Category: Long Distance Trails

Start: Rutherford Shelter (AT mi 1336.1). Stop: Pochuck Mtn Shelter (AT mi 1353.1). Today’s miles: 17 miles. Total AT mileage: 328.4 miles

I slept decently well, minus the whole flat pad thing (it was flat before midnight.. I tried to quietly sneak out of the shelter to pee and then came back in and blew it back up.. and nothing in a shelter is quiet. I feel so bad for being so loud). Also, a whippoorwill decided to go batshit crazy right by the shelter and then right by FarOut and HotSauce’s tent, at both 8pm and apparently 4am-when FarOut actually got out of her tent and tried to scare it off with sticks and whisper yelling. I guess I do sleep some-because I missed all of that (although honestly I wish I would have seen her flipping out at the bird, she’s a sassy one! Hahaha).

We all got up after 7 and ate our breakfasts together. The plan was to hike 11 miles into a town, eat pizza and drink beer, get a quick resupply, and then hike the 6 miles to the next shelter out of town. Cool. In my head, we’d be there by 1 pm-MAX.

Well, the trail had other plans. We left out around 8:30am. We stopped to get snacks and use a real toilet at a state park headquarters with a little hiker store attached. There, while we were sitting around talking, I ordered myself a new pad. Every single air pad has at least 5 bad reviews for air leaking. I’m petrified I will have spent good money on a new pad and still end up in the same predicament. I’ll be so livid! However, I’ll be saving 3 ounces so maybe I’ll appreciate the switch.

From there we leapfrogged each other until we got to a cool tower with an outlook to a big monument across the way. Very pretty site. Actually, so much of today has had pretty views. After being in Pennsylvania where everything kinda looked the same and the views were always meh or non existent, New Jersey has really stepped it up. It feels like at least more than half the time a big climb gives some kind of view. Although, to be fair, it is very irritating to see the road you pass go right around the big mountain you go straight up and then down, just to cross the same dang road again on the other side, with not one view from the top.. which has happened at least once today, if I’m not mentally blocking out all the others.. it’s slightly demoralizing. It’s fine. I’m fine. Lol

Oh-and this morning while we were doing breakfast things, I thought to myself, “I’ve fallen at least once in every state I’ve hiked through. Maybe New Jersey will be my turning point!” I purposefully didn’t mention this out loud, as to not tempt the fate of the trail gods. About 3 miles into today’s hike-I busted it hard. I reopened the almost healed scab on my left knee, and also hit a rock over my right eye, right along my eyebrow. I contemplated not getting up once I did it. No one was around and I knew I was ok, I didn’t lose consciousness or anything. But I was mad. And wanted to pout.. however, falls are apart of it and I’m clumsy as hell so I highly doubt it’ll be my last, so I got up and dusted myself off. Lucky for me a few minutes later Derby came hauling through like a damn train (he’s got some quick feet), and he checked out my eye to make sure it wasn’t cut or anything. After he passed, I checked again with my camera phone lol talk about being vane. Good lord. This is not the place for vanity in the slightest!

FarOut and HotSauce made to town just before Lizard and I did, and we made it just before the rain got heavy.. it didn’t last very long though, luckily. We resupplied, and then got beers, and went to the pizza place down the street a little to eat on their porch. It was incredibly good. I got 2 slices of huge pizza, plus some garlic knots. It was so so worth all the soreness in my knee, shin, face, life hahahah. FarOut and HotSauce got a whole pizza-so I had a piece of that, too.

While we were sitting there, Towely appeared. I swear that man is into magic or something. It’s like he just shows up. Every time I think he’s ahead, he comes walking up behind me.. when I think he’s behind me, I end up walking into him. So strange, but always a happy encounter. Anyway, he decided to stay there in town and the 4 of us started our hike to the shelter.

It was a glorious, mostly flat, gentle 4+ miles though town, swampy bogs that had planks to walk on, dirt paths around a pond.. and then the very last little bit was a treacherous incline on a steep grade with slick leaves, rocks, almost mud from the recent rain. Every bit of my happy go lucky beer buzz was gone, evaporated.. all the nice dried off in town clothes were slap soaked with sweat like I’d just went swimming in the swamp-I probably smell like I did, too.

