Mount Greylock: Days 115 - 121

Day 115: 23.3 miles hiked (trail mile 1507.1)

Caterpillar poop and hairy caterpillars rained down upon us the whole first half of the day in an apparent Gypsy Moth invasion of the area. There was so much falling poo that it sounded deceptively of the pitter patter of rain. Swollen, waterlogged caterpillar poops coated the stream beds, and with each step I unavoidably squashed 2 or 3 caterpillars underfoot with a crunch. The forest, formerly so lush, was as barren as when we started the trail back in the dead of winter, and partially chewed leaf litter covered the ground in crunchy, hole-punched leaves that made it somewhat reminiscent of fall. However, the absence of shade combined with the intensity of the unobstructed summer sun zapped any illusion of a crisp fall day and we were relieved when we finally entered an area with leafy canopy once again. 

We stopped for lunch by a spring, flicked caterpillars off our packs and clothes, and then braked again at an ivy-covered building with a bench thoughtfully placed beside an electrical outlet that hikers can use to charge devices. By the time we left the bench the heat of the day had passed, and we finally got a second wind to complete the rest of our hike.

A few miles before the shelter we passed the Thumb - a giant rock formation in the shape of a thumb. Near the Thumb that we encountered an amicable solo hiker named Lighthouse.

We got to the shelter just before dark and found Frogman, Side Hustle, and Sketchbook already there. Rigo shelter has a beautiful view of the valley from the picnic table, and we made mac n cheese while watching the last of the light fade from the valley. 

1500 miles hiked!

Day 116: 16.8 miles hiked (trail mile 1523.9)

Today’s hike from Connecticut (Riga shelter) into Great Barrington, Massachusetts was one of the most beautiful sections of the AT thus far. We hiked along a crystal-clear forest brook that flowed over tiers of small waterfalls into transparent pools that shimmered in the dappled light, and continuously stopped to silently take in the beauty of the forest. 

Eventually the path left the denser forest, and we began climbing a series of two mountains, ending with Mount Everett, a deceptively challenging peak that left us—and just about everyone else we talked to later this evening—utterly spent. While descending Everett we met some young camp counselors with a backpacking summer camp called Overland. They were out doing training before the kids show up in a couple weeks. It sounds like a neat summer job and makes me wish I had been more adventurous in my early twenties, but glad I’m making up for it now!

Near the bottom of the mountain, as we hauled ourselves up and over a small boulder in the middle of the trail, a timber rattlesnake took us by surprise as it sunned itself atop the boulder. Thankfully it was unconcerned with our presence and didn’t even rattle. 

The entire trail we have gotten by without having to hitch, so numerous have been the shuttles, places within walking distance, and folks offering rides. Hitchhiking is very prevalent on the AT and—before cellphones or all the new trail services—the absolute only way you could make it into town for a resupply. As we made calls trying to set up a shuttle it became evident that the time to thumb for a ride had finally arrived. Ranger assured me that people who live so near the trail are familiar with giving rides to hikers and that hitching would be a breeze. We are probably in the minority of hikers having made it this far without choosing to hitch.

We ran the last three miles to the road, driven by a desire to make it out before dark, before the presently increasing drizzle became a full-blown rainstorm, and out of a desperate desire to flee the swarms of mosquitoes in the final 3-mile boggy stretch before the road to Great Barrington. Packs clinking and flopping, slapping our bodies to kill hostile mosquitos biting through our clothes, Ranger running behind me swinging his electric bug zapper at the cloud that followed in my wake – made for an exhilarating and cacophonous end to our day’s hike.

In less than two minutes of thumb-work a friendly local guy picked us up in his SUV and dropped us at the hiker-friendly Travelodge 5 miles down the road, pointing out landmarks in the town as we passed through on our way to the motel. 

We picked up dinner across from the motel at a wonderful Mediterranean restaurant and ate at a picnic table in front of the motel. The evening was spent showering, doing laundry, and lounging about our room. 

Just on the edge of town, right on trail

Day 117: 0 miles hiked (trail mile 1523.9) (10th Zero)

Thanks to the blackout curtains on our hotel room, we managed to sleep in until about 10am when housekeeping banged on the door. We said hi to Whistler in the room above us then started out on a 2-mile stroll to downtown Great Barrington. Our first stop was at Asia Barong, a giant Asian art and antiques shop packed with ornate carvings, paintings, weapons, and furniture. We could hardly believe a shop of this magnitude and caliber would be in such a seemingly remote part of Massachusetts.

Ornate doorframe carved from a tree’s root system!

It’s impossible to capture on my phone how mind-blowing this place is.

In downtown Great Barrington we visited a candy shop, and each had cherry cordial before making our way to a Thai restaurant for lunch. Ranger received a lovely origami rose atop his straw which set the tone for an incredible meal of yellow curry and green curry.

We ran into Spots and Snapshot who were staying at a hotel downtown and also zeroing today. After touring a fine art gallery with some incredible art, we stopped into a beautiful gift shop on the edge of town to lust over all the tasteful homemaking items we would wish for if we weren’t living on strictly the bare minimum essentials that can be carried in a backpack. 

Pastoral, by Stephanie Anderson (graphite on clayboard)

On our way back to the hotel later we stopped at a chocolate shop and sampled some truffles and chocolate covered fruits. All in all, today felt like a relaxing vacation in the more typical sense of what a vacation is. There have been debates among hikers about whether a thruhike can be classified as a vacation. When I think of a thruhike in juxtaposition to the desk job I left to have this adventure, I am more inclined to see the vacation angle, albeit a highly unconventional and challenging one! However, for many, and often for myself as my city life starts to feel more and more unfamiliar to me, thruhiking feels more like a lifestyle.

This evening we resupplied for the next stretch of trail at a Price Chopper supermarket right next to our hotel and took it easy for the remainder of the night. 

Day 118: 17.7 miles hiked (trail mile 1541.6)

Today was the first day of summer! It was also hike naked day, although we neither encountered any naked hikers nor hiked naked ourselves. Later, however, we did hear from others who fearlessly honored the holiday.

We got a ride back to the trailhead with Whistler and Ed, a section hiker. Joe is a trail angel who does donation-based shuttling between Great Barrington and the trailhead in his retirement. He keeps a printed binder of graphs and charts containing data that he has collected over the years on all the hikers he has shuttled that riders can review, including gear types, NoBo or SoBo, home country, and so on. It was entertaining to look at and I love seeing how a love for the Appalachian Trail manifests differently in everyone.

We hiked with Whistler up to the ridge and lunched at the Ice Gulch. The Ice Gulch is so deep that apparently ice or snow can remain at the bottom until mid-summer. As we peered down below we felt its powerful presence.

Later, when passing a beaver pond, we spotted a beaver swimming in the center! Animal sightings are always exciting.

Toward the end of the day, we caught up with Orange, one of Whistler’s trail buddies. They hiked on while Ranger and I took our time getting to Shaker Campsite. The last stretch was beautiful, and pockets of cold air streamed across our legs from underground caves. This was an enchanting section.

Cave entrance

At the Shaker Campsite another group of Overland counselors had already set up so it’s a packed campsite tonight. It’s funny how (particularly in New England) so many campsites or shelters will say in the Guthooks map notes, “space for about 4 tents” then by the end of the night there are at least 20 tents strewn about. This campsite is evidently an old Shaker village and there are a few old stone walls around. 

Day 119: 18.8 miles hiked (trail mile 1560.4)

When we left camp around 8am it almost immediately started to rain. The rain continued all day long at varying degrees of intensity. 

At one point we crossed a road and encountered a small red structure with “AT Trail Stand” emblazoned on the side. Since this wasn’t on our map our curiosity was piqued and we discovered that it contained a fridge, some boxes of snacks, a couple trashcans, and chalk (to write trail names on the walls). On the fridge was a list of all items for sale: farm fresh eggs, candy, soda, etc. and an honor system money pouch perched on a shelf. Ranger bought a box of Mike and Ike’s and we continued, crossing through some cow pastures while munching joyfully on candy. 

Then, just before noon, we exited the forest and saw a trail angel just getting set up to share food and drink with hikers. Running Water has been section hiking the AT since 1991 and prides himself in providing top notch trail magic. I had just been sulking over the fact that we wouldn’t have an opportunity to seek any shelter from the rain for another 12 miles when we came across Running Water’s set up, complete with a large pop-up tent and two large coolers of snacks and drink. Ranger and I shared an extra-large lemonade Gatorade and a giant bag of potato chips before heading back out. 

Unwilling to bother with making lunch in the rain we pressed on to the Berkshire Lodge where the owners were kind enough to let us sit outside under the awning to make our sandwiches. I plugged my phone in inside and Ranger bought a cup of hot coffee. 

The rest of the hike consisted of a few beaver dams and bogs, and a couple pretty lakes. 

We made it into camp around 6:45 where we set up our tent, put on dry clothes, and went to the shelter to cook our soy ramen dinner under the overhang. We heard peeping coming from a bird’s nest inside the shelter on one of the rafters. One of the guys sleeping in there said that mama bird had been flying back and forth all evening. It seems like a nice place for a nest—very protected. 

Day 120: 16.5 miles hiked (trail mile 1576.9)

The trail took us straight through the town of Dalton this morning. A short walk off trail took us to Hot Harry’s Burritos, a chipotle style burrito shop where we purchased a gigantic burrito and burrito bowl. The burritos fueled the next big climb out of town in a major way.

Front yard of a trail angel in Cheshire who lets hikers camp in his yard!

Only four miles outside of Dalton we stayed at Crystal Mountain Campsite, a well-maintained campsite with a picnic table and bear box. 

Day 121: 12.3 miles hiked (trail mile 1589.2)

First thing in the morning we hiked four miles to Cheshire where we did a resupply at a Dollar General. Outside the store we met ET, who told us about a lodge eight miles away, perched atop Mount Greylock, which offers a hiker rate of only $35 a bunk. 

We reserved a couple bunks on the spot and passed the word along to a section hiker named Babbit who was hanging out outside. 

Ranger grabbed us an amazing breakfast from Dunkin’ Donuts in a Shell station a few blocks down the highway, which we ate while sitting on the ground outside the Dollar General like proper hiker trash.

