Monday, May 26, 2008

Hike-along Mom...

5/23/08 - Got up... drank coffee... and hiked on out of Harpers Ferry. But first they had to...
  • Clean up the raging mess they made in their hotel room.
  • Walk a mile into historic downtown Harpers Ferry.
  • Hit up the post office (mailed new shoes ahead to Duncannon).
  • Use and abuse the ATC's hiker box and free Internet.
  • Hike along the C&O Canal bike path (the one that goes from DC to da Burgh & meanders through Ohiopyle and the B&B along the way!).
  • Leave Half-brew behind. He was caught up discussing mountain bike features with a local.
  • They eventually found their way to the Ed Garvey Shelter for lunch. Amos said it was a really nice shelter - with a loft & porch area.
  • Hiked 10.5 mi. Ended up cowboy camping (illegally) in a field in the middle of Gathland State Park. All except Tupperware, who snuck into his tent in the middle of the night to avoid the bugs... and he calls himself an Eagle Scout... (dude, I would have done the same thing).

5/24/08 - Supposed to meet Mom at 3:00 - still 21 miles away! So they hightailed it to I-70.

  • Passed a bunch of Boy Scouts.
  • Passed a large group of inner city kids.
  • Breezed by the Washington Monument.
  • Came across another inner city kid who must have strayed from the group because he was 2 miles away & obviously lost. Amos gave him directions back to the monument - hopefully he's not still in the woods somewhere...
  • Arrived at the road to meet Mama Ludwig at about a quarter past 3 & had to scout around to find the parking lot (which wasn't on his map).
  • Tupperware's parents were meeting him at the same place & they had been there since 10 am!! Hearts said Tupperware's mom was chock-full of energy & a million questions about her son, his stability, and his experiences thus far. She ensured that they had plenty of fruit, veggies & brownies for the road & even gave Amos her cell # in case of a Tupperware emergency!
  • Half-brew, Mom, & Hearts drove into Smithsburg for resupply & Subway the back to the trail where Mama Ludwig revealed her stash of pineapple & banana pepper pizza and Butt Monkey Ale - Momma knows best!!
  • Hiked 5 mi to Devils Racecourse Shelter only to find it was down another big hill so they decided to show-up Tupperware by cowboy camping at the top. Look, Ma no tarp!

5/25/08 - Morning climb over a lot of rocks.

  • Down to Pen Mar County Park where there should have been a bunch of old people dancing around and a snack bar... but apparently that's not till next weekend... which left them a little bummed out. Despite their disappointment, they stuck around for about 2 hours and enjoyed lunch anyway.
  • Hiked another 0.2 mile and crossed the Mason-Dixon Line!! Which was memorialized with a small wooden post. Just the post. Someone had stolen the sign off of & someone else had scribbled its importance on with a magic marker... Welcome to the North!
  • Then on to a climb Amos said Mom simply loved...
  • 2nd lunch/1st dinner at Deer Lick Shelter which was overrun with mosquitoes.
  • Almost camped at the next shelter - Antietam - but it was also very buggy so they decided to move uphill to Tumbling Run Shelter to try & get away.
  • Another night of cowboy camping and so concluded a 13.2 mile day with Mom!!

5/26/08 - Woke up, drank coffee & climbed to the top of Chimney Rocks - which had a terrific view but was a rather rough start to the day.

  • Stopped just after Pa 233 for lunch - Mom was amazed at how much food she packed in these past few days - Amos said she could have put a small defensive end to shame!
  • Came across a coiled rattlesnake as they were coming off of a rocky ridge. It didn't move or shake for them but they found out later that it was a little more active when Half-brew and Trinity strolled by.
  • Dropped down to US-30 and attempted to hitchhike into Fayetteville. Amos snagged one from a lady he boldly went up to at a convenience store just down the road. She flat out turned him down until she noticed he was with his muja.
  • 10 mi day. Capped off by sitting on the porch of the Scottish Inn, sharing a pint of ice cream with Mom. Did I also mention the case of PBR?? Yeah, that too... like I said before... Momma knows best!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Back to being a landlubber...

5/22/08 - Spent the day shuttling 6 fellow thru-hikers around to Front Royal & Washington DC in a full-sized pickup!
  • Zero mi.
  • Bought new pair of shoes to be mailed forward - for a time when even duct tape fails to hold current kicks together... it will be darn impressive if he manages to hike the entire AT on two pair!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Ahoy, me Hearties...

5/19/08 - Started with your basic town-type chores: post office (mailed forward iPod & thru-hiker companion, etc.), groceries, liquor store.

