able to fall in with them if I leave TW and BC. I'd like not to be orphaned. Knowing there are friends nearby (even if they are ahead) has been so helpful with keeping spirits up in this rainy weather.
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