While hiking out we ran into Whistler and Orange. It may be the last time we see Whistler before the end of the trail as he and Orange are going to skip north 100 miles to meet up with Suzanne and do some group slackpacking. It makes me sad to think about not running into Whistler day after day anymore, but it sounds like this group is excited to finish the rest of the trail together.

After saying our goodbyes we hiked eight miles up Mount Greylock in what turned out to be a beautiful climb through a gloriously lush forest.

There was a lovely little pond with an empty cabin sitting on it that we stopped at for a short break. I wonder how often thruhikers choose to sleep in this cabin, it’s really neat.

On top of Greylock we reached our destination for the night: the Greylock Monument and the Bascom Lodge. Our bunk mates included ET, Parmesan, Babbit, and Daybreak with her dog Cora. Babbit had us rolling in laughter as he recounted that it was the first day of his section hike and that he had taken our recommendation to stay at the Bascom Lodge and booked a bed before realizing that I had left out the ever so minor detail that it was on top of the next major mountain!

We have a fantastic view of the valley from our mountaintop room. There is an open window circulating cold air into the room, so I am bundled up in my puffy and lodge-provided fleece blankets for sleep.

Ranger fell asleep early but ET and I walked to the monument for a view of the strawberry super moon over the valley.

Bascom Lodge

New England: Days 108 - 114

Day 108: 17.6 miles hiked (trail mile 1408.9)

Garter Snake

We wanted to make it to the trailside “zoo” before last entry at 3:30 and so departed the shelter at 6am. For the first time since northern PA our little tramily disbanded for the hike. It was great fun hiking with Whistler and Gadget from Northern PA to Southern NY. This was the first time that we’ve had friends that match our own pace and mileage so closely, and we enjoyed much conversation and laughter. However, part of the trail experience is meeting new people—as well as finding solitude—so we were all in agreement that it was time to hike our own hikes again. 

At one point Ranger overturned a log on accident with his foot on a downhill, serendipitously uncovering a black salamander! We later saw a group of wild turkeys bobbing through the tall ferns in the woods. 

Can you spot the wild turkeys?

Finally, we summitted Bear Mountain, which offers a view of New York City from the tower on top (closed to the public right now because of the pandemic). At the bottom of Bear Mountain, we encountered some neat educational signs about trail construction. It is an incredible feat that volunteers from all over the country not only built the Appalachian Trail but have continued to maintain it all these years. Trail building is complex, and we can’t help but stop at times to marvel at the ingenuity involved in constructing a functional footpath through such challenging terrain (and elevation) using only hand tools. 

The so called “zoo” segment of trail was a bit depressing but does seem to be more of a rehabilitation center; as all of its animals are either recovering from injury with the goal of releasing them back into the wild or would be unable to survive in the wild due to disability or being born in captivity. 

I liked these illustrations explaining the zoo’s mission

We hiked across the Hudson River on a giant suspension bridge and up to Hemlock Springs Campsite where we ended up camping with our whole crew from the last few days: Gadget, Whistler, Baked Potato, Grasshopper, Meta, and a couple of her friends who were joining her for a small section. We also met a thruhiker named Sheep. She is recovering from a broken ankle so is trying to take it slow. Just before retiring to our tent for the night a day hiker with a giant dog named Oso kindly offered to pack out our trash for us.

Ranger and I retired early to our tent, ordered new shoes online for each of us and turned in. 

Day 109: 18 miles hiked (trail mile 1426.9)

5:30am start just because we can! At 3.5 miles in we stepped out of the woods and arrived at the Appalachian Market, a convenient store/deli with a reputation for being very hiker friendly. Here we were able to charge our devices for a little bit and resupply for 3 days with Larry and Lenny’s cookies for breakfast, peanut butter, and dried cranberries on fresh baked rolls for lunch, ramen for dinner and of course snacks! We also ordered giant breakfast burritos from the deli and ate them at the picnic tables outside with Deep Friend and Trippin’.

Trippin’ and Deep Fried

When we hiked back out it was raining lightly, and we passed a historic inoculation station where General Washington had his troops vaccinated for smallpox.  

We met a couple hikers named Sari and Shadow on trail and later lunched with Whistler and Gadget in a field in a clearing next to a road to try to escape the mosquitos in the woods. The mosquitos are like small hummingbirds but at least they’re big and slow—easy to smack. 

Our tenting spot for the night was at Canopus Lake SP, which was a half mile off trail which was really pushing the threshold for how far we’re willing to hike off trail for a spot to sleep. It was well worth the extra hike, however, as the park supplies thruhikers with a large field to tent in and a bathroom with a hot shower and electricity that’s open 24 hours. When we arrived, I showered immediately then dried off with the wall-mounted hand dryer as best I could, pulled on my Smartwool base layers, and walked to camp where Ranger already had the tent set up. Gadget had arrived just before the park concession stand closed and bought me an apple juice—my favorite trail drink!

Day 110: 14 miles hiked (trail mile 1440.9)

Poison Ivy

Around 8:30 we crawled out of our tent and saw that no one else had budged, either. We must have collectively decided on the 14-mile shelter rather than the next one at 22. Besides, the slow start allowed the heavy condensation from the lake/field effect that had collected on our tent overnight to dry off before packing it away. 

We enjoyed a relatively smooth trail for much of the day and stopped at the RPH shelter for lunch with Sheep and Gadget. Here we filled up on jugs of trail magic water since this section has unusually poor water quality. Everyone’s filters are nearly shot from this New York section which has heavy tannins and sediment in the water. There are many sections with “filter and treat” warnings on the water sources and we’d just as soon use town water in these scenarios and do bigger water carries. 

RPH Shelter had all kinds of quirks like this

Our hike ended at the Morgan Stewart Shelter, which has an old iron pump that must be aggressively cranked over and over to get the water flowing. It is really a two-person job to get the water to flow into the bottle as about ⅔ of the water released from the spout just sprays out chaotically and is difficult to direct into a container. It was certainly entertaining, and fun to get to use a functioning old pump like this. 

We chatted with Tie-dye, Gadget, and Whistler awhile and made it to bed nice and early. 

Day 111: 10.9 miles hiked (trail mile 1451.8)

At 5am we felt the winds change and the pressure drop. Shortly after we heard a far-off rumble of thunder, so bolted up from out sleeping pads, packed up our (dry) gear and were ready to go before 6. Gadget had the same idea and the three of us went to sit under the shelter and await the storm. The heavy storm came and went in about 15 minutes flat, and we hiked out when the sun started to peek back out from behind the clouds. However, it had been a trick, because about 20 minutes later the skies went black once again and we were instantly drenched in a second wave of storms. Nothing can phase us today, though, since my parents will be picking us up in the evening for a few nights with them in an Airbnb. 

We braked for an early lunch at a shelter and Gadget arrived a few moments later. We wrung out our socks (this never stops feeling so hardcore) and let our bare feet dangle off the shelter ledge while we ate so they could dry out a bit. 

Once down from the ridge we entered an overgrown boggy area with big sections of plank-walking.

Emerging from the bog we encountered the Dover Oak, the largest white oak in New York, and estimated to be over 300 years old. 

A few miles later we walked the lovely Swamp River Boardwalk and exited at the Appalachian Train station. Here, hikers have the option to take a high-speed commuter train into NYC at $50 for a 2 hour ride (including one transfer) to Grand Central Station. 

Immediately on the left after the train station, where the trail turns sharply for a short highway walk, is the Native Landscapes and Garden Center. They are a hiker-friendly establishment and sold us drinks from a fridge in the employee break room and let us hang out in the pretty gazebo amidst all the outdoor plants. Gadget arrived moments later and spent some time with us in the gazebo before he pressed on, and we called a shuttle into Pawling to do laundry while we waited on my folks’ arrival. 

In Pawling we sat in a laundromat that played great music and took care of laundry while wearing only our rain jackets and a pair of shorts each that we intended to hand-wash and air dry later. Doing laundry in town is quite the ordeal when every item of clothing you have is filthy. Once laundry was finished, we wandered around town a bit, nibbling on various town food as we went. 

Mom and Dad showed up around 5:30 at which point we swung by a grocery store for dinner supplies, and Mom and Dad picked up some supplies to do trail magic! Our Airbnb in Sherman Connecticut is a beautiful farmhouse surrounded by woods and horse pastures. Ranger and I each have a cozy twin bed on the second story while Mom and Dad have a beautiful suite. We collaborated on a stir fry with a side of tofu for us and a side of steak for the parents. This will be a wonderful spot to rest for a couple days.

Day 112: 10 miles hiked (trail mile 1462.8)

After a fantastic homemade breakfast at the Airbnb, we headed out for some slackpacking. We started off walking the Swamp River Boardwalk from yesterday with Mom and Dad and saw a muskrat, two garter snakes, a deer, and a lot of birds!

Muskrat

Mom in the “Maine” directional chair and Dad in the “Georgia” directional chair

Dad hiked on with us for seven miles up and over a ridge while Mom did trail magic at Hoyt Road (where we would emerge after our hike) right at the Connecticut border. 

Dad and Ranger on a pasture crossing

Dad, Ranger and I took turns carrying the pack and saw a wild turkey on our hike! It was a great sample slice of the AT for dad to experience and included pastures, a decent climb followed by a ridge walk, a shelter, some trail magic in a cooler by a road (dad ate some Oreos), a creek crossing next to a crumbling footbridge, and even crossing into the state of Connecticut!

Dad crosses the creek next to the crumbling bridge

Mom had 13 hikers come through and hang out awhile to eat snacks and drink beer, wine and sparkling water, including Meta and Grasshopper, Sheep, and Jolah. I was so glad my mom and Meta got to meet since we discovered one day that they had the same alma mater!

Mom’s trail magic set up

From there Ranger and I struck off on our own to do four more miles up and over a small mountain called Ten Mile Hill. On the other side we met back up with Mom and Dad at Bulls Bridge, a 19th century covered bridge with views of the Housatonic river. 

Back at the Airbnb we had dinner and wound down for the evening.

Day 113: 10.2 miles hiked (trail mile 1473)

This morning Ranger and I set off on our own to slackpack seven miles to the highway road crossing for Kent. Mom and Dad sat this one out to get moved out of the Airbnb, and set up to do some trail magic at the road to Kent while they waited on us. When we emerged on the road, Frogman and three others were hanging out receiving trail magic.

