The Appalachian Trail...2013: June 2013

A couple of years ago while we were on holiday in San Antonio, Matthew read Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. He really enjoyed it, so Stephanie and I read it and then Matthew and I half-heartedly made plans to "do that some day". It was the kind of statement you make while lying on a beach chair in the sun reading, while wistfully thinking about how cool that would be. Hmmmm... Amazingly, that day will arrive on March 27, 2013. Now, I realize that this is the kind of "some day" that most people will never have the luxury to find. I am (we are) incredibly lucky to have a chance to do this. Our benefactor - my generous wife Stephanie, is supporting us on this journey. She's staying home with Samantha and working, while Matthew and I wander in the woods for half a year. I am the luckiest guy alive and am continually amazed that she puts up with me. Her only condition: If we start it, we have to finish it - all 2160-ish miles of it. I owe her the world.

We're committed. We have been buying equipment, walked some short (10-12 mile) segments of the AT in New York to see what it looks like, and we have our one-way airline tickets to Atlanta. Stephanie and Samantha will be flying down with us to drop us off at the starting point on Springer Mountain near Atlanta, Georgia and they plan to meet up with us a couple of times on the journey when we are near civilization - once again, supporting us all the way. Have I told you how lucky we are?

I am planning to keep track of where we are on this blog using BlogPress and GPS Location. Between these two apps, I'll be able to save drafts of posts with photos and our position even when we're off the cell network. This will allow anyone to see where we are and what we're doing (at least after I get back near enough to civilization and cell service to post the drafts). Ideally these updates will be daily; it will probably be more like weekly. I guess I'll find out how connected one can be from the wilderness. As I write this in February, it's less than six weeks until we're out there.

The first two posts are just a couple of tests from the AT in early January to try out the software. While doing this, I discovered that BlogPress fails to find your location when you are not on the cell network, so I'll be using the GPS Location app to add coordinates to the posts.

Here's a link to the current weather all along the trail.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Another Rattlesnake

June 27

We found another rattlesnake along the trail. A different color from the one in Virginia. This one was more startling as it didn't rattle and was right on the trail. Matthew spotted it and we got out of its way fast. Sorry for the blurry picture; it was only about 2-3 feet away and I felt a bit rushed.

Pennsylvania is Rocky

June 27

We had heard a lot of complaints about the trail in Pennsylvania. Now that we're here, we can see some of it firsthand. A portion of the trail from today:

Yes, it seems to truly be "the place where boots go to die"

Location:40.53039, -76.20219

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Lovely Iron Bridge

June 26

The AT crosses a river on this beautiful old iron bridge.

Wild Raspberries

June 26

They're finally ripening and they are everywhere and delicious.

Edit: I think this pic was actually not ripe blackberries, but there were both. Many more blackberries than raspberries.

Old Cemetery

June 26

Love these old headstones. This one was in a cemetery in the woods with just two others.

Horse-Shoe Trail

June 25

The Horse-Shoe trail runs from Valley Forge, PA to the AT. We walked by its western end today.

Location:40.45443, -76.72119

Monday, June 24, 2013

Camping with a view of Three Mile Island

June 24

We walked into Duncannon, PA this afternoon. The AT goes right through the town. It's a very sad, depressed looking town. Lots of empty retail on the Main Street. Two bars and two pizza parlors and a very nice ice cream stand that I would definitely recommend.
Hiked over the river on a very long bridge shared with a highway and then back into the hills. We found a beautiful site to camp on a cliff overlooking the Susquehanna river. We could see the cooling towers of Three Mile Island in the distance. They're at the horizon in this photo over the river. It's hazy so it's hard to see but they're out there.

Location:40.39928, -76.97565

Tunnel

June 23

Back on the trail after our weekend with family, we walked through a tunnel on the trail. The first we have seen that was only for the AT.

Location:40.28433, -77.09404

Weekend off the trail

June 22-23

Steve and Sam drove out to meet us again for another weekend. Soooo good to see them.
We spent a day in Harrisburg walking around the Capitol. The Capitol building is absolutely stunning. I think it's more impressive than other government buildings I've been in. The architecture in the surrounding blocks was beautiful too. I wouldn't quite say it is worth a trip to Harrisburg to see, but if you're ever in town for any reason, definitely make time to see the Capitol.

Location:Harrisburg, PA

Friday, June 21, 2013

Trail Angel at Denny's

June 21

We arrived at our rendezvous point a few hours early. Steve and Sam are meeting us near Carlisle for the weekend. Can't wait to see them again. Seems like ages since we met them in Glasgow, VA.
We went into a Denny's restaurant for lunch and when our waitress brought us our bill, she said it had been paid already by someone else in the restaurant who wished to remain anonymous.

This trip has been amazing with the kindness we have seen at every turn. There are beautiful people everywhere in this world.

Location:Flying J Dr,Carlisle,United States

Walking over the PA Turnpike

June 21

I have driven under this bridge many times on my trips across Pennsylvania. Finally, the view down from the bridge looking to the east.

Location:40.22109, -77.10272

Private Cemetery on AT

June 21

Crossed a farm field, back into the woods and saw this beautiful stone and iron fenced in family cemetery. Overgrown and no additions in a century, the earliest I saw was 1775 and the latest at the end of the 19th century. All with the same family name.

Location:40.21287, -77.10685

The Trail in Southern PA

June 21

Walking on a lot of farmland. Narrow forest path between corn and soy fields. Hot! But beautiful. I love the changing scenery of the trail. A path in the woods gets samey after 1000 miles.

