Sept. 8
So heading out of Reading, where my uncle had picked us up, we ended up doing 10 miles instead of 13 and crashed at 501 shelter. This was another of the very nice shelters in PA. It was an enclosed shelter with a caretaker, and there was a very large window on the top of the shelter for a skylight. We caught up with Matt, Annie, and Kaya here again.
Sept. 9
This was my longest day on the trail up to this point--a 30 mile day. Flora and I convinced Matt, Annie, and Cloud to do it with us. Everybody except me apparently woke up very early to start that day. They had all left by 5:45. I woke up at 6:30 and no one was there. No worries though, I left at 7:30 am and was done with the 30 miles in 10 and a half hours. It was a pretty brutal day from what I can recall, and I only took a few breaks all day. We passed some cool old mining towns along the way that were abandoned 150 years ago. Cloud was carrying about 50 pounds worth of food at this time, so he struggled through the day. I ended up catching up to him around the 15 mile mark, and beat him to camp by a half hour or so.
Sept. 10
Following up 30 miles, we did a 22 mile day. I don't recall much from this day, except I was very happy to get to Duncannon, PA, where there were a good selection of bars to go to. The first one was right after crossing the Susquehanna river, and I had a few beers there. I then walked into Duncannon proper where I found another bar that had dollar drafts. I had some beers there, and then proceeded to hike, or should I say stumble, up the mountain out of Duncannon to Cove Mountain shelter in the dark.
Sept. 11
After the long night in Duncannon, Flora and I woke up at 5:00 am so we could get to Boiling Springs, PA, before 3 pm. It was 22 miles, and we needed to book it so I could watch THE Ohio State Buckeyes play the Hurricanes of Miami (FL). We had the first 15 miles done fast enough that we could stroll through the rest at a slow enough pace that we could take a break every half an hour. We stayed with Neil Sweet in Boiling Springs, one of Flora's family friends. As soon as I got in his van to go to his place, I noticed he had a guitar. I found out he had a few banjos at his house and I flipped my lid. I ended up playing banjo all day and watching the game, which was awesome. That night we went to a birthday party for someone that Neil knew, and there was a band that played bluegrass music that was pretty good.
Sept. 12
Flora and I took a zero day on the 12th. This was also the day I did the half gallon challenge. Neil drove us up to Pine Grove Furnace state park, where we went into the general store to get my half gallon of ice cream. To my dismay, they had no half gallons. I was pretty pissed. I saw though that there were some pint containers of ice cream, so I spent 8 bucks on 4 pint containers and did the half gallon challenge that way. I finished the 4 pints in 17 minutes. Flora wrote up a blog posting on the challenge, and I'll put it up here at some point.
Sept. 13
The following day, we did 23 miles to Toms Run Shelter. I remember thinking that it was a lazy day and that we weren't really doing big miles, even though we were doing a pretty big chunk. We passed the midpoint marker that day, which surprisingly had balloons and suckers waiting for us. Deb and Greg, also family friends of Flora's, had left the balloons and suckers there for us.
Sept. 14
On the 14th, we did about 20 miles to Rocky Mtn Shelters. I really don't recall much from that day, though we did climb our first hill over 2000 feet since Connecticut. It wasn't very difficult.
Sept. 15
We did about 15 miles on the 15th and met up with Greg, who I mentioned on the 13th. He hiked with us for the last 3 or so miles that day, and took us back to his house for the night. We stayed there on the 15th and 16th. Flora's father came down on the 15th to hang out for Flora's birthday.
Sept. 16
On the 16th, we went over to Dick's Sporting Goods near Waynesboro, PA, and I went shopping for some new equipment. I had been carrying a $10 fleece sleeping bag/blanket since Vermont, and it has been getting to cold for this to be used anymore. I had also worn out the pair of Vasque trail runner shoes I had found in New Hampshire in a hiker box, and had been wearing since then (pictures of the shoes to come). My socks had holes in them the size of a door knob, so I had to replace these as well. I found a pair of Columbia trail shoes for a great price (40 bucks). I also bought a 40 degree Field and Stream sleeping bag that should be adequate at least through Virginia. The best thing I found at the Dicks was a fleece jacket on the clearance rack. It was Under Armour brand, and only 15 bucks. It was 100 percent polyester, and super comfortable, so I had to get it. Though the trip to Dicks made a dent in the budget, it was definitely worth it for the comforts of having decent equipment.
Sept. 17
THE FOUR STATE CHALLENGE
The four state challenge is a 43 mile, 24 hour time limit hike starting at the Mason-Dixon Line (PA/MD border), and going to the WV/VA border. Most hikers start the 4 state at midnight, but when we woke up that night to start there was raining and lightning outside. Flora and I decided to go back to sleep and see what the weather was like at 5 am. The storm had passed by then, so we started hiking at 6 am starting at the Mason Dixon. We hiked the 40 miles of Maryland in 13 hours. The first 22 miles of the hike were done by 1 pm, where we took our first real break of the day to eat. At that point we were pretty exhausted, but still ready for the 2nd half of the hike. At mile 27, I was feeling sluggish. I had bought a 5 hour energy in Walmart the previous day, and decided to chug the bottle at mile 27. About 20 minutes later, all the pain in my body had miraculously went away. I was in the zone physically and mentally, and focused on nothing but the trail. I motored up the last climb of the day, Lamb's Knoll, and from the top of there proceed to run the next 10 miles with my fully loaded pack. I did 10 miles in 2 hours. My entire body was numb because of the 5 hour energy. Flora and I basically ran the last half the day, and we crossed the Potomac into Harpers Ferry at 7. With 3 miles to go, we ate a quick snack, hiked through Harpers Ferry, crossed the Shenandoah (while singing John Denver's Country Roads) and were done by 8pm. 44 MILES HIKED IN 14 HOURS. This was the most fun I had had on the trail in awhile. Flora's dad was still around, and dropped us off at the Harpers Ferry Hostel for the night.
Sept. 18
This was Flora's birthday, and we hung around Harpers Ferry for most of the day. We went to a Mexican restaurant, and I devoured 10 $1 a piece tacos, and I was still hungry. We went to the ATC office there, and got our pictures taken for having completed half the trail. I was the 45th southbound thru-hiker to reach Harpers Ferry so far this year. My picture will be kept in the books at the ATC office in Harpers Ferry for years to come, and I made sure it was the most ridiculous picture I could take. I sent my parents a postcard of it, and hopefully I can get them to scan it and put it online. I met Hitman for the first time in Harpers Ferry, who seems like a pretty cool dude.
Out of Harpers Ferry we did a mere 7 miles. I was pretty sore from the 44 miles yesterday, so it was nice to do some low miles.
Sept. 19
We did 11 miles on the 19th, and I was still sore from the 44 mile day. We stayed at the Bears Den Hostel near Bluemont, VA, and went to dinner with a thru hiker that Flora new, whose trail name is Castle. She is the ridgerunner/caretaker for the Maryland section of the A.T.. Along with Hitman and Fauna (who has returned to the trail after a month off) we had a pretty good dinner at an italian restaurant. Oh, and we crossed the marker for 1000 miles left to go that day.
Sept. 20
Well, it is 10:15 am as I finish up writing this blog. I got 23 miles to hike today over what is considered the "roller coaster", 10 ascent and descents over 13 miles. It shouldn't be to difficult considering the fact I have hiked through the Whites and Maine already, the Millenium Force and Top Thrill Dragster (look these up if you don't know them) of roller coasters. I'm guessing I should be done with the 23 today in 8 hours of so. I'm feeling pretty damn fresh today.
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