For lunch we met up with Whistler and Gadget at a restaurant in Kent called The Villager, then took care of some town chores. Ranger and I each got a new pair of socks and Ranger bought a bug zapper racquet that he has been talking about wanting for weeks. The mosquitos have gotten so bad I’m pretty much ready to try anything. 

Sweet dogs at the fishing shop

After wrapping up town chores we hit the trail again for the last 3.4 miles of the day—this time with Mom leading the way!

We immediately climbed about 1000 feet of elevation and walked along a ridge for the rest of the hike during which we saw two bucks sporting tiny antlers. Dad parked the car at the pickup point and hiked in to meet us. He found us with just a little under a mile left in the hike and we got to all hike together for the last bit. 

On our way to the Airbnb in Hilldale, NY, right on the edge of Massachusetts, we pulled off at a Cidery with outdoor seating for dinner. As we were eating, all these fancy, vintage sports cars kept pulling up, seemingly out of complete coincidence. New England has certainly been living up to its reputation as a place with a lot of wealth.

Our Airbnb is beautiful. The Mount Washington House, a 14,000 square foot mansion built in 1882, was originally built by a couple of newlyweds as a summer home gift from the bride’s family. It has served many uses throughout its time, functioning as a tavern, a speakeasy, a ski resort, and even a schoolhouse. We slept in what was once the servants’ quarters.

Winding down for the evening Dad found a tick embedded in his leg. Also, Chris found out he was accepted into UT’s Eastern Languages program! (TBD whether he chooses to attend.)

Day 114: 10.8 miles hiked (trail mile 1483.8)

Chipmunks everywhere!

We got a nice, slow start this morning around the Airbnb. Ranger and I walked to the grocery across the street for a resupply and visited the Hillsdale General Store which had a fantastic assortment of knickknacks, new and vintage. I could have spent all day in there. Back at the Airbnb we took some time spray permethrin on our packs and new shoes. Speaking of shoes, I had to size up a half size!

We had lunch at a little farm-to-table restaurant next door to the General Store and topped it off with a basket of fresh, backyard-grown strawberries from a local family. The strawberries were the juiciest (and most delicious) I’ve ever had and bled a deep red juice.

We said our goodbyes to my folks and were back on trail around 3pm. Mom and Dad left the remainder of the trail magic goodies on the side of the road for other hikers with a note “From Sticks’ Parents!”

Naturally, we had to do a photoshoot with Mom and Dad wearing our packs

Even with the late start we managed to make it a little under 11 miles to an official campsite. Along the way we hiked beside the Housatonic River and ran into Spots and Snapshot. It’s hilarious that without planning it (in fact our two parties often make very different decisions about mileage or where to stay – they are very fast hikers) we have ended up in the same parts of trail at the same time as these two over and over since we originally met just outside the NOC in Georgia at just under 150 miles into the trail. 

A few miles out from camp we crossed another creek with an out bridge by managing to find a large, felled tree that spanned the entire creek. We night-hiked into camp at about 9pm, jammed our food into an impossibly full bear box, and turned in.

Tramily: Days 101 - 107

Day 101: 16.5 miles hiked (trail mile 1295.9)

Mountain Laurel everywhere, ranging from shades of white to pink

We broke down camp and hiked out by 6:30am, hiking strong all morning despite the rocky trail. Something about knowing we’re heading into town (and entering another state tomorrow) enables us to power through anything. 

Today was another day of drinking from water caches. We saw many efts on trail. Perhaps they are anticipating the coming rain. They are so cute and clumsy, and it has become customary that whoever is in the lead shouts out an alert at each eft sighting, so they won’t get stepped on.

We ran into AZ at a shelter six miles outside of the Delaware Water Gap and joined him for lunch. Meta and Grasshopper arrived with Baked Potato and we all ate together around the picnic table. AZ’s original plan had been to come out and hike a section of the AT, which he thruhiked in 2014. However, he soon shifted gears, deciding he felt more called to trail magic – and has taken Meta, Grasshopper, and Baked Potato under his wing.

Baked Potato, AZ, Grasshopper, Meta, Ranger

Within a mile of leaving the shelter and with more than five miles left to town we got caught in a heavy thunderstorm. We hiked amidst giant claps of lightning, roaring thunder, and shin-deep water on parts of the trail. The last couple miles were like hiking down an actual waterfall to town. In the deluge we saw a big salamander… newt?

We also saw a deer with a tiny, speckled fawn that took off in separate direction from its mama in a big clap of lightning. I really hope they found each other again later.

The rain was so heavy that we became utterly drenched within mere minutes despite our raincoats. Ranger and Whistler’s “waterproof” boots were quickly rendered entirely useless by the ankle-height waterfalls pouring down the trail. Yet another reminder why people are adamant about not using waterproof footwear on the AT. When it rains it pours, and all that waterproof boots will do is trap the water inside with your feet and take an eternity to dry out.

Perhaps needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed our last few miles of the day! It was something different and quite exhilarating. 

When we got to the trailhead we were picked up by Rewind, one of Whistler’s buddies who was his original inspiration for hiking the AT. Once at the hotel, we had to wait while they rebooted their systems which had crashed in a big power outage during the storm. We resupplied at Walmart in Stroudsberg and ate at Thai Orchid for dinner.

Back at the hotel I repaired a slow-leak hole in my sleeping pad while Chris sprayed our shoes and socks with permethrin and let them dry on the balcony overnight to prevent ticks.

Day 102: 15.5 miles hiked (trail mile 1313.4)

First breakfast took place in our hotel room: microwaved breakfast burritos from the Walmart, with chips and salsa. Second breakfast occurred just down the street at a bakery a couple blocks from the hotel, right on the road back to the trail. The bakery had a spacious garden patio which was packed with hikers. We ordered apple cider donuts and an apple turnover, and ate outside with Spots and Snapshot, Whistler, and Gadget. 

Spots and Snapshot, packing out an apple turnover

From there we picked back up where we left off on trail the day before, crossing the Delaware River into New Jersey! A few cars honked in celebration with us as we crossed the bridge. 

We hiked past a big pond where we spotted a snake and some large tadpoles. While the rocks are certainly not as bad as the jagged rocks of PA, NJ is still pretty rocky and we had to hike more slowly than we would have liked to. We caught up to Spots and Snapshot and took a break at a spring with a beautiful frog in it.

As the day wore on it became increasingly hot, and although we had caught word that AZ was going to be doing trail magic at a road crossing 7 miles ahead, we took a necessary break to soak our feet in an ice-cold creek. Sweet relief! Whistler got a leech.

Whistler, Gadget, Sticks

From there we hiked as fast as we could to the parking lot where AZ and another trail angel called Hungus were both set up to give trail magic! Hungus has completed two thruhikes of the AT, and between him and the AZ/Meta/Grasshopper/Baked Potato crew many hikers were well fed. We hung out in a semicircle around Hungus’ grill for a couple hours just enjoying the trail community.

We love trail magic!

Gadget hiked out about a half hour before the rest of our group and found a great campsite 3.5 miles ahead where everyone was able to fit. Our campsite that evening consisted of me and Ranger, Whistler, Gadget, Spots and Snapshot, and Trippin’ and Deepfried. 

We found a few ticks today although fortunately none embedded. We hung out with everyone and chatted until sunset. New Jersey has been awesome so far. 

Day 103: 14.3 miles hiked (trail mile 1327.7)

Leaf tannins in the water tint the water red (and clog up our filter)

When we broke down our tent this morning, we saw a mama spider carrying a few dozen newly-hatched spider babies on her back. Then, later we encountered a large porcupine, right off trail! It turned to look at us for a moment then ambled off. 

Can you spot mama spider and baby spiders?

Today was a grueling and hot day, so when we saw the option to hike off trail a short way for a hiker-friendly tavern situated right on a small lake, we knew we had to stop. We ended up there with our whole crew from camp last night plus Meta, Grasshopper, Baked Potato, and AZ. 

Deep Fried, Gadget, Snapshot, Spots, Sticks, Ranger, Trippin’

When we finally arrived at Gren Anderson shelter we were exhausted and overheated. We decided to call it a day and took an hour-long nap in our tent before walking down to the picnic table to eat dinner. Here we met Skirt (a ridge runner aka trail caretaker), and 3 section hikers: KJ, Shoelace, and Woodchuck. They were a hilarious bunch and shared trail stories with us – they had us rolling about an oblivious hiker who actually took down their bear bag (after they had worked really hard to hang it) and walked into camp to scold the dumbfounded section hikers for “feeding the bears” – the actual opposite of a bear bag’s purpose.

Day 104: 18.3 miles hiked (trail mile 1346)

A few miles into our hike we ran into Meta, Grasshopper and Baked Potato taking a break at the next shelter. They were slackpacking today and told us that there would be more trail magic today for dinner! We hiked until High Point State Park where we braked for lunch. It was unbearably hot out by this point—in the low 90s—so we piled onto the floor of the air-conditioned park headquarters to eat lunch. 

When we hiked past a blue blaze to a monument Ranger and Gadget went uphill to see it while Whistler, Trippin’, Deep Fried, and I chose to wait with the packs to cool off.

From there we hiked all the way to the trail magic. Just before arriving at the parking lot where AZ had set up, we saw a perfect bear print in the mud on trail!

When we reached AZ’s trail magic set up, we hung out for about an hour, eating hummus, Oreos, and watermelon before pushing on to the Secret Shelter.

AZ cooking up some hot dogs and burgers

The Secret Shelter is an unofficial shelter that is not managed by the AT. It’s less than .1 off trail on someone’s private property. The owner supports hikers and leaves a small shack on the property available to hikers for use as a shelter. The spot is complete with a bunkhouse with a covered patio, an electrical outlet, potable well water with a pump, a privy, and plenty of camping space. Best of all, a friendly, free ranging miniature donkey named Jake spends all his time here! He roams from tent to tent to pilfer unattended bear bags or stands in front of the shelter patio watching people eat. 

Baked Potato found a four leaf clover!

Before bed we took turns bathing in the cold, thin stream of water that poured from the well pump and went to bed happily free of sweat and grime.