  • The next three days to be aqua-blazed: 12 hikers, 6 canoes, 1 dog and the Shenandoah River from Front Royal to Harpers Ferry.
  • Once each canoe was outfitted with a cooler and all of their packs were tied in, the group - Hearts, Half-brew, Spock & Twiggy, Tupperware, Snoopy, Josh (Snoopy's friend), Buns & Roses, Meltdown, ChiliMac, and his cousin Ian - set sail.
  • Amos said it was fun watching everyone get used to paddling but it didn't take too long for them to get the hang of commandeering the boats.
  • 5 miles later, they pulled ashore for lunch & Snoopy fell out the back of his canoe trying to get back in! (I guess I spoke too soon...)
  • Half-brew & Hearts kept getting too far ahead - show-offs - which made them miss the rope swing (okay by Amos, it was c-o-l-d).
  • 17 miles worth of paddling led them to an overgrown field on an island where they were forced to bushwhack a small expanse with their paddles to set up camp for the night.
  • Then it rained - which was pretty typical since they are still in Virginia...
  • Batten down the hatches - the AW gauge had the river pegged as "high" even before this particular soaking... Luckily they had super-river guide Amos, who made sure to take the easiest lines through the class I/II whitewater - his main goal was trying not to freak Trinity out.

5/20/08 - Avast ye mate, twas still raining when they awoke - luckily it stopped about an hour after they got up. So, they donned soaking wet/cold gear & hit the river... or should I say 'the high seas'...

  • 5 miles in, Half-brew & Hearts got ahead again & decided to stop on the bank under a highway overpass to brew coffee.
  • It started to pour as the rest of the group caught up so they built a bonfire, tried to dry their gear & ate lunch. Amos said he felt a little homeless...

  • 2.5 hours later - the rain stopped.
  • Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen, the adventure had just begun...
  • Shiver me timbers! With foam swords furnished by ChiliMac - pirate on pirate action ensued as scurvy dogs swashbuckled and pillaged booty from enemy ships - arg! Luckily, no one was sent to Davey Jones' Locker and as for walkin' the plank... it was a wee too cold for these buccaneers. (Man, that was a lot of pirate catch-phrases to squeeze into one entry.)
  • 18-19 mi. Ended up stopping short of the island they had intended to camp on & realized they were on private property... oops! Spock & Hearts hitchhiked to a nearby gas station for supplies (s'mores, potato chips, & beer)... I guess those old salts built up quite an appetite.
  • While half the crew turned in for the night, the other half stayed up singing songs to the tune of Ian's guitar. Crowd favorites included: 'A Whole New World' from Aladdin, ditties from The Lion King, Robin Hood... and many, many more popular, albeit cheesy songs. Amos found it particularly entertaining when his fellow thru-hikers started ad-libbing...
  • Eventually fell asleep under the stars.

5/21/08 - Started out nice & dry. Crossed over the 1000 mile mark and into West Virginia!!

  • Amos tried to get everyone to make a 'WV' with their boats & snap a picture, but no one cooperated - another good idea down the drain...
  • Saw a ton of birds along the river & spotted bald eagles all three days!!
  • Found an old, deserted motor boat around one river bend. A few hikers threw their canoes on the back & hopped-in to paddle it downstream. They eventually ended up beaching it along the left riverbank & had to abandon ship.
  • Rescued a baby calf (maybe a week old) that had fallen into the river and couldn't get out because it was too muddy. Snoopy was first on the scene & almost got pooped on because it was so scared! They eventually wrangled it to safety as its mom cried & moo-ed along the shoreline. Well done boys... & Twiggy!!
  • Barely made it off the river before the rain but they arrived at the take-out just in the nick of time!
  • Shuttle from an old Upper Yough guide to downtown Harpers Ferry where they stopped at the ATC Headquarters to have their photos taken and logged in the Official Appalachian Trail Headquarters Register!!
  • Off to dinner and then a room at the Quality Inn. 6 people, 1 room... @ $12 a piece, that's what I call quality (or is it quantity??)!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Duck, duck, duck hawk...

5/17/08 - Woke up to sunshine - finally!

