10 April Quarry Gap Shelter

Bright sun, deep blue sky.  Hi in the 60s and low in upper 30s.

Slept in and had a nice last breakfast at Flamingo's.  Right Spot gave us a ride back to the trail.  Fayetteville was a nice break.

Short hike today along a trout stream to Caldonia State Park.  Talk with 2 fishermen name Rock who have family in Stanardsville (Camiletti) and have fished in the Rapidan and Rose Rivers.

Then climbed and hiked through pine forest (nice because there are still no leaves on the trees and I am sunburned) toward Quarry Gap.  As we got close, we entered an incredible Rhododendrum forest. 

We met a man walking with a rake and a bucket of pansies.  Turns out he is the PATC overseer for Quarry Gap Shelter and about 12 miles of trails.  He is quite a character and has lots of stories (like the rattlesnakes mating on the trail to the privy).  This shelter is the most amazing one we have seen.  It is more like a park (but you can't drive here).  It has two separate sleeping areas connected by a roof with a picnic table and fireplace in between.  His name is Jim Stauch (trail name is "Innkeeper").  The shelters here have all been nice but this one is over the top!  (More than 5 stars?).

Tomorrow will be a normal hiking day to the next shelter.

Forgot to mention that 2 days ago we both saw a wild turkey.  Not much wild life on the trip so far.

Rite Spot and the Flamingo

09 April "Zero Day" Fayetteville, PA

Sandpiper here. This morning we woke up in a real bed! I can't believe how sore every muscle felt. There's no way I felt this way every morning for the past seven days and didn't notice, but I believe this must be true. As soon as I stepped out of the room to walk to our now favorite restaurant, The Flamingo, for breakfast, the musle-memory kicked in and it felt great to be moving again. Amazing!

The first chore of the day was to go through our packs and organize piles: clothes to wash (pew!); cold weather clothes not needed to be shipped back to Shana; and extra items not needed now, but will be needed in the future to be shipped in a "bounce box." The idea is that the "bounce box" will travel ahead of us from post office to post office and we will take items from it as needed. Kinda like having our own resupply store.

Next, we walked 1/2 mile or so to the laudromat. We opted to take advantage of paying by the pound and have the laundress to the laundry for us. Although we warned her the garbage bag we were handing her contained "hiking" clothes, she was not phased and said we were the 2nd set of hikers to come in so far this season.

Onward we walked to the Post Office. In case you're wondering, I"m wearing my long underwear, rainpants, down jacket, and a pair of sock liners since everything else is being washed - fortunately the weather is chilly and windy, otherwise I'd look really outta place. I guess folks here are used to hiker's "town attire." All went smoothly at the PO - the clerk was extremely helpful. To avoid purchasing a box, she emptied a box containing LOWE's flyers for us and calculated variable price options for shipping. Our food shipment was there waiting, so now we have a new 7 day food supply. Before departing, I asked customers getting their mail about an internet cafe, but got a blank stare. Then asked about a library - ah, a reaction! Was told it's not far (16th of a mile?) a little more than a stone's throw. So, walking again.

HA! Stone's throw? After a good 3/4 of a mile - nothing. I saw a store with an OPEN sign so went in to inquire. I can't quite describe the store's contents, but the owner was very pleasant and offered to drive us to the brand new library as it's quite a bit further down the road. Fayetteville has wonderfully helpful folks.

The library IS brand new and well equipped with computers. Hal spent a lot of time editing the blog (be sure to check out the maps). I made phone calls to family and, at Hal's suggestion, the remainder of my time here has been the obvious. We now have a long way back to the laundromat and hotel - so much for a "zero day."

The hike has been great so far and yes, I will enjoy getting up tomorrow morning and know I'm hitting the trail again. I think.

08 April Thur. Fayetteville, PA

Hot (low 80s), mostly blue sky and no rain during hike (but close).

It was 11.2 mi. to Fayetteville and it was not easy.  We were very tired from yesterday.  And the trail was not easy, very rocky in places.  Climbing over boulders with a 40+ pound pack is hard and it is slow.  Plus the trail would climb a ridge, go over some rocks, then go back down the ridge on the SAME side.  And worse, it did this repeatedly.  The trail term for this is PUDS (Pointless Ups and Downs).  I want to complain to the owner and ask for my money back.