Day 105: 13.6 miles hiked (trail mile 1359.6)

We left the Secret Shelter around 7am and encountered Meta, Grasshopper, and Baked Potato during a pasture crossing. In the pastures were wild strawberries! They were about the size of a thumbnail and not quite ripe yet, but oh so beautiful.

In mid-morning we crossed over some manmade ponds supporting migrating waterfowl. Here we witnessed a young snapping turtle scuttling across the trail toward a pond. As we hiked on the temperatures began to rise so that it became super-hot and muggy. Many of us peeled off our hiking shirts and enjoyed the cool breeze on our sweaty skin.

Snapping turtle

Mayapples are fruiting!

As we were hiking along a pretty boardwalk that spans a little under a mile of the trail, a big storm began to roll in. The first wave of rain got us a bit wet but was mild. 

Just after crossing a large suspension foot bridge, tree line within eyesight, we noticed a dark wall of heavy rain racing across the marshlands toward us, accompanied by chest-rattling thunder and lightning. Someone shouted “Run!” and we sprinted for the tree line getting smacked with the downpour just as we leapt beneath the canopy.

Whistler on the suspension bridge after the first drenching

Once the storm has swallowed us whole, the trail almost immediately turned into a river, and we became entirely drenched. I didn’t even bother putting on my rain jacket and the cool water felt nice. I felt it washing away the salt that had crusted on my skin over the course of the day. We hiked in the thunderstorm for about an hour before it began to subside.

Finally, a last pasture crossing with a few cows and a flock of Canadian geese that must have made an emergency landing when the storm hit. 

Canadian Geese waiting out the storm with an unconcerned cow

On the opposite side of the pasture, we turned onto a road and hiked about 100 yards to a roadside garden supply shop that sold baked goods, produce, ice cream. The owners are very hiker-friendly and allowed everyone to take shelter from the rain in one of the covered shopping isles outdoors—between the terra cotta pots and the fertilizers—as we munched on goodies from the store and watched the storm calm into a steady rain outside. The owners later offered for anyone who wanted to set up their tent out of the rain to go ahead and sleep overnight!

By then we had already taken Baked Potato, Meta, Grasshopper and AZ up on their offer to sleep in their Airbnb a few miles away. AZ picked us up once the decision was made to seek dry shelter for the night and we dropped Spots and Snapshot, Whistler, and Gadget at a motel on the way to the Airbnb. We were a bit sad to miss out on the chance to camp at the drive-in movie theater in Warwick, but ultimately the siren-call of showers and laundry won out over the movies. 

How many thruhikers can fit in a back seat? At least 5

At the condo, we all ordered Chinese food for dinner. AZ generously drove us to an ACME for a quick resupply and then we called it a night. Ranger and I slept foot-to-foot on a big comfy corner couch.

Day 106: 17.2 miles hiked (trail mile 1376.8)

Since this crew was going to be slackpacking again today, they invited us to leave one of our packs in the car and slack with them. We would be able to hike about 15 miles with one very light pack and then pick up the rest of our gear and keep going northbound from there. We set off from Vernon and began an immediate climb to the ridge, setting our sights on the creamery 15 miles up trail for a late lunch. We eventually caught up to Whistler and Gadget and hiked as one big group for a while, navigating the big boulder scrambles together and feeling grateful that we weren’t having to inch through this section in the recent rain, which was sure to make these boulders dangerously slick. 

On our trek we saw two young copperhead snakes, then mid-way through the day we crossed from New Jersey into New York!

When we reached the Belleville Creamery, we had strawberry sorbet with sour gummies on top and ate pb&js from our packs. Whistler turned 59 today so we all sang him Happy Birthday over a banana split and he blew out Gadget’s lighter for a candle. 

In other news, Ranger got his first blister on trail. The shoes he purchased last minute at the Cabelas in Unionville did the trick for getting him over the jagged rocks of northern Pennsylvania, but waterproof/heavy-duty shoes are not so good for warmer weather and normal trail. 

We set up camp at the Wildcat shelter and got our tent up just before the rain arrived. We must have gotten just the edge of the thunderstorm because we could hear a lot of thunder but only got a little bit of rain. 

Gadget pointed out this anvil cloud which is a sign of a brewing storm

Day 107: 14.5 miles hiked (trail mile 1391.3)

7:15am start. We climbed some rock stairs past a cascading waterfall.

There were lots of rock scrambles and big boulders to scale, in addition to a lot more classic AT PUDs (Pointless Ups and Downs) than we have become accustomed to over the last few hundred miles, so we were moving slowly. Sweet AZ passed us in the morning and gave us a clementine and a banana. 

Then, when we braked for lunch on the ridge just before the Agony Grind (a very steep downhill—or uphill if SOBO) Ranger found a newborn baby bird that had fallen from its nest. 

A trail angel named Fred was parked at the bottom of Agony Grind, set up on the side of the road with a cooler of extra-large Gatorade bottles (a real treat!)  and fresh baked sweets in his car trunk!

Fred, serving homemade baked goods at the base of Agony Grind

A short distance later we hiked past Island Pond. Ranger, Whistler and Gadget dipped their feet in a while.

Gadget and Whistler

Next came the “Lemon Squeezer,” a 20 foot or so section of trail that narrowly cuts through a large boulder. So narrowly in fact that we had to shuffle through slowly, maneuvering this way and that, scraping our packs and bodies against the crevasse until emerging on the other side and then bouldering up the steep rock face that led back up to the trail. While these types of things slow us down significantly, they add a fun additional layer of challenge to the trail—we think of them as mini side-quests!

This deer was contentedly nibbling fallen flower petals off the forest floor, unconcerned by our presence.

That evening we ended the hike a little sooner than usual at the Fingerboard Shelter. Right after arriving we saw a couple deer that seemed unafraid of people and a very young fawn that followed its mama, happily wiggling its tail. This shelter has had lots of bear activity in the past, so the ATC has installed bear cables. Most shelters in New York have had no food storage options so this was a treat.

Gadget joked that so many deer seem like a pretty good sign that there aren’t too many bears around. Then, as we perched on the big rock outcropping making dinner, Whistler spotted a bear walking only a stone's throw away from where we were sitting! The bear walked right past the bear cables and kept moving in an arc around the shelter until it was out of sight. Our first bear sighting! It was impressive how quickly and silently it moved through the undergrowth. 

Can you spy the black bear?

Shortly after, Trippin and Deep Fried showed up, then about six others we hadn’t met yet. Three hikers slept in the shelter and the rest of us tented, tent to tent, at the one available tenting site down the hill from the shelter. We spent a little time stargazing on the rock outcropping next to the shelter while Whistler’s stargazing app provided ambiance with soothing music that I can only describe as galactic.

Another good day. 

Rocksylvania: Days 94 - 100

Day 94: 15.7 miles hiked (trail mile 1194.1)

Feeling competitive about making it to the next shelter ahead of this giant bubble, we got a 6:15am start. Right Wanting to try to make it to the next shelter ahead of the giant bubble, we got a 6:15 start in the morning. Right off the bat we crossed about a 50-yard section of trail that was flooded by beaver dams. We could’ve used the blue Blaze route around, but it would’ve added .6 miles to our day, and we decided to roll the dice with the flooded section, despite the Guthooks warnings of “Zombeavers” and a harrowing tale of someone who attempted to cross in sandals and stabbed their foot on a stick. Ranger made it across without getting wet while I somehow managed to completely submerge one shoe in beaver-poop water.

Meta and Grasshopper, a couple of Michiganders we first met at the campsite last night when they hung their bear bag next to ours, crossed the beaver dam right after us. We hiked with them the first few miles at a good clip, powered by great conversation. They relayed to us that someone in the group heading to the next shelter had a nasty cough and that they were going to be finding a hotel room in the next town of Pine Grove. It is supposed to heavily rain all night and the next shelter, the “501 Shelter” is a fully enclosed space with room for 12 people in bunks and however many more would fit on the floor. The place would have been completely packed tonight with all the thruhikers heading there from last night’s spot, the rain, and any weekenders. Ultimately, we made the decision to shuttle to a hotel at 15.8 miles in; still a respectable day in terms of mileage. 

We braked for lunch at an overlook and watched the storm roll in, then took a short hike down to the William Penn shelter, another architecturally unique PA shelter that would’ve been neat to ride out a rainstorm in. 

We loved this simple (and comfortable!) bench

When we arrived at our pickup point for Pine Grove, there were a couple section hikers with their friend who was doing trail support. They had packed out way too much food and told us to dig through the box of food they weren’t going to use and take whatever we wanted! We grabbed a couple pop tarts and fruit leathers.

Thanks to our early start and a strong push to try to beat the rain, we made it 15.8 miles by 2:30pm. We arrived at the Comfort Inn with plenty of time to shower, do laundry, relax, and resupply at the Dollar General next door. For dinner we had a giant pizza delivered which we covered with nutritional yeast, bacon bits, and tahini. 

Day 95: 17.1 miles hiked (trail mile 1211.2)

Today is an exciting day: less than 1000 miles left to go! 999 miles to be exact. We ate an instant oatmeal and cereal breakfast at the hotel then went down to the lobby to hang out with Whistler and Gadget. Brave was also in the lobby, a section hiker from California who completed the AT back in 2014 and was out to do a section with a friend she met on trail. Since it had rained all night and was still pouring outside the hotel staff gave us trash bags to fashion into rain skirts, and Brave hosted a mini rain-gear fashion show.

We shuttled back to trail with Whistler and Gadget and started hiking by 9:30. Only a few feet into the trail awaited some trail magic: a Costco size package of corn nuts, apples, and water. We did ninety-twos with Whistler and Gadget all day and were happy to discover that we all hike at a similar pace and daily mileage. 

At a road crossing this afternoon we met Merlin, who was doing trail magic out of the back of his pickup truck. He has a daughter on trail that he had come to visit and wanted to also offer some trail magic. He had chips, soda, water, candy, and other snacks, and offered to take our trash. So nice! The generosity of folks out here never ceases to amaze me. 