Location:Carlisle, PA

Giant Holes in the Ground?

June 19

We keep seeing these pits in the forest:

They're about 12-15 feet across and about 8-10 feet deep and seem to be grouped together about 20 feet apart. No idea what they were for. Some of the trenches and stone piles we've seen before we were told were used during the Civil War, but I can't imagine what these were used for.

The Half Gallon Challenge

June 19

There's a hiker tradition to eat a half gallon of ice cream at the half way point on the trail at the General Store in the park. Despite it being only 11am, Matthew and I went for it. Since they don't sell half gallons anymore, you eat a 3 pint and a 1 pint container to get there. Matthew started with Cookie Dough and finished with Moose Tracks, while I went with Chocolate for both. It is an obscene amount of ice cream, but it was embarrassingly easy to get through it. Matthew killed me on the calorie count though. His was 3120 and mine was a paltry 2240 calories.

Location:Pine Grove Furnace State Park, PA

Halfway there

June 19

The official halfway point on the trail. The actual point moves every year as the trail changes, but this was a very nice marker to see.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Blueberries

June 18

We have watched hundreds of miles of trail go by (since the beginning of Virginia) with blueberry bushes thick on both sides. Slowly watching them bloom and set fruit. We finally found some ripe berries today. They were delicious

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Mason-Dixon Line

June 16

In Pennsylvania at last.

Feels great to be in my birth state. Some people have asked me why I never grew a beard. Now you know...

Location:39.71995, -77.50787

Criminal Activity

June 16

Matthew just couldn't resist leaning against a wall with this sign on it.

Location:Smithburg, MD

Harpers Ferry

June 14

Beautiful historic town. Very hilly, with beautiful stone and brick buildings.

Love this stone archway and its gate.

Location:Harpers Ferry, WV

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Bear's Den

June 12

Just off the trail is this beautiful stone house built as a private home in the 1930s and now owned by the ATC and maintained as a hostel.

They sell Ben and Jerry's ice cream in pints. Yum. Good practice for the half gallon challenge coming up in less than a week.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Wild Thing

June 11

Met a 70 year old hiker today. The youngest 70 yr old I've ever met. Matthew and I had lunch with her on the trail today.

Her trail name is "Wild Thing"

Location:39.05545, -77.93888

Big Spider

June 11

They sure grow them big down here. Just a spider I passed on the trail. Next to my boot for scale:

And a close up

Waiting to be rescued

June 10

Had lunch with my brother Eric on Sunday. He picked us up and took us to lunch and resupply shopping and back to the trail. Great day.

Sunday night it poured rain and continued Monday morning. We walked about 10 miles in it and were both drenched. We needed to dry out somewhere and Eric came to the rescue. Waiting under a highway overpass for him. The white blaze on the pillar shows we are on the AT

Black Bear

June 8

Just about 10 minutes after seeing the bobcat, a black bear wandered by with a mouthful of green leaves

Bobcat

June 8

Around 7 PM, while looking for a place to pitch our tents, we saw a bobcat. He followed us for about a hundred yards just staring at us. Beautiful cat.

Sorry the focus is so bad.

Fearless Animals

June 8

This rabbit came walking down the trail toward me, stopped just a few feet in front of me for about a minute and stared at me while I took a photo. I've seen many rabbits in my time but none so bold.

Rainy Day on the Trail

June 6

A wet Matthew on a wet trail. Love the mountain man hat.

Sam's Mail Pouch and Whip

June 6

In a display case in the Skyland restaurant lobby I found some artifacts from horse delivered mail days. Wasn't actually called pony express in the display, but it read like a very similar service.

Location:Skyland, VA

Vista in the Shenandoah Mts.

June 5

A nice stone outcropping in the picture here:

Step up on it and see the vista:

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

More of the actual trail

June 4

The trail is almost always in shade (thankfully) and looks like this green tunnel often.

Location:38.56887, -78.38510

Field of Boulders

June 2

A large field of boulders we crossed today.

Location:Blackrock mountain, VA

Having a Seat

June 1

On top of a mountain the trail went past these communications towers. We've seen these sort of towers before.

The unusual part of this was the half dozen old metal tractor seats about a foot off the ground mounted in the ground randomly, all facing away from the towers.

Here is Matthew sitting it one of them. Another is to his right next to my pack. They were very comfortable.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Abandoned DuPont Factory

May 31

While not really on the trail, it's adjacent to a park in Waynesboro where thru-hikers can camp for free in town. We camped there during our visit for resupply. I'd love to explore these old buildings.

Location:Waynesboro, VA

Only the chimney standing

May 31

Ruins of another cabin on the trail. I'd give anything to hear the tales these stones could tell.

Black Bears

May 31

What a week: awesome visit by family, rattlesnake encounter and now bears. We were walking down the trail and heard a grunt and leaves rustling. About 20 feet away we saw two really cute bear cubs scrambling up a tree. The tree was about a foot in diameter and had no branches, but they went up it faster than I could climb a ladder. They were small - no wider than the tree and less than two feet long. Our immediate thought was, "Uh-Oh, where's momma bear?" The most dangerous place on the trail you can be is between a mother bear and her cubs. We couldn't see her so we got very loud banging our sticks together and marched deliberately down the trail to get out of there ASAP. Sorry no photos, but we thought a hasty exit was in order.
Definitely the best of our animal encounters so far.

Location:Virginia

Suspension Bridge

May 28

Another nice river crossing.