See ya, PA

I was planning on writing an open breakup letter to the Pennsylvania portion of the AT, letting it know how I really felt about it. My overall experience on the trail in this state has been marked by rocks, blisters, excessive heat waves, more rocks, dried water sources, more rocks, and some of my lowest days on the trail so far. I cursed this state and it's trail on more than one occasion, vowing to never again return to the area where I can only imagine the battle between heaven and hell took place and a rocky wasteland was left in it's wake. I was going to passionately proclaim all of this, but that sort of negativity does no good.

Let's be honest. Pennsylvania has been the hardest state FOR ME so far. Terrain-wise, it is fairly flat. Because of this, I attempted to hike big miles (and I did - in a 24 hr period I covered 34 miles once) and that could have led to some of the pain I would feel. But the rocks. Oh the rocks. They were never-ending. There were large boulders. There were small boulders. There were large trail rocks. There were small jagged rocks. There were slippery rocks. There were rough, shoe chewing rocks. You get the picture. Lots of rocks. Every single day, all day, for over 200 miles.

About two days ago and after what seemed like the 100th rock I kicked while in stride, I felt defeated. I couldn't take it. My feet were horribly blistered for the first time on the trail and each step I took shot alternating numb and sharp pain through my body. I didn't want to go any further. I hated the trail, PA, rocks, the squirrels, trees, etc. I was not in a good place.

I wanted to complain and feel sorry for myself. Woe is me. This is too hard. Wah wah wah was all I was hearing and I was getting sick of it. This trail is hard for a reason. Less than 10% completion rate happens for a reason. "Only the strong survive." I came to the realization that there were two very simple choices ahead of me. Allow the trail to beat me or put your head down, walk, and beat the trail. I chose the latter.

I walked into Delaware Water Gap yesterday in the late afternoon, which is the border of PA and NJ. As a fitting send off, I slipped on a rock going downhill about a mile before town and fell on my back. But wouldn't ya know it, as I walked to the church hostel I was going to stay at, hungry, tired, and sore, I was informed of the Thursday night pot luck dinners at the church where hikers were encouraged to join. A pot luck dinner at the end of a really tough stretch seemed as good of a reward as any in my opinion. Perhaps it was coincidence or plain luck, but I think it was the PA trail cosmos giving me a symbolic pat on the back for not giving up.

I don't know if I will return to hike this portion of the trail again, but I will always remember what this trail has put me through and what I can do when faced with obstacles that seem too large to cross. See ya, PA. Onto New Jersey!

-mojo

Friends on the trail

A whole lot of friends hybrid and I have made along this trail, like us, have their own trail blogs. If you have time, check em out and see how some of our hiking buddies are faring:

Wren:
http://citywren.blogspot.com/

Sage:
www.trailjournals.com/sage

Terminator and Bo Knows:
www.hikeforcam.org

Grasshopper:
www.at-grasshopper.blogspot.com

Next:
www.jhmcknight.blogspot.com

Rolla Coasta

Good morning from West Virginia! About to finish off the "roller coaster". It has been an enjoyable series of up, down, up, down, up, ad infinitum...

enjoyed a relaxed stay at bears den inn where I enjoyed a shower, laundry, meals, and a pint of Ben and jerrys ice cream.

Looking forward to a lot!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Still kickin

Hi! It's been a while but I am still on the trail and kickin. I hiked through the shenandoah national park in six days and emerged in yet another forest in Virginia. The temperature lately has been oppressively hot but today should be nice and cool (only in the upper 80s/lower 90s...)

I am at the very end of the thru-hiking pack and although I miss my friends it is also nice to experience this shift.

I will arrive in Harpers Ferry soon to celebrate the half-way (technically a few miles shy of the "real" half way) and from there I have decided to aero-blaze up north to meet up with Mojo.

This creek here is running clear and cold so it's time to refill my water supply and push up the next ascent, then down it, up another, down, up, down, up, down, and then up again to hit my 19 miles for the day.

Take Care!

Hybrid


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Near a creek

The official half way, the half gallon challenge, an other assorted happenings

Ive been hiking in Pennsylvania for the past few days and have been enjoying the terrain thus far. PA is notoriously known on the trail as the "rocky stretch" and "where good sneakers go to die" as the rocky landscape and boulder fields make for tough traversing. So far it hasn't been too bad, but I hear the stretch coming up is supposed to be pretty rough. Here is a shot of a rock maze I hiked through the other day:




I passed the official half way point the other day.


