Tag: AT

Start: Birch Run Shelter (AT mi 1094.9) Stop:Unnamed Campsite (AT mi 1107.6). Today’s miles: 12.7 miles. Total AT mileage: 82.6 miles

I woke up a little before 8am hearing the birds chirping and the folks around me quietly packing up. After laying there a bit, completely content in my warm sleeping bag, I figured I better get a move on or I’ll never make it to Pine Grove Furnace store.. the home of the half gallon challenge. While most thru hikers love this place for the challenge- which is to eat an entire half gallon of ice cream to celebrate hiking over halfway from GA to ME- I was dead set on getting a burger and fries and some kind of soda. It’s the little things that get me out of bed these days!
I packed up the inside of my tent, rearranging a few times. The bigger sleeping bag takes up more space and makes it a little difficult to get everything inside the pack AND keep it comfortable. But I managed!

I ate breakfast with Lizard, almost everyone else was out of camp by the time we were boiling our water.. lol.. maybe one day I’ll be an earlier riser. Maybe. Anyway-we ate, finished packing and I hit the trail just ahead of her, knowing she’d probably catch me sooner rather than later, and if not, I fully intended to wait for her at Pine Grove.
Today’s hike was beautiful, no seriously steep inclines or descents.. birds were everywhere and so were butterflies. I saw a few lizards scamper off into the leaves and I startled a deer when I rounded the corner where it was standing drinking water at a creek. I felt bad that the little buddy got so scared and didn’t get to finish drinking.

I stopped a couple times to rest, take off my jacket, drink my zip fizz.. shockingly the miles flew by so quick! I finally came into the area where Pine Grove is and got so excited! I purposefully held off on eating lunch, and it was pushing 1:40pm. I did just under 10 miles in 4 hours and 16 minutes.. maybe I am breaking in my trail legs!

I got to the outdoor seating area and saw everyone from last night! Showtime and the couple section hiking Pennsylvania were there, Day Hiker, Heater, and Pizza Cutter were still there, too. I thought surely I’d miss them by hours! Haha PizzaCutter looked absolutely awful, you could just see the nausea he was swimming in. He completed the half gallon challenge in under 20 minutes. Impressive!

Lizard got there not long after 2pm, and got her some food.. she inhaled that hiker burger so fast I think she should have been able to add her name to some challenge! Hahaha

We hung out awhile and then headed off into the woods again. We went just under 3 miles to a little unnamed campsite. We brought water with us so we don’t have to worry with finding a stream. It’s going to be a peaceful night, that I’m sure of 🙂

Start: Unnamed Campsite (AT mi 1107.6). Stop: Alec Kennedy Shelter (AT mi 1120.1) Today’s miles: 12.5 miles Total AT mileage: 95.1 miles

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping and then some other familiar buzzing noise. Flies. For whatever reason, 5-10 flies were buzzing around our campsite and irritating my peaceful sleep, which meant I might as well get up. It was almost 8am anyway, if I ever plan to leave camp before 9, I may need to set an alarm.. and so far I just can’t bring myself to do that.

I got up and got moving, slowly. Made some coffee and ate a protein bar, still completely stuffed from yesterday’s burger. Lizard ended up doing the same.. except she doesn’t drink coffee, so while I sipped mine, she did some yoga stretches on her sleeping pad. Maybe I need to start doing that in the mornings, too. But then I’d really never leave at a decent time!

Today was filled with ups and downs, rock scrambles and pine needles. While beautiful, with the sun out and shining, I’ll be honest.. it totally kicked my ass. The uphills were a struggle for catching my breath and for my quads, too.. but I enjoy that burn and struggle so much more than the careful slow step down the rocky declines.. on those I can catch my breath and cool down, but man it makes my right knee ache with each step.
I also took another tumble today, as well as one yesterday.. not sure if I mentioned that. I just randomly fall all the way to the ground with no obvious culprit besides lack of grace. I felt fine afterwards both times, but I’m sure my little slips to hug the earth aren’t helping my knee any.

However strenuous today was.. it was also pretty flipping awesome, because we got our first ever trail magic! A mom brought her 10 & 11 year old and their same aged cousin to hike into the trail some with trail magic! I got a coke and a cheese and jerky combo stick thing. So yummy! And she let us offload our trash! (It’s a big deal, we literally have to save all of our trash from food, snacks, wipes, everything until we pass a town or a state park with trash cans.)

When we got to camp, Adam and K were there! I thought for sure I’d never catch up to them! And Patron, Polka Dot, and Gandalf were already there, too. We briefly met them yesterday at the restaurant. They’re pretty funny, and none of them knew each other before starting either, they all just met within the last week! Patron is a huge Lord of the Rings fan, so he gave us each a ring (very nice one too, might I add), and said it’s to remind you to embrace your own journey (or something like that). Very cool. I put mine on my pack since my hands are swelling and then returning to normal with all the hiking.