We reached camp 17 miles north by 5pm despite the extremely rocky trail sections and the rain, which fluctuated between drizzling and actively raining all day. Temperatures also began to drop in the late afternoon, so we were relieved to make it to the shelter and find some good tent sites. There are few people here tonight, and the four of us were able to snag a little campsite that has its own picnic table and is well protected by trees. We cooked and ate dinner in a steady drizzle of rain, enjoying a Knorr Sides beans and rice with tahini, olive oil, bacon bits, nooch, and shoestring potatoes. By 7:30 we were all damp and shivering, and the temps had fallen to the low 40’s, so we turned in. Fingers crossed this will be the last cold night of the season. 

Later in the night: It must have dropped into the 30’s. Ranger struggled to fall asleep with how cold he was on the low R-value Z-lite and we ended up shoving raincoats and pack covers under his pad to try to help with warmth retention. Sending home one of our quilts was a bad idea.

Day 96: 14.7 miles hiked (trail mile 1225.9)

These cute little efts are all over the trail in northern PA!

It was still raining this morning so we started around 9 when the rain began to taper off. A few hours later it picked back up again, and our little group hiked in the rain all morning until reaching the junction for walking into the town of Hamburg. We also crossed the Reading Railroad tracks! 

No shuttles were available, so we walked the death-defying 1.2 mile highway shoulder into town, in the rain. Ranger and Whistler got new shoes at Cabela’s which will hopefully help with the jagged Pennsylvania rocks on trail, then we all ate a big lunch at Red Robin.

At the Walmart—while resupplying for the next section of trail—we ran into Meta and Grasshopper again! When we hit the trail again with 3 hours to sunset and about 7 miles to go, with a decent climb out of the valley, the rain had finally subsided. We reached Windsor Furnace Shelter by 8pm and found a few campsites down near the shelter water source.

Day 97: 16.5 miles hiked (trail mile 1242.4)

We have been enjoying hiking with Whistler and Gadget, so continued our ninety-twos with them all day. First thing in the morning we hiked over the Pulpit and Pinnacle Rock, a couple popular overlook hikes in PA. 

The Pulpit

We lunched at the Eckville Shelter, another fancy shelter that is maintained by a caretaker called Lazy. Lazy was equal parts gruff and friendly and gave us otter pops for dessert.

Whistler enjoying his otter pop

We are all feeling tired and beat up by all the rocks and were relieved to finally make it to tonight’s shelter. Ranger and I miraculously found a flat tent site among all the slanted/rocky options, and we ate dinner at the picnic table with Jolah and Frogman before turning in.

Day 98: 17.7 miles hiked (trail mile 1260.1)

This next section has less water than usual, so we are carrying a full day of water with us. We all departed camp around 8am and hiked strong through a beautiful, fern-covered forest. There were fantastic campsites, too, with pine needles cushioning the forest floor, makeshift stone seats, and campfire rings. We later found out that Spots and Snapshot, who are just behind us now, snagged one of those awesome sites. 

Around mid-day I discovered my first tiny, embedded tick. A couple hours later, Ranger found his first embedded tick, too. Both were surprisingly small, but thankfully easy enough to remove (intact) with tweezers.

Knifes Edge

We were joined in the late afternoon by Frogman, whose name is inspired by the fact that he is working toward a PhD in herpatology with a specialty in… you guessed it, frogs. He participated in a round of ninety-twos and despite the painfully rocky terrain we made good time getting into the last shelter before town in a rotation of five people. 

Frogman

Toward the late afternoon we neared the descent to Palmerton where Will would be picking us up for a rendezvous in Bethlehem, PA. Ranger and I met Will when we stayed at the alpaca farm. He and his girlfriend, Elisa, were staying there on a road trip to the Smokies and we all hit it off in the brief time we got to chat at the hostel. Elisa is a sports medicine doctor and Will is a medical student with a background in law. They both have an infectious positive energy about them. They were adamant that we should contact them when we made it to the Lehigh Valley, so we did! 

Will, Elisa, Sticks, Ranger

Will picked us up in the evening and we rode about 25 minutes into Bethlehem. Ranger and I stayed at Will’s condo while Whistler and Gadget got a hotel room down the street. We got cleaned up and then headed down to a local brewery for dinner. Will ordered just about every appetizer on the menu and we gorged ourselves on incredible food and drinks, sharing stories about the trail and getting to know Will a bit more. He seems to have thought of every detail that might make us more comfortable during our stay here, including a fridge stocked with fresh and healthy foods like blueberries, avocados and hummus. Once again, we are humbled and heartened by the incredible kindness from someone we only just met. 

Day 99: 4.5 miles hiked (trail mile 1264.6)

Whistler and Gadget walked over from their hotel room around 7am. Will brewed a big pot of coffee and made delicious egg sandwiches for everyone.

From there we left Will to attend his class while we explored Bethlehem’s Steel Stacks. The town is home to Bethlehem Steel, a giant steel plant that was in operation up until 1995. The steel stacks have since been transformed into a free, self-guided history lesson. Visitors walk along the catwalk through the stacks and are provided historical context via historical markers places along the catwalk.

The space around the stacks has been transformed into an event space with a stage, PBS station, movie theater, and memorial park. After exploring the stacks, we walked to a little coffee shop and had some refreshments before making our way to the Industrial Museum. It was in a converted old factory space right by the steel stacks and contained lots of incredible relics from the industrial revolution including ornate machinery, automated silk weavers, and so much more. 

When we were finished, Will picked us up and took us to a Giant for a resupply, then back to his place for lunch. He made turkey burgers for Gadget and Whistler while Ranger and I filled up on hummus, dolmas, salad, and donuts. Elisa arrived shortly before our departure, so we were glad to get to say hello before taking off. We hope they will be able to take some time to join us on trail for a small section somewhere further north. 

We were back on trail by 4pm and immediately began the most challenging climb of the entire trail: a rocky and mountainous ascent that turns into full-blown rock climbing at some points. To make matters more challenging, our packs were quite heavy with the recent resupply plus enough water to get us through the night at our tent site. 

Day 100: 14.8 miles hiked (trail mile 1279.4)

Today was hard. The trail was full of jagged rocks sizing from small to extra-large, all day long and with no reprieve. Once again there was very little water on trail so we relied on the water caches that generous locals keep filled for thruhikers coming through this dry section.

Feet aching, we decided to call it off early at a little under 15 miles in, so we could be inside our tent by the time the rains hit again. We had a decent little tent site but a dead branch super high up in the tree was positioned a too directly overhead for comfort so Ranger heroically threw the bear bag line over the branch and pulled it down with a giant crash!

Once in the tent, we called my mom to celebrate her retirement from teaching! My mom is the kind of teacher who makes kids fall in love with science and learning. She has been balancing a lot for a while now and I’m so excited to see her reclaim some of her time. Congratulations Mom! ♥️

Brood X: Days 84 - 93

Day 84 – 88: 0 miles hiked (trail mile 1104.8) 5th-9th zero

Since our Philadelphia chapter is a bit of a divergence from the main focus of this blog I’ve decided to condense it into one big summary:

Our first day in Philadelphia we walked to Dottie’s Donuts to pick up breakfast—have I mentioned donuts are my main craving on trail? We passed a Rite-Aid on the way there and decided to ask if they had any extra Covid-19 vaccines so we could go ahead and get our shots ahead of our scheduled time. They did, so we received our second-round Moderna vaccine and headed back to the apartment to await the side effects.

That evening, Mark and Andrea took us to an REI to resupply on some gear items and by the time we got back to the apartment that evening fevers had set in. I ran a 101.1 temperature before taking an ibuprofen while Chris never measured his but also felt feverish and uncomfortable. The next day we were completely wiped out and spent the day resting and napping.

The dogs thought it was just great having so many pack-nap opportunities as we recovered from the trail and our vaccines

By evening we felt a bit better and walked to Triangle Tavern with Andrea and Mark for some plant-based wings to celebrate. Across from the tavern is a grocery store with a big historical marker indicating that a prison used to sit where the grocery store now is. It is the location of HH Holmes’ execution. Philadelphia has so much history, it’s interesting to see how time seems to fold over itself here. The indications of the passage of time are everywhere and historical markers pepper the city in the most unexpected places. 

I spent much of my time in Philadelphia completing the book I’ve carried this far, so I don’t have to pack it out again. It’s a good book—an autobiography by James Alder about his career as a tree-top wildlife photographer—but we’ve been carrying that thing since Georgia and I’m happy to finally shed the weight.

Philadelphia has mentally been our destination for so long that we need to shift our focus toward Maine now. We’re excited to see what the northeastern part of the States holds, and eager to hear the call of the loon when we reach the northernmost sections of the trail. Although Pine Grove Furnace SP was the halfway point in miles, it stands to reason that we are well past our halfway point in time. These days, we are doing such higher daily mileage on average that we should be well on track to meet our goal of finishing the trail by late July/early August. 

Ranger is excited to try the famous Dodah’s Cheesecake with some craft beer!

Our time in Philadelphia was just perfect. We got to take Eppie on walks and snuggled with her every night. We also had a zoom call with my mom’s 4th grade class who has been following along with the blog; they asked us some great questions about the trail and told us about some of their own hiking plans for the upcoming summer break!

One morning, we had the best breakfast of the trail at Grindcore House, a heavy metal vegan coffee shop in south Philly. Andrea and Mark took us to explore Bartram Gardens, a botanical garden near the Schuylkill River. We ate a small picnic that Andrea had packed out with fresh strawberries, leftover baked goods from Grindcore, and some olives.

Andrea, Mark, Sticks, Ranger

Following snacks, we laid around and read books near a thriving community garden on the outskirts of Bartram Garden. I even fell asleep for a short spell. I can’t remember the last time I felt this relaxed. The trail has been incredible but “relaxing” is not a word I would use to describe it. Andrea and Mark have been such incredible hosts, too, providing the most wonderful space for recovering and resting.

On the way home we explored west Philly by car to marvel at the giant old houses that have been converted to apartments. That evening we watched a great documentary about the Dust Bowl by Ken Burns. Learning about how tough life used to be nearly a century ago makes the challenges of the trail seem trivial and reminds me just how resilient and adaptable we humans are.