Felt quite good to get by that marker. A hiker named Grasshopper equated this second portion of the trail to the second half of a football game. You've seen what your up against, you make your adjustments, now go and finish it out. I'm very much looking forward to the next 1090 miles.

Soon after the halfway point, hikers come upon a little place called Pine grove furnace. It is here that AT thru hikers attempt the "half gallon challenge". The challenge is to eat a half gallon of ice cream in under a half an hour. I was considering this test but knowing I can't eat more than a pint of ice cream on my own, I elected for the cheeseburger. A few other hikers were more brave than I and a couple met the challenge, scarfing their half gallon in no time. A few also failed...and it was painful to watch them try.

Met up with some new hiking friends and knocked out 52 miles in a couple days. Tiring, but it wad pretty flat, so nothing too bad. We had to hike across a 14 mile valley and the weather of late had been quite toasty. 100+ degree heat index can really make you sweat. To counter this, we constructed some heat reflectors. Check out our designs:









I couldn't find an umbrella in town, so Sunkist, Sage and I rigged up some cardboard to my trekking poles, which we attched to my backpack. We covered the cardboard in an aluminum emergency blanket (think the kind you see runners wearing after a marathon) to reflect the heat. It worked pretty well actually.

One final note...and a pretty funny one. As evening approached, we continued along this 14 mile stretch of farmland and intermittent tree cover. At one point we had to cross a field where a herd of milk cows were mingled. As the 7 of us approached the herd of about 20, they suddenly became agitated and started to run all together and ahead of our path. Stampede!! But the cows did not keep going. They ran to our direction and literally formed a semi-circle around us, staring us down. They mooed at us while we hurled taunts about the cheeseburgers we just ate the night before.

Uneasily, we walked through the semi-circle of cows they formed across the trail. Sure enough, as we passed, the herd followed us for another 50-100 feet through the field. It was almost as if they were escorting us off their property. A hiker named hawk took a picture, which I must get for you to see. He captured us walking away from the cows in a straight line with the herd behind us, just staring, their eyes lit green from the flash. A truly unique experience!

-mojo

West Virginia + Maryland = Done

Crossed through Maryland the other day. A couple of the guys we were hiking with said the trail had more vistas here than in the shenendoahs. Saw another bear today and a sunset last evening on overlooking Maryland farmland from atop Annapolis Rocks.




Also crossed the mason-Dixon line so officially out of the south. After such a long trek in VA, all these milestones in the past few days are overwhelming.

It is clear that we are at the "end of the thru hiker pack", however my feet and body feel strong and I am ready to do what needs to be done to finish this trail...mainly put the pedal to the medal.

Met up with my girlfriend, Sarah for a couple days in Waynesboro, PA and took her on a day hike. She did great and I'm looking forward to her coming out and getting some backpacking in with me when I'm a little more north. We also went to Gettysburg briefly on her last day. Awe inspiring and sobering at the same time. So glad I got to see my girl though!



Now onto the rocks of PA.

-mojo

Chuggin along

The last few days have been a real blast. Here is a list of some (in my opinion) cool things I've done:

-foraged wild berry bushes and made my own berry infused spring water


-hiked a mile off trail and back to go swimming in Thompson Lake on a 95 deg day
-hiked the "roller coaster" - approximately 12 ascents (and descents) ranging from 200-650 ft in vertical gain over a 13.5 mile stretch.
-found a magical castle-hostel in the middle of the woods named bears den, where captain red beard and I ate a pint of ice cream, a pizza, drank 6 sodas, and watched the 1977 animated classic, the hobbit. It was 99 outside, we deserved the 3 hr break


-reached the 1000 mile mark!!!!
-was downpoured on immediately after reaching 1000 mile mark
-reached harpers ferry, WV, home to the Appalachian trail conservancy. We got our pictures taken and signed in. Harpers Ferry is considered the half way point, even though it's technically not. Guess there not going to put the ATC in the middle of the woods.


-finally left VA! Feels like forever ago we were in damascus. Maybe because that was in may...

I've had a really great time these past few days and hiking with a good group right now. 1000 miles is a long way and I'm proud of that accomplishment. I'll be honest. I didn't 100% believe I would make it this far when I started. Its always a great feeling when you prove the doubter in yourself wrong.

-mojo