We all cooked and ate our meals together.. we told our dinner mates about my falls, saying we may have to change my trail name to Tumble. Then I learned what Brown Blazing is! So; for the hike, we follow the “white blazes” that mark the entire Appalachian trail. Blue blazes mean a side trail, like the shelters or some other trail that intersects. Lizard told me today that pink blazing is when you speed up or slow down to be able to hike with a crush, I told her yellow blazing is when you “taxi” ahead to meet your friends to stay at their pace.. BROWN blazing is when you have to dig poop holes instead of going in the privies! YALL! I’m a brown blazer! Maybe my trail name should be BB. Hahahaha! Because of this convo, I told them about my Petty Bowel Syndrome, they said I should be named that, and PBS for short.. and when people ask why, instead of explaining just say, “I’m very knowledgeable.” LMAO!

Well, my food is in a bear box and I am all toasty warm laying in my tent in my most prized possession: the sleeping bag. It’s not nearly as cold as it was at the beginning of the week, but I’m keeping this baby with me for the foreseeable future. It just makes me happy.

Tomorrow, Lizard and I plan to do a nearo (nearly zero miles), and go to a hostel in Boiling Springs. We were considering also taking a zero (no AT miles hiked for the day) after that, but the town is small and the reviews of the area aren’t great. We’ll play it by ear, but if we don’t zero there, we’ll have big days the following 2 days, and then be able to zero in the bigger town of Duncannon. We shall see what happens! I’m excited for an easier day either way.. and so are my legs!

Start: Quality Inn (AT mi 1131.9). Stop: Darlington Shelter (AT mi 1138.3). Today’s miles: 6.4 miles. Total AT mileage: 113.3 miles

Today was supposed to be a 14 miler. We got up and out of the hotel by 8, ready to crush the day. And the morning went smooth, too. Lots of rolling hills and farmland up until mile 5ish-which started the incline. I’ve realized I hike better in the morning after my vitamin I (ibuprofen) kicks in, but once it wears off, I dramatically slow down. Because of this, I intended to get as close to half way as I could before 12, so that after lunch I could take it easy and still make it to camp before the sun sets.

There were beautiful overlooks and gorgeous views today, mixed in with the mystical looking undergrowth in some areas that reminded me of Alice and Wonderland. A lot of the trail followed along beside a river, so the greenery just seemed that much more lush.

There were so many trail runners out today. One man stopped at the same overlook I was stopped at and started to chat with me. He holds the record for the fastest time to go from “rim to rim to rim” in this area.. so from the highest point we passed yesterday morning to the highest point i was almost to, and then back again. He took the title for the record (less than 7 hours) on his 65th birthday! And to think he thinks I’m crazy for hiking the AT.. hahaha! I guess we are all on our own quests in life. Someone’s crazy is someone else’s mission. It takes all types.

I made it to the Darlington Shelter with intentions to eat lunch and stretch, wait for Lizard and allow her time to do the same, and then follow her out (her speed picks up in the afternoons where my slows). But when I got to the shelter, Adam and K were there already! They got here last night and are taking a zero day here at this shelter! I was sooo excited to see them!

Apparently last night there was over 20 something thru hikers at this shelter, and the majority moved out and into Duncannon (the town we want to zero in). I decided I’d let Lizard chose our plan of action: A. Stay here, which is a 6.4 mile day, and then an 11 mile day tomorrow into Duncannon, followed by a zero.B. Continue on to the next shelter, making today a 14 mile day, and tomorrow would be a 4 mile day into Duncannon, followed by a zero.. OR C. I’d stay put and do option A while she pushed through to Duncannon tonight (she’s been on trail a week longer than me, AND she knows almost all of the hikers ahead of us that stayed here last night). I personally don’t think I’m up for an 18 mile day yet.. even if it is guaranteed to have a zero the next day. Hopefully I’ll have my trail legs soon and an 18 miler won’t sound so soul crushing.
I didn’t tell her my opinion at all, so she wouldn’t make her choice based on knowing my preference. Once we realized there was a decent water source close by, she chose option A, and I happily agreed.

Now it’s early afternoon and we’re all just relaxing and stretching, I’m thinking about taking a nap under some trees or maybe I’ll read for a little while. My socks and shoes are off and this is just what I needed today. I’ll update the rest of the day later tonight before bed. I foresee a pretty awesome, chill day.

Which is exactly what we had! It was awesome. I decided to splurge on a new lightweight tent, although not as big of a splurge as I was considering, only because the more costly tents were either sold out or would take 9 weeks to get. This new one will arrive at the next post office in a week, which is perfect. I’ll go from 4 pounds of tent to less than 2! So necessary! Lizard got a couple little things too, and I got a lighter weight diddy bag. I have a pile of things ready to send home tomorrow!

We sat around a fire that Curmudgeon, Curmy for short (aka Adam) built us, and chatted about life. K is now Cholula (because she has a zillion packets with her lol). It was an afternoon well spent, and dinner was more of the same. This is one group of folks that can really make you laugh. I kinda think this might be one of my most favorite days on trail yet..

Even though I’m currently the only person in the shelter (my first shelter night) and the group of dudes camping out nearish where Curmy and Cholulu are at are most definitely having a rock band jam sesh at the moment, and I can hear it all like they’re performing just for me! Haha I might be pulling out my earplugs in a bit if they don’t settle by the time I’m finished listening to my audiobook, LMAO. And to think I was worried about snorers! I’m guessing these guys are more of weekend warriors than thru hikers. Too bad they haven’t offered me a beer!

Anyway, here’s to an awesome day! Cheers!