Day 89: 2.8 miles hiked (trail mile 1107.6)

The following day we celebrated Andrea’s 29th birthday! I am in awe of my little sister: all that she has accomplished and the wonderful life she has built for herself in Philly. I woke up early to make a big breakfast for everyone to kickstart a full day of birthday activities. After breakfast we drove downtown to explore the Philadelphia Art Museum. The museum is massive, and Chris alone made it all the way to the third floor. The rest of us were tuckered out by then and went to lay in the grass in the sculpture garden. I will have to return to visit the third-floor Asian art exhibit, which contains whole buildings transported to Philadelphia and reconstructed inside the museum.

The Getaway, by Horace Pippin

We really loved this sculpture by Roxy Paine; it’s reminiscent of the fallen trees in the trail that are caught by other trees on their way down.

That evening we relaxed around the house and made a stir fry with chili crisp as a topping. Chili crisp has immediately become a favorite condiment and I suggest anyone who hasn’t tried it yet locate some immediately. It pairs well with just about any savory food!

A final element of birthday celebration: Cake!

Andrea and Mark dropped us back on trail at Pine Grove Furnace SP in the evening. Eppie rode along with, and we snuggled the whole ride out. It is so hard to leave that girl behind, but I know she is in the best hands.

Andrea and Mark wore our packs for about 100 yards before we said our goodbyes. We night-hiked out a little over two miles to an unofficial campsite just outside of the park bounds and fell asleep.

Back on trail!

Day 90: 16.4 miles hiked (trail mile 1124)

We slept without the rain fly and were awakened early by the sound of rain. Scrambling out of the tent, we broke down camp quickly and set off. It rained off and on all day. There were a few minor rock scrambles today, as the trail is becoming noticeably rockier as we move further north in Pennsylvania. Hikers call it “Rocksylvania” for the dense concentration of jagged rocks on trail that northern PA is known for. The worst is certainly yet to come.

We also started noticing cicadas and cicada shells everywhere for the first time today! We have been looking forward to observing the emergence of Brood X. Learn more about this natural phenomenon here: nps.gov/articles/000/cicadas-brood-x

Our first Brood X Cicada sighting!

We stopped at Alec Kennedy shelter at only 12 miles in, intending to call it a day. Once we had camp set up, we treated ourselves to a short nap but were jarred awake by the rising winds identifying a creaky widow-maker that we hadn’t noticed before that was positioned precariously near our tent. This was all the excuse we need to hike on to Boiling Springs, so we packed up camp and hustled the last four miles into town before dark.

Widow-makers are one of the most dangerous parts of camping that are often overlooked by new campers. We always thoroughly check each site before establishing camp to ensure that there aren’t any dead branches or trees directly over our site and pay special attention when a storm is brewing.

Boiling Springs turned out to be a quaint little town that centers around the AT and fly fishing. There were lots of people fishing on the river and lake. With the town’s history of iron forging there were many interesting old stone structures around town that are testaments to the town’s industrial history.

A fisherman cast his line in the town’s crystal-clear, spring-fed lake.

Geese and goslings on the trail as it passes through downtown Boiling Springs

Because of the camping restrictions for the next 14 miles due to private pastures and agricultural land we made a last-minute decision to stay at Lisa’s Hostel in town. Lisa’s husband picked us up at the trail head and helped us get settled into the converted shed/hostel. For $20 a person it will do the trick. The only other person in the bunk house is Chooch and his giant dog, Rebel, who has hiked with him all the way from Georgia. We are sleeping in super narrow bunk slots that are surprisingly cozy.

Day 91: 21.6 miles hiked (trail mile 1145.6)

Lisa dropped us off at the trail in downtown Boiling Springs with Chooch and Rebel the dog who joined us for coffee and juice before heading out.

Rebel, half Pitbull and half Australian Shepherd

The morning consisted of 14 miles of pasture-walking, which was a fun change from the normal wooded view. Near Carlisle we came across an injured orange tabby cat right on trail that had no use of its back legs. Fortunately, a section-hiker arrived right when we did and knew someone in the area that he called to come pick it up and try to get it some help.

A couple with this sweet Great Dane gave us some trail magic Gatorade as we braked for lunch at an old barn

Toward the end of the pasture section, we were wading through waist-high grasses and fearing the worst as far as ticks were concerned, although we needn’t have worried, neither of us had a single tick tonight!

At 5:30 we stopped at a quaint little tent site next to a steam and had dinner before tackling the last 3.5 miles to Cove Mountain Shelter. To our immense joy, the shelter had a bear box and some excellent campsites nearby. We met a flip-flopper named Bulldog, set up our tent, and called it a night. 

Day 92: 15 miles hiked (trail mile 1160.6)

We left the shelter around 7:30 and hiked 3.5 miles into Duncannon. Duncannon instantly proved itself one of the most hiker-friendly towns we’ve traversed yet. The Sunoco had a great little selection and were super friendly, but we wanted to do a grocery store resupply, so walked a little over half a mile off trail to the Mutzabaugh Market via a well-marked road-path through a quiet neighborhood. At Mutzabaugh we did a resupply for 4 days. As we were finishing up, a store employee approached us to let us know if we ask at the register one of the store employees will drop us back on trail. While we were waiting for our ride, a local pulled up in her truck and told us to hop in, she’d take us right then and there. What a generous place!

Once on trail we hiked a short distance to The Doyle, a historic hostel and restaurant that Ranger stayed at on his first thruhike in 2005. The accommodations are bare bones but it’s an AT-famous spot for its hiker-friendly vibe, neat historic building, and shockingly low rates.

The Doyle

QB, the manager of the restaurant, lugged out some giant film photo albums from 2005-2007 when she learned that Ranger had first thruhiked back in ‘05. It turns out she took photos of many of the hikers that passed through in those years and although Ranger didn’t find his own photo, he found those of many of his thruhiking companions.

Ranger and QB with the album of 2005 thruhikers

After leaving the Doyle we completed a long and hot nearly 2 mile stretch through town and across the Susquehanna River, climbed over a parked train that was blocking the entrance to the trail, and hiked back into the mountains. 

Train crossing!

When we reached the ridge, a storm hit fast and hard, dumping rain on us in sheets. Once the rain let up, we had a nice hike the rest of the way to Peter’s Mountain Shelter. Here we met a giant group of thruhikers, including Baked Potato, Moss Rock, Giggles, and Goose. They appear to be about 20 people strong and have apparently been just behind us since beginning the trail. We squeezed our tent into a pocket next to all the other tents and managed to get inside just before the rains began. 

When the cicadas first emerge from their exoskeletons they are pasty white

Day 93: 17.8 miles hiked (trail mile 1178.4)

Today we lunched at a pretty campsite where we were able to take some time to dry out our rainfly from the night before. Although we used a chamois cloth to wipe it down (repeatedly wringing out the cloth) before packing it away, it was still drenched.

Later in the afternoon we saw a cluster of flowering pink lady slippers near a large mound if coal. We have been seeing signs indicating that old mining communities lived around these woods, so this must be a relic from that past. 

Pink Lady Slippers

Abandoned mound of coal

We found a huge tenting site with lots of great flat spots at the turn-off for the shelter. That same giant group of thruhikers set up there, too, although we set up our tent on the edge of the campsite. Two thruhikers named Meta and Grasshopper set up their tent near ours and said hello as they bear-bagged off the same easy-access branch we did.

Tent city

Pine Grove Furnace: Days 78 - 83

Day 78: 19.7 miles hiked (trail mile 1025.2)

Upon waking, we hung out awhile at the Bear’s Den in the living room. In walked Denim Dan, a man from west Texas who fully looks the part. He is hiking the trail in denim jeans, a cowboy hat, a red bandana, and a healthy handlebar moustache.

92 is getting off trail after Harpers Ferry so we said our goodbyes here. We love that guy.  

Some history on the Bear’s Den

Still not quite refreshed from our big day yesterday, we trudged through the last of the Rollercoaster and set our sails into Harper’s Ferry. Halfway through the day we crossed into West Virginia. Right on the state line is where thruhikers will camp before beginning the ‘4-state challenge’. There are many challenges on the trail but this is decidedly the most popular. Those who undertake the challenge attempt to hike across 4 states (45 miles) on the AT in 24 hours: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. We briefly entertained the idea but ultimately decided not to risk injury and instead keep challenging ourselves a little bit at a time.

Toward the end of the day, we kept encountering big, sweet-smelling purple flowers fallen all over the trail and eventually identified them as belonging to the invasive Princess Tree. Invasive or not, it made for a pretty change of scenery.

Just before sunset we crossed the Shenandoah River on a busy Highway bridge and checked into the Quality Inn. We ordered pizza and salad from a local joint that delivered to the hotel and took it easy for the evening. We are looking forward to exploring Harper’s Ferry tomorrow!

Day 79: .9 miles hiked (trail mile 1026.1)

Our morning was spent lounging around our hotel room and recovering from the last couple high-mile days on The Rollercoaster. We checked out of our room at 11am and walked up the road to Kelley Farm Kitchen, a vegan restaurant with a breakfast-all-day menu. Here we delighted in plant-based chick’n and waffles followed by lemon cake for desert. 

Then, we walked to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s headquarters and took our pictures in front of the classic stone wall and ATC sign. In normal years the ATC takes a Polaroid picture of every thru-hiker and adds it to a giant album that dates back decades. We are a bit bummed we didn’t get the chance to flip through the album and find Chris’s picture from his 2005 hike but such is thruhiking in a global pandemic.

ATC Headquarters

After this we cut through Storer college, a historic Black college from the segregation era that is now a national park. We then returned to the AT to fill in a small section from the Quality Inn into downtown Harper’s Ferry. On the last bit of the AT section, near Jefferson Rock, we ran into Caramel and Curator with Curator’s parents.

From there we all walked to a pub in the historic downtown and enjoyed some drinks. Blue Jacket showed up and pulled up a chair, too. Curator is recovering from a knee injury and Blue Jacket offered up his apartment in Maryland not too far from Harper’s Ferry if Curator needs more time to heal before getting back on trail. Blue Jacket to the rescue!

After leaving the pub, Chris and I walked around the historic downtown a bit together. We had to stop at the outfitter to do a small resupply to carry us another 80 miles. The outfitter selection was meager but will suffice. For being one of the most famous stops along the trail and home to the ATC headquarters, it’s funny how little Harper’s Ferry has to offer in terms of trail services: no hostel, only a single outfitter, etc. After wrapping up at the outfitter we strolled through some of the self-guided museum tours. Basically all of the historic buildings and sites operate as an open air museum and you can wander aimlessly as we did or follow the numerical order. We paid a visit to a candy shop that sold candy that was meant to mimic candies dating back to ancient times and as recent as the 1970’s. Ranger bought sugarplums and peppermint Gibraltar’s and I got a moon pie. 