But, when we got to the top.. it was so worth it! Almost everyone was here! I set up my tent quickly, because space was sparse. Here’s the rundown: tenting is Cholula and Curmudgeon, FarOut and HotSauce, Smiles, DoubleDecker, Push, TownLegs, TBird, Poptart, 2 tents I don’t know, and Finch. Hammocking is Lizard. Sheltering was just Derby and Professor, but since we got here and set up, 3-4 other people appeared and some may be setting up a tent and some might be squeezing in the shelter. It’s a smaller one, but it’s nice.

I’m going to do some reading before falling asleep, mainly to keep myself awake long enough to stretch my shin a bit more. It hurt more today than yesterday, but nothing like the 2 days prior to that. I have compression sleeves coming with my air pad. I hope they help!

Start: Brink Road Shelter (AT mi 1321). Stop: Rutherford Shelter (AT mi 1336.1). Today’s miles: 15.1 miles Total AT mileage: 311.4 miles

Welp. Last night was fun. Right after I finished writing the last post, the “dude in the middle” of the shelter ended up getting up and setting up his tent: because HoneyBadger and his friend Ghost appeared, checked out the shelter, and decided they plus 2 more were coming on in, too. Hahaha uhhhh-alrighty then.

So, guy in the middle left (because HoneyBadger said he’d just sleep under the bench FeatherFoot was sleeping on already), and then Ghost decided after their other friends showed up that he’d set up his tent (because he’s tall and the shelter then had 9 of us in there and on the “porch” sandwiched together in different directions.
It was tight, and they apparently didn’t come back to bed until almost 10.. I wouldn’t know because after I laughed a whole lot (watching these guys unpack and set up and smoosh in and basically take over the shelter and knowing every single soul already in the shelter was having a WTF IS HAPPENING?!!? moment) I put my earplugs in and passed out.

Sometime before 4am I woke up, to a flat pad (again-I thought I fixed the problem. I clearly didn’t), and needing to pee. T Bird got up at 4:30 and so I got up with her-she was making very little noise, but still noise, so that way I wasn’t the only one annoying everyone while I tried to find TP, and couldn’t, and just went outside to pee anyway. I was real close to having an accident while standing in the shelter lol, I don’t think my pretending to be sleeping companions would have appreciated me much!

I went back to sleep, rolled over and woke up face to face with Showtime (HoneyBadger’s friend, not the showtime we met at the beginning of our hike), very close.. like I could feel his breath.. so, I made more racket and moved the other way. On the flat pad. Dear God what is going on? Whyyyyy?

I got up at 7am. Everyone in the shelter was asleep and some snoring.. so, I grabbed some of my stuff and just went to the picnic table. I went to the privy, came back and made breakfast, all while BCM chatted me up. Luckily for me, HotSauce was already up too, so more of the conversation turned to him. He’s much nicer in the mornings than I am. FarOut appears to have my demeanor in the mornings, us “slow to warm up” people.. like, I like everyone here.. but there’s no reason to start talking yet lol (although this morning we got a good giggle over our ridiculous sleeping situation).

We all started walking randomly. The day had the threat of rain and storms all day long.. and was so dang muggy. It faintly sprinkled for like 30 seconds at one point, and I’ll be honest- it would have just felt better if the sky just fell out and cooled it all down.

I passed a little town less than 4 miles from where we started.. the 2 restaurants right there at the intersection of the trail were closed but I could see a gas station, so I headed towards it. A Gatorade and some Combos sounded like the perfect remedy to cool down my overly sweaty self. I got there-it’s not a gas station. It was just a tire shop with gas pumps. I was quite close to having a meltdown on the side of the road. Instead, I hung my head, turned around, and walked back to the trail.

I had lunch at the little spot where another shelter trail meets the AT. I saw a big group of tourists go down to the shelter, so I didn’t want to head that way, too. Cholula and Curmudgeon were at the Little Rock spot when I got to it. We chatted, they headed on their way, I sat and ate, then did some more stretching for my shin. I didn’t want to admit it that early on, but it really wasn’t hurting as bad today as it had been the last 2 days. I didn’t want to jinx it though.