Only met people twice today.  First we met a guy going south with a Walmart sleeping bag in one hand and an small,old, canvas backpack.   He was low on water and wanted to know how far to get it (1 mile downhill).  It became apparent he was homeless.  This unfortunately began happening when the economy became bad.  Basically unable to get a job, some are choosing to "hike the trail" rather than be "homeless in the city".  They rely on handouts from weekend hikers who usually bring too much food (when a thru hiker does this it is called "Yogi'ing").  Hopefully this does not become too common.  Hopefully the economy improves and eliminates the need for this.

Later we met two guys out for "long" hike.  They asked about trout streams so I told them about the ones we had seen today.  I hope they caught dinner before the rain.

We made it to Fayetteville just after 5:00.  Called the Rite Spot / Scottish Inn and they came and picked us up on Rt 30 and brought us to town.  We are very tired but it is worth it.  Showers, Sheets, and Real Food!  Thunderstorms arrived just as we walked to our room.

We had dinner at the Flamingo Family Diner.  Cheap and good.  Probably eat there 3 or 4 more times. 

We both have had our first falls now.  Nothing serious, but good bruises and scrapes.  This combined with our blisters means it is time to heal.  We will take a "zero day" meaning no hiking.  We will leave Saturday morning.  Hope to find a computer so I can do some clean-up on this journal and update our location history.

07 April Antietam Shelter

It was a great decision to keep hiking.  Antietam Shelter is beautiful.   It is a log cabin in the pines, on a trout stream near where Rattlesnake Run flows into Antietam creek. 5 stars.  We are the only ones here.  Baths in the creek just before dark.
 
Hike was good.  12.5 miles is good progress in the first week.
Tomorrow it is supposed to rain but our plan is to not stay in that shelter but to continue straight to Fayetteville, PA (10.4 mi.).  Should be easy after today.

Leaving now...

Looks like we will be doing some night hiking. 

Spring break must be over.  We have seen no hikers on the trail today.

07 April Deer Lick Shelter

Kenny was not satisfied with driving Wendy to the store. He came back with first aid supplies and a Tyvek suits that can be used on the rain or to sleep on a cold night.

We are at Deer Lick Shelter having dinner. We did 9.9 miles today and feel good. Decided to go on to Antietam Shelter for the night. I think the Coke and Snickers bars at lunch must have helped us a lot. Total today will be 12.5 miles. Probably too much but it will shorten the hike tomorrow in the rain.

First trail magic

Kenny the ranger here at Pen-Mar Park is taking Wendy to the STORE!

Real food and drink are on the way.

Our trail today...

Made it to PA!

Rough trail most of the day.  Lunch at Pen-Mar park on the border.

06 April Devil's Racecourse

Blue sky's again today and hot,  86.  But it started overnight with surprise thunderstorms.  It was very nice to be in a shelter and listen to the rain on the tin roof.  Some clothes got wet but no big deal.

Spring is arriving on the Maryland mountaintops.  So far, the trees have been mostly bare and only an occasional wild flower to be seen.  Today the buds on the trees were really popping out (you could almost here them).  It was hot after the clouds burned off but there were frequent cool breezes.  How much is a cool breeze worth?  A lot to me today.  Too bad they are not available in July.

Snakes - another sign of spring.  We saw black snakes (with tiny yellow speckles) in the trail both yesterday and today.  The one yesterday was 6-7 feet and fat!  It was the biggest black snake I have ever seen.
We met Nature Boy on the trail today.  He is on his third thru-hike of the AT.  He left very early to be this far, especially with the weather we had.  He spoke of 6 feet of snow in places and it was difficult/impossible to find the white blazes that mark the trail.  He had to skip over part of the Smokies. 

Why so early?  Why three times?  Every year there is a small group that leave Georgia after the New Year (or as soon as possible) in an unofficial race to see who can finish first (not fastest, first).  I think. Nature Boy is currently in the front of this group.  He said others had also skipped sections and all will has to go back finish them later.   With different people skipping different sections, I predict controversy at the end.  He quickly left us behind. 

The shelter is terrible (Wendy gives it 1 star) but there is a nice stream next to it and it is easy to get water.  We also took a wonderful bath.

Tomorrow is a big day.  We will hike 10 miles and around lunch time we will enter the state of Pennsylvania.  Maryland will be done!

Gun shots in the distance.  Time to go to bed.