We ate dinner again at Kelley’s Farm Kitchen and again marveled at how delightful the food was. Caramel and Curator’s parents picked us up after dinner so we could sleep on Curator and Caramel’s floor which they generously offered up. We had been planning to hike out in the evening but a nero will be a nice treat for our feet. 

Day 80: 17.2 miles hiked (trail mile 1043.3)

Curator and Caramel dropped us off at the trail in downtown Harpers Ferry at 8:30am. The trail here cuts right by the site where the war to end slavery is said to have begun at John Browns Fort. Crossing the footbridge that runs along the railroad bridge across the Potomac River, we were accosted by a giant pit bull who came running up to green us like we were long lost friends. As she joyously escorted us across the bridge we saw an osprey land in its nest atop the bridge, and a train rushed past us into the tunnel carved into the mountainside.

Osprey

We walked the first couple miles along the C&O Canal, a historic canal that has been converted into a bike path covering 184.5 miles from Washington D.C. to Cumberland, MD. Along this section we spotted a family of geese with four tiny goslings, and a blue heron. We also met another NoBo thruhiker by the name of Second Shot.

Mid-day we stopped for a break at Ed Garvey shelter where we met a ridge runner. This first shelter in Maryland was very impressive in both its unique build and cleanliness. Further up the trail we ran into Whistler, who we first met at the Bear Den, and hiked with him awhile. We lunched near Gath’s tomb, an ornate tomb that was built for a man named Gath but never occupied by him because he was ultimately buried elsewhere, against his wishes.

Gath’s Empty Tomb

History all along the trail through Maryland!

We hiked strong with Whistler and reached Dahlgren Backpacking Campground by 4:30 at mile 17.1 and decided to call it a day. This free backpacking campground is extra glampy with functioning bathrooms complete with hot showers! As we were sitting down to enjoy a campfire, Ninja Kitty and their partner Kurt stepped out of the woods, and we all hung out around the fire until nightfall. 

Ranger and Whistler

Day 81: 17.9 miles hiked (trail mile 1061.2)

Guess we need to be on the lookout for the Snarly Yow, per this historical marker a few miles into our hike today

You can tell it’s the weekend when you suddenly encounter massive amounts of day-hikers and overnighters, and such is the case today. It’s kind of fun answering questions about thruhiking and seeing all the variety in gear. 

Shortly into our hike this morning we encountered the Washington monument, built by nearby villagers in honor of George Washington in celebration of the 4th of July, in 1827.

It was an uneventful hike until a steep, steep ascent at the end of the day to our resting point for the night at the beautiful Raven Rock Shelter. Once on top we encountered a beautiful fern-cloaked undergrowth with long-trunk trees glowing in the early stages of golden hour. We found a nice tent site near the shelter on a bed of pine needles and Whistler set up his tent near ours. The shelter and surrounding tent sites are very crowded. As we get further north there is a definite uptick in folks getting out to backpack on the weekends. No surprise, as this country is simply gorgeous. We have made a mental note to get into camp a bit earlier on weekends to secure a site, especially when closer to civilization. 

While cooking dinner at the picnic table in the shelter we got to chat with Whistler, another thruhiker named Scrambles who was surviving this section on Spam alone, and a section hiker named Tor. Tor was a neat guy with a career-military background. He had a lot of incredible stories from his Army Ranger days but also had a humble and quiet way about him.

Once back in our tent we spent awhile hacking off parts of our packs that we hadn’t found use for this far with our knife. In the name of comfort and saving money we’ve decided to stick with the packs we’ve been using rather than switching to ultralight summer packs as many do. In closely inspecting our packs, however, we realized there were a lot of extra pieces that we could cut from our packs for some additional weight savings, e.g. the clips that hold “the brain” which neither of us ever use, the ice-ax loop, extra little straps and loops, the load stabilizing strap inside the pack that tends to just get in the way… it was a cathartic activity to say the least. 

We are constantly trying to find ways to shave off a bit more weight. Every gram and every ounce might seem insignificant, but they add up quickly and the feet notice.

Day 82: 26.3 miles hiked (trail mile 1087.5)

Determined to make some good miles today to make it the next 46 miles to our pickup point tomorrow by late afternoon, we got a 7am start out of the shelter. We’re eager to spend a few zeros with my sister Andrea and her partner Mark in Philadelphia, who have been dog sitting for us. It will be a good time to rest our muscles and joints and get some delicious calories (the food in Philadelphia is incredible). We said goodbye to Whistler, who is also planning to get off trail for a few days to visit family. We may end up getting back on trail the same day next week.

An early start makes a huge difference in mileage morale, as you can knock out 4-6 miles before most even leave camp, as 92 liked to remind people. We took a 9am snack break at Penn Mar Park, about 5 miles before the border of Pennsylvania. Shortly after, we crossed the Mason Dixon line and entered Pennsylvania! 

Penn Mar Park

Entering Pennsylvania!

For lunch we braked at Iron Forge Park and watched some dark clouds roll in. It looked ominous for a couple hours, but we never got more than sprinkled on. 

In the afternoon we were passed by Dead Eye, who we hadn’t seen since the Shenandoahs. It turns out he did the 4-state challenge and accidentally started at the first VA/WV state line and thus hiked 17 miles before reaching the actual start of the 45-mile state challenge. He decided to continue and just see how far he could get in 24 hours and ended up hiking 58 miles! Mindblowing. 

We had entertained the idea of camping at Caldonia State Park at mile 24, but since the actual campgrounds were nowhere in sight from the AT we decided to press on to the shelter and do a marathon day (more than 26.2 miles). Just before continuing from the park, we received trail magic from a little girl who gave us each a ring pop! We sucked on ring pops all the way up the massive climb to the shelter and arrived at what is hands down the most well-maintained shelter on trail.

Quarry Gap Shelters was comprised of two freshly stained and painted shelters with a covered picnic table between, potted flowers hanging outside, the cleanest privy I’ve seen (with a painting hanging over the toilet), and a porch swing!

Here we were united with Dead Eye who told us he was considering a yo-yo. This is the term for when you finish the AT heading one direction and then turn back around and head the other way. Dead Eye took one of the little shelters and Ranger and I took the other. What an excellent treat this stop was after such a long day of hiking!

Our private (3-walled) shelter for the night

Final thoughts before sleep: I can’t wait to be rid of my z-lite, which has turned into the greatest trial of this journey, leaving me emotionally wretched from lack of sleep, and testing even the seemingly endless patience of Ranger who is (understandably) getting sick of all my lamenting. I should also mention that Snapshot absolutely called it that this would happen.

Day 83: 17.3 miles hiked (trail mile 1104.8)

We took off for Pine Grove Furnace state park, where Mark would be meeting us with a car to take us to Philadelphia. Thanks to the marathon yesterday we only had a little over 17 miles to the park and were able to have a more leisurely hike than the day before. By mid-morning we were passed by Denim Dan and Dead Eye. I hope we see those guys later up the trail.

Dead Eye

Southern Philadelphia offers some of the gentlest terrain we’ve encountered thus far, and we had a nice hike into the park, peppered with many a snack break. 

At Pine Grove Furnace we snacked at the general store and hung out with Denim Dan and Second Shot until Mark arrived. Mark brought us a slice of pie to eat on the drive and we had a lot of fun catching up while we hurtled toward Philadelphia in a vehicle. Eppie, our terrier mutt, was so startled to see us again (and in our stinky/woodsy/backpacking state) that the reunion was more fraught than we had hoped it would be. Once her initial alarm wore off, we were glad to be on the receiving end of her deep well of affection. To celebrate our arrival, we ordered plant-based pizza and Philly cheesesteaks from Triangle Tavern and called it a night not too long after dinner.

Warning, Entering The Rollercoaster: Days 71 - 77

Day 71: 18 miles hiked (trail mile 903)

This closed cell foam pad z-lite… forget it. It is so hard I feel like I’m sleeping on a slab of pebbly cement. Also, the fabled fire alarm bird paid us a few visits last night and squawked to the tune of “BEEP-WHOOPWHOOP” over and over and with such unwavering consistency that I began to sincerely wonder if we were close enough to a parking lot that there actually might be a car alarm going off. 

By morning we were out of camp by 8am and made a pit stop by a picnic area for a restroom break and water resupply. Being in the National Park is so fancy: picnic tables, bathrooms, potable water, bear boxes, campgrounds and wayside/camp stores have made our hike through the Shenandoahs unparalleled in terms of comfort.

We saw a Pink Lady Slipper right off trail! Such a unique plant. 

After a few miles, we peeled off at the first camp store in the park. The store is giant—filled with irresistible goodies—and we gorged on snacks and drinks in the company of the Hiker’s Union and Spots and Snapshot. Today was the first day the camp stores have opened back up for the year, so we’re thrilled to have our hike through the Shenandoahs accented by quick and easy resupplies.

Caramel and Curator showed up toward the end of our break and we hung with them for a bit before all departing together. That evening we all reconvened at an unofficial tenting site near an overlook. There was a tent site down the hill a way that was softer and a bit more sheltered from the wind, so we set up our tent there for the night. We ate dinner with our friends and then retired to our tent. My feet ached all day and I think it’s the new shoes breaking in. The consensus from our crew is that it takes a couple days to break in new trail-runners when hiking big miles on them right out of the box. 

Day 72: 15.7 miles hiked (trail mile 918.7)

What an incredible day! It was cold and windy when we awoke so we let the sun warm the tent awhile and departed our site around 9am. We hiked strong for the first 10 miles and stopped at a picnic area around 1 for a quick lunch of pb&j bagels. Thanks to some confusion we had around a water source, and with the assistance of the cool weather, we managed to make it the first 12 miles with only a half a litre of water apiece.

We have dubbed these smooth Virginia trails the “Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Trail.”