As I was getting close to done, Lizard appeared and I stayed to chat with her while she ate her lunch. We got on the topic of shoes. I forgot to mention yesterday that Amazon ended up cancelling my order and refunding the cost of my shoes. I could have screamed I was so upset. Lizard ordered herself new shoes today, a different brand than I’ve worn.. we compared insoles and I ordered me a pair too, but to my house. I’m going to get mom to ship them and some other goodies to me via the post office so that they won’t get turned away again. Who knows when I’ll actually get to wear new shoes?! Lol i wasn’t expecting it to be this difficult.

Derby came from the shelter and all three of us hiked together for a few minutes-because then Derby got way ahead, and then Lizard got way ahead.. haha so it goes. I met back up with them shortly after, and then with HotSauce and FarOut. We started off again, and the same thing happened again, just not as fast.. or I was able to keep up with them longer. Until I couldn’t.

I made to the shelter, after being stampead-ed by a group of deer, I guess I startled them. The shelter is older and decent, but the area itself is pretty. And mostly flat. FarOut, HotSauce, Cholula, and Curmudgeon all put their tents up (2 tents for 2 couples, I worded that weird). Lizard, Derby and I are going to shelter it again because of the rain coming in and staying all day tomorrow, although to be fair the weather said that yesterday too, and it just started to sprinkle after dinner, so who knows.

We’re all set up, it’s getting chillier than it was during the day, and I’m happy to be getting curled up in my sleeping bag. The sun isn’t quite down yet, so I’m praying like crazy that no group of dudes show up and try to squeeze in here LMAO.
Goodnight y’all

Start: Unnamed Campsite (AT mi 1308.2). Stop: Brink Road Shelter (AT mi 1321). Today’s miles: 12.8 miles Total AT mileage: 296.3 miles

Our campsite was indeed perfect for watching the sunrise. I saw the light and hot pink come up sometime before 5:15am. I saw a little more after 5:30.. I rolled the other way and slept til 7am.
I finally got up and went to get my food bag, which took an embarrassing long time. I couldn’t get the stick to break free.. Ugh. Mornings. Also of note, I slept next to the snake all night and he was still there this morning. He stretched out towards the sun, super close to my tent stakes, so FeatherFoot gently nudged him with his trekking pole to get him to scoot into the tree more, and then he went ahead and pulled out my last 2 stakes for me, so I wouldn’t have to get so close to the snake. Lol

Everyone ate their breakfasts and left out at different times: first Derby, then Cholula and Curmudgeon, followed by FeatherFoot. I left after I got my leg taped up. FarOut gave me some KT tape and I watched a video of how to tape it up correctly. It made such a difference, but man my shin still hurts. Shin Splints are awful.

Less than half a mile out of camp I heard rustling and branches breaking. I slowed down thinking I was coming up on on of the other 4 popping a squat. As I listen and I’m about to yell out to them, I see a big black bear’s head up on the hill by the rocks. He was there just long enough for us to make eye contact with each other, for me to reach for my phone to take a video, and then poof-before I could open it to the right screen, he was gone. Just like that. Even still, I’m excited as hell I got my first bear siting! I was super jealous yesterday of everyone else getting to see them. It makes no sense whatsoever, I’m calm when coming across a bear outweighing me and could easily hurt or kill me.. I scream when I see little snakes that I could literally toss away in a second.

There were lots of great views and I did see another snake on trail. It was overcast, but breezy and I really enjoyed it, except when after 5 or so miles my shin slowed my pace down to 1.5 miles per hour. It was excruciating.

I finally made it to the shelter we were all aiming for a sometime around 3:45-4ish. Everyone was here except Lizard, FarOut, and HotSauce. Even Towely was here! This was my first time seeing him for a few days. The others must have enjoyed this day and taken lots of breaks too, because they definitely all hike faster than me lol

They were all here shortly after me, we ate dinner (yes, at 4:30-5pm lol) and did our camp chores.. I’m so tired that I keep yawning like crazy. T Bird got here and helped me with another stretch for my shin splints. We did that for while and then set up our stuff in the shelter. FeatherFoot, Derby, Curmudgeon, Cholula, TBird, me and some new guy are all smooshed in here. It was better when there were less of us. Hahahaha pray for us.