  • Ate brunch on the porch of Panorama's - an old, run-down wayside.
  • Saw 4 Peregrine falcons flying together - which was neat because the rangers who were researching them a few days ago had only come across 1!
  • Stopped for ice cream at Elkwallow Wayside & met back up with Spock & Twiggy (who were taking time off for their 3rd wedding anniversary -Congratulations!).
  • Group was serenaded by ChiliMac's cousin, Ian for the remaining 6 mi to Gravel Springs Hut. Hiking with his guitar, Ian's playlist included (but was my no means limited to - I mean c'mon an entire 6 miles of strumming!!): The Doors, Sublime, Hendrix, and even the theme song from Deliverance. You name it, he could play it!
  • 23.5 miles for the day.
  • Shelter was full of section hikers (25+) so they filled up with water & hiked an additional half mile to camp back an unnamed fire road.
5/18/08 - Really early start with a brief brunch at THE LAST Blue Ridge Parkway/Skyline Drive crossing ever (there have been a lot)!

  • Saw another black bear - full grown!
  • Hung out at the last shelter in the Shenandoah's for a bit and then headed down to US 522 to snag a ride into Front Royal. On the way they came across a baby fawn - maybe a week old - with its mother nowhere in sight... come to think of it, I hope that bear was headed in the opposite direction.
  • Hearts, Tupperware, and Meltdown tried -unsuccessfully- to hitch a ride into town for at least a half an hour. Efforts were thwarted partly because they're a group of 3 scruffy looking guys but also because some jerky section hiker intentionally hiked a half mile up the road ahead of them to get one 1st. No worries though - once Spock & Twiggy arrived, Twiggy flagged down ride in 3 cars flat!
  • Front Royal good for Taco Bell, laundry, & resupply. Tomorrow they'll start the aqua-blaze...

Friday, May 16, 2008

Critters in all shapes & sizes...

5/14/08 - Started the day with a baby bear encounter! Said the little tyke was itty bitty - smaller than Trinity - and sweet... but not knowing where momma bear was lurking made them EXTREMELY nervous...
  • Hiked along Skyline Drive after a pit stop at the Loft Mountain Wayside.
  • Found another thru-hiker's wallet at a road crossing along the way.
  • Ran into Rangers doing a Peregrine Falcon study - so the fellas chatted them up about the research & what they (as hikers) had to do to become rangers... graciously obliging in the conversation (which I think was a bit of bull - at least on Half-brew's part) they explained the hardships that they've found to accompany their rigorous & apparently highly competitive field.
  • Took a break ~5 mi before Hightop Shelter where they ran into ANOTHER baby bear which led them to mom and 3 additional siblings!! That's 5 bears in 1 day!
  • 21.5 mi. Returned Hugs' wallet once they arrived at the shelter - ecstatic to have it back and true to his name, everyone got hugs - Half-brew grabbed his butt... awkward...
5/15/08 - Cruised through first 11.5-12 mi - no stops save a few small breaks.
  • Until... a 4 hour break at Lewis Mountain Campground & Wayside. Beer, munchies, ice cream.
  • Also managed to squeeze in a shower & ticked off the campground attendant by sharing a 50 cent towel after taking a $1 shower. I don't know who to think behaved more comically in this situation... the lady for caring enough about sharing a 50 cent towel to yell or the boys for not forking over an additional half-dollar.
  • Brew-hike: bought another 6 pack for the road & drank one at every overlook until rain forced them to pack it in for the night at Big Meadow Lodge.
  • Saw a ton of deer along the way.
  • Passed 900 mi! Today's total = 20.5 mi.
5/16/08 - Woke up covered in Kibbles 'n Bits. Trinity knocked her food off the bed & all over Hearts!
  • Breakfast at Big Meadows Wayside - egg McMuffin w/cheese... delish.
  • Didn't leave wayside till noon & hiked 9 mi to Skyland Lodge to decide on plans for the rest of the day.
  • Plans heavily dependant on 'summer blizzard' (though nasty, maybe a bit of an exaggeration): cold, rain, fog, wind.
  • Decided to stay at Skyland (name sounds creepy - like Michael Jackson's ranch) & got lost trying to find tent/cabin. (I wanna know how they can hike from Georgia to Maine with no maps whatsoever & manage get themselves lost in a campground??!)
  • Burned a pile of ticks they found on Trinity - yuck! Amos said he's found at least 15 ticks on himself in the last few weeks but has been able to pinch them all off before they scurried up past his knees.
  • When asked if he regretted sending all of his fleece & other warm weather gear home with me he responded with a shaky, "Nah, its all good..." I think that means he's chilly.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

I know you are but what am I...

5/13/08 - Packed up & called trail angel, Margaret, for an 8:30 am shuttle back to the trail.