At 15 miles we hiked off trail a couple hundred yards to a campground store that had high reviews on our Guthook map for being thru-hiker friendly. When we hiked up, we saw our crew from the night before drinking beer and eating snacks at a picnic table out front. We purchased some snacks and drinks and each paid $1 for a 5-minute shower. You had to insert quarters to get the shower flowing and it was hilarious that when the time is up the shower just cuts off without any warning with a loud “CLUNK”.

Thankfully we timed it alright and managed to get clean and enjoy the hot water awhile. I also got to plug my phone and power bank into an outlet outside the store for a couple hours. Our friends made the decision to join us at the next shelter and we all left in our respective pairs to make our way there. Ranger and I hung behind to make an Annie’s vegan mac and cheese dinner in our pot so we could wash the pot in the sink after. 

On our way down to the shelter, we saw a rabbit who let us get within a few feet of it while it munched on dandelion flowers.

When we arrived, we scored a decent tent site near Caramel and Curator behind the shelter. The huge crew that hiked out of Waynesboro the same day we did has now passed us so that we are staggered one shelter behind them the rest of the way and will have better campsite selections.

Day 73: 8.1 miles hiked (trail mile 926.8)

It was a cold night. These z-lites really don’t cut it in 30-degree temps with their low R-value. This was the last straw for me, and I will be ordering a different pad as soon as possible. We left camp at 7am and hiked in cold drizzly weather until the turn off for the Big Meadows Wayside. Chris had a cup of coffee, I chugged an apple juice, and we did a light resupply in the general store. 

We ran into our crew at Big Meadows Lodge about 8 miles in, around 11am. Apparently, we all had the same idea of dodging the rain. We were seriously considering booking a room, but it was decided for us when we learned the lodge was completely booked. Once inside the lodge lobby it started pouring outside. We made the decision as a group to wait out the rain by enjoying the lodge restaurant and taproom. Mason, a section hiker we met at the shelter the night before, joined our table for lunch.

Mason, Caramel, Curator, Spots, Snapshot, 92, Sticks, Ranger

We ate and drank steadily in the restaurant until the taproom opened at 3, then relocated. 92 showed up, followed by Krash and Hothands. Mason and 92 had both scored one of the last rooms available at the lodge and were quick to offer their floors to anyone who was interested. Considering how chilled we were the night before, compounded by the rain and further dropping temperatures, we decided to take 92 up on his offer. Caramel, Curator, Spots and Snapshot pushed on to the next shelter only 3.5 miles up trail while Krash, Hothands and Deadeye took Mason’s floor. 

View from Big Meadows Lodge of rain falling over the Shenandoah Valley

We had a relaxing evening hanging out with 92 in his room and slept decently on our z-lites on the floor (thanks to additional layer of padding provided by the carpet). Also thrilled to be out of the cold and wet for the night.

Day 74: 17.6 miles hiked (trail mile 944.4)

We said our goodbyes to 92 and left the lodge at 7:30am. It was a cold morning, so we hiked fast. We made it to Skyland Lodge around 10:30 and nibbled on some snacks in the lobby. At Skyland we also bought an AT ornament for our Christmas tree. 

Later, we enjoyed almond butter bagels for lunch in a beautiful picnic area right on trail.

After hiking awhile, we ran into 92 and his friend who was doing an overnight with him at Byrds Nest #3 Shelter. It was a cool shelter with a fireplace but by this time we had made up our minds to push on.

Nearing our pickup point, we stopped awhile to observe four juvenile buzzards, playfully trying out their wings on a gusty cliff side. It was a comical display; they rocketed around together on the brink of losing control a couple times, squabbled a little bit on land, let their feet dangle down awkwardly as they flew, and floated in place or even drifted backwards while they let the wind woosh beneath their wings. We watched them for a few minutes before leaving them to their escapades.

We made the call to stay at Open Arms Hostel tonight in Luray because they offer free pickup from very near where we intended to call it a day, and it’s supposed to be another very cold night.

Allison and her super sweet dog Blaze picked us up at 5pm from the trailhead where it crossed a major road at nearly the 18-mile mark.

At Open Arms we ran into Hothands and Krash again who were killing a bit of time waiting for Deadeye to catch up. Alison took care of our laundry while we got showered and then took us into town to a Walmart for a resupply. During our drive to the store, she pointed out some of the main sites in Luray. We are both impressed with this quirky town which seems to have much to offer. Since we only must go 30 miles or so until our next hostel we got a tiny resupply, including a couple personal-size frozen pizzas and some fresh foods to cook in the hostel kitchen. 

We shared the kitchen and dinner table with Jim, a wanderer who left his corporate job a few years ago to travel in his van and has never looked back.

This was yet another incredible hostel experience for the books; one of the best in fact. We are so glad we made the spontaneous decision to stay here. 

Day 75: 21 miles hiked (trail mile 965.4)

After a night of terrific sleep and a hearty breakfast, we got a ride back to the trail with Alison and Blaze. From the top of a mountain, we called our mothers to tell them how special they are. 

This afternoon we stopped at Elkwallow Wayside where we once again encountered Mason. We all hung out and snacked awhile before pressing on.

At dusk we saw a couple deer on trail. One was an adult and the other a juvenile that had lost its spots already. Like the deer in the Smokies, the deer in the Shenandoahs are also less timid around people and these two seemed to cock their heads at us in curiosity.

At 21 miles in we stopped about four miles from the edge of the park in a wonderful unofficial tent site (mainly defined by flatness, abundance of trees, absence of widow-makers, and ease of bear-bagging). Tenting options were mediocre throughout the Shenandoahs so this tent site was a treat!

Day 76: 15.1 miles hiked (trail mile 980.5)

We broke down camp at 8. Only about a half hour into our hike 92 caught up with us, having already hiked 6 miles from the shelter we passed him at last night. He proposed that we try out a marine training technique he used to have his recruits do where each person in the group leads at the fastest pace they can steadily maintain for a mile at a time before falling to the back. We did this from 8:30am to 3:15pm.

92 caught a Ring Neck Snake!

We also had a flock of wild turkeys run across the trail! Can you see them? Little specks near the left tree line and across the trail.

At one point we stopped at a trail magic cooler left by the local 4H club. It was stocked with gummies, oranges, and juice boxes, and was a delicious treat! 

We lunched at Mosby’s Campground. We are passing through some big historical areas from the civil war and this area was supposedly where a confederate troop encampment was established. 

Thanks to the swift hiking pace we made it 15 miles to our pickup point for the Stumble Inn Hostel in Front Royal by only 3:15pm. One of 92’s buddies was in town to visit him and he graciously offered us a ride to our hostel. 

Break time at the Jim and Molly Denton Shelter - this shelter was FANCY: 2 levels, picnic table pavilion, solar shower, Adirondack chairs and a horseshoes game

Whew! Almost to our destination!

The hostel exceeded expectations in cleanliness and kindness. Ranger and I shared a bunk room with 4 twin bunks, but no one else showed up so we had the whole room to ourselves. Spots and Snapshot had the private room across from us while Mason and Mountain Slug occupied the other bunk room. We did a speedy resupply in town at a Martin’s grocery with robots patrolling the isles, ate dinner back at the hostel and turned in for an excellent night’s sleep. 

Ranger with a flower from the Tulip Tree or Yellow Poplar

Day 77: 25 miles hiked (trail mile 1005.5)

First thing in the morning, the Stumble Inn owners called us all upstairs to the dining room for a family-style hiker breakfast. David made a vegan African peanut stew with rice for Chris and me. Everyone else got biscuits with sausage gravy and other traditional breakfast fare. 

David dropped us back off at the trail this morning. Spots and Snapshot needed to be dropped off at a different junction and needed to swing by the post office for Spots’ new boots, so Danielle took everyone else in the van. David explained to us how they were starting up a foundation as a part of their hostel business called AT Kids. The couple had thruhiked the trail via a flip flop back in 2018 and decided to open a hostel/nonprofit to teach kids from local communities about backpacking. 

Native blackberries are in bloom; the berries are sure to soon follow!

We were back on trail by 8:30 and used 92’s marine training hiking technique to cover miles as quickly as possible. We have begun referring to these as “Ninety-Twos”.

Halfway through the day, we sped past a day-hiker, and she called out “do you want some trail magic?” We screeched to a halt and she dug a couple cold Gatorades out of her pack for us to chug. Her trail name is Daisy and she and her 21-year-old daughter are planning a thru-hike for next year. For now, she is doing trail magic and always carries snacks and drinks with her for AT Thruhikers when she day hikes.

Daisy

The morning zipped by, broken up by two snack breaks, and we stopped at a shelter for lunch at 15 miles in at 3pm. Immediately after lunch we stepped into a section dubbed The Rollercoaster. It is an intimidating 15-mile section of trail just before Harpers Ferry that consists of many steep and rocky ups and downs, each between .5 and 1 mile up and then back down the other side. We barreled through this as quickly as we could, enjoying the challenge of it. Just before sunset we passed 1000 miles! 

Guthook elevation map of the Rollercoaster

The reason for this giant push was to make it to the ATC-owned Bear’s Den hostel by nightfall. In this we succeeded, hiking out of the woods and into the hostel—positioned right on top of one of the rollercoaster mountains—just as the final light was disappearing. Now we know we can hike 25 miles in exactly 12 hours.

Hiking at sunset is one of the best experiences! Everything becomes drenched in warm, vibrant colors.

Approaching the Bear’s Den, an ATC owned hostel that has the look and feel of a castle

Hiking 25 miles is also the length I will go to avoid sleeping on that god-awful z-lite. I guess on the bright side we are enjoying this excuse for a little string of hostels. We are now only 90 miles from my replacement sleeping pad, the x-lite.

Caramel, Curator, 92, and Blue Jacket were already here, along with a few others. We were thrilled to see Blue Jacket again since he is getting off in Maryland to figure a couple things out before hopefully getting back on trail. 

92 (in loaner clothes), Ranger, and Blue Jacket

We cooked up some vegan mac and cheese in the kitchen and met Whistler, a man who had to get off trail in 2019 and picked back up where he left off in Hot Springs to LASH the rest of the trail to Katahdin. 

We are sleeping in an 8-bed bunk room, but we are the only ones in here! Everyone else is down in the basement in the big bunk area. 

Such a neat idea, to capture the spirit of a place in each season.