Ens. Cowall Shelter and how to put away the food after dinner

05 April Ens. Cowall Shelter

Two more beautiful days - hi 70s except Wendy's thermometer read 86.  Too hot.  In any case, 87 is the forecast for the next 2 days, then rain and much cooler at night (40).

Stayed at Annapolis Rocks last night.  Everyone raved about the view but looked like one of many views from a Skyline Drive overlook.  We hiked 9.6 mi.  I am starting to have some problems: mild blisters bruised shoulders and hips.  We have 2 low mileage days coming so that is good.

Met Pancho and Lefty, two early 20s brothers from PA.  They live near the half way point of the AT.  They are hiking to GA this year and ME next year.   We talked about heavy packs.  I tried to explain that did not need their machete and axe but they are young and strong and value them too much.

Today we are at Ens. Cowall Shelter.  Many fewer people hiking AND we have the shelter all to ourselves.  Plan to get up and out early and go to next shelter (only 5 mi.) before noon before it get hot.

03 Apr Rocky Run Shelter

Rocky Run Shelter

Another beautiful day - just like yesterday.  The weather is really cooperating - makes up for previous hikes.   9 miles today.  We are are very sore - strained muscles and bruised shoulders and hip bones (from the pack).   But feet are good (no blisters) and that is important.

No data signal here at Rocky Run Shelter so I cannot mark my position in Google Latitude nor can I send this tonight.  (I have the long. and lat. below but cannot load them to latitude history unless I manually edit the KML file.)  

Rocky Run Shelter is appropriately named - the trail descending to the shelter was like a stream bed full of rocks but with slippery, dry leaves hiding them in places.  The shelter is new this year - 2 story, 3 sided log cabin, with windows and a porch.  Very nice!

Very crowded all day again.  Lots of day hikers as well as overnight campers due to Easter and school spring breaks.  There are at least 12-14 people here tonight but most are in the old shelter or in tents. 

We are sharing the new shelter with Shaun and Andrew, brothers who are a senior and freshman in high school.   Their parents dropped them off this morning in Harper's Ferry.  Essentially, they hiked today what took us 2 days, and got here before we did!  Their parents must really trust them to let them go out camping alone.  But they seem to be very mature and responsible, and quite knowledgable about hiking and camping.  We talked about hiking and the AT specifically - a very pleasant evening before an early bedtime. 

Because we have the bottom half of the shelter to ourselves, I am typing this while laying in my sleeping bag.  I would not normally impose like this. 

Time to put this away and go to sleep.

Location Note from #Compass
Altitude: 939 ft
Latitude: 39°27'44.4" N
Longitude: 77°37'52.5" W

First day! 02 Apr 2010

Beautiful day!  Hi 70s, blue sky.

Janice, Shana's friend took us to Harper's Ferry.  She took our picture in front of the train station, then we hiked across the train bridge over the Potomac river and the AT follows the C&O canal path along the river.  Then the AT turns north into the mountains.

  

Tonight we are at Ed Garvey Shelter.  Full of Boy Scouts.  We are in our tent.  There are 4 other tents and 2 hammocks.  Crowded!  Spring Break.

Food bag is hung in a tree.  Time for bed.

Time to walk!

Well the day is fast approaching - Fri, 02 April.

I have a mixture of emotions.  We have been in this limbo state, homeless, and waiting to leave for almost 3 months - a perfect recipe for a bad case of Springer fever (named for Springer Mtn., the southern terminus of the AT and the starting point for 90% of thru hikers).  But there is also the apprehension of starting something new and big, and not knowing if you can do it.  Of those who start a thru hike each year, 85-90% do not complete.  Most quit early. Many are young and fit and uninjured.  I am none of those. 

We hope our experience section hiking will carry us through mentally.  Physically, we have been training but of course, it will not be enough.  I plan to go slowly in terms of miles per day (<10).  We are starting in a section with smaller mountains.  I expect it will take 30+ days before we can consistently extend our mileage up to 15+/- per day.  By the time we reach New England, we should be ready for bigger climbs.

Our slow pace means that we will need 7 months (or more!?!) to complete the whole trail.  Making it to Katahdin would be a successful hike.  It would mean continuing our section hiking with over 1600 miles completed.  If we continue from Springer and reach the Roanoke, VA area, we will have completed the entire AT.  If we then continue on to Harper's Ferry, we will have completed a thru hike in 2010.  That would be nice!

But I also know that I could easily blow out a knee or have hip problems that will stop all this.

Time to go find out....