  • Hello Shenandoah! 73 degrees, bright blue skies, sunshine, a light breeze (you're welcome Half-brew).
  • Hiked 5 mi in and took a break near a series of radio towers. Short break turned into recess when the radio towers started to look more & more like jungle gym heaven...
  • Ran into 4 people that just started hiking today. Two of them were section hiking to NY & the other two were planning on a flip-flop thru-hike (hiking the entire AT entirely out of order). Half-brew convinced them to do 20 miles today & by the time they reached the shelter, all four reported being so exhausted that they planned on zeroing tomorrow... oops.
  • Spent a good portion of the day along Skyline Drive waving at tourists & trying to get them to wave back - super leisurely & the easiest 20 miles yet!
  • Staying at Blackrock Hut.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Virginia has not been for lovers of cell phone reception...

5/6/08 - I think you'll find a good chunk of this week sounding a lot like the movie Groundhog Day. Up & down. Started with a big 2000 ft climb.
  • Came across an ATC ridge runner (the AT's equivalent of police) & Half-brew laid into him about the crappy terrain. The ridge runner retorted something about how the AT's not supposed to be easy.
  • Ate lunch at Punchbowl Shelter - pond on top of the mountain was lovely & unique.
  • Climbed down 900 ft & took a break by Pedlar River before walking around Pedlar Lake.
  • 18 mi day. Arrived at Brown Mountain Creek Shelter where Spock & Hearts took an ice bath in a nearby creek. Brrr!
  • New blister... ok maybe that's not new, but an onset of athlete's foot is... probably due to the unrelenting heat & moisture.

5/7/08 - Started day with 3000 ft climb to Bald Knob - not bald.

  • 2nd mountain was Cold Mountain. Which wasn't cold, but it was bald... go figure.
  • Down to Hog Camp Gap - difficult water resupply - spring was located 1/2 mile downhill. Turned out to be a nice meadow with a tree swing - crew took full advantage of the wooden toy & stopped for lunch.
  • Cranked out 9 more miles & passed Seeley-Woodworth Shelter to camp in Porters Field.
  • 17 total mi.
  • Built a campfire & drank Half-brew's bottle of Dickel's Whiskey to celebrate the fact that Half-brew made it 1 mile further on the trail than he did last year!! (plus the fact that they had all made it over 800 miles!!)... then it rained.
5/8/08 - Snoopy left the group this morning - got off the trail at Montebello to spend some time with family & friends.
  • Everyone else climbed to the top of Main Top Mountain.
  • Ate lunch at Priest Shelter (just before Priest Mountain) where entirely too many dirty priest jokes were told as Hearts ate oatmeal & coffee.
  • Still raining... lets be honest it rained all day.
  • Back down to 900 ft (getting old huh) along the Tye River where they'd had enough of the ups, downs, and the rain & decided to try & hitch a ride somewhere... anywhere.
  • After a few failed attempts they were finally picked up by a seemingly jovial yet hard-core biker named Seth & his lady-friend (a UVA professor and cheating mother of 2 whose name will not be mentioned to protect her own anonymity).
  • 7 people (Tupperware, Spock, Twiggy, Half-brew, Hearts), 5 packs, 1 dog, 1 Toyota Tercel.
  • Rode (rather tight) 14 miles to a BBQ joint/convenience store. Ate, bought ice cream, watched Seth pop some pills & drink 6 pack in the parking lot... then things started getting really uncomfortable...
  • Seth's drug-induced bipolar disorder began to rear it's ugly head soon after some sort of shady "transaction" with the check-out clerk went down outside. He got pretty antsy -some might argue downright rude or impatient. He yelled "gimme your wallet, woman" to his lady-friend (WHO SHOULD KNOW BETTER - go back to your husband!!), grabbed her sandwich, took a huge/sloppy bite, threw it down, and demanded that the group get in the car & get going.
  • Death-defying car ride back to the trail where he kicked them out of his car & went on his merry way. (Amos mentioned really regretting this particular hitchhiking experience.)
  • Another 3000 ft climb (over 9 mi) to Maupin Field Shelter. 19 total mi.
  • Arrived 10 minutes before it started to hail & managed to squeeze 8 people in a 6 person shelter.
  • (THIS was the night that EVERY county in western Virginia was being pummeled by severe thunderstorms & tornado warnings... not watches... WARNINGS. All except Nelson County - smack dab in the middle - which listed as having a measly little flash flood warning. Despite knowing they were in that blessed little county, this was the night I was riddled with worst-case-scenarioitis & completely unable to sleep.)
5/9/08 - Started 4-5 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway with Half-brew. Still raining & surrounded by fog - sounds like a good time to walk along the road...
  • 16 mi to Paul C. Wolfe shelter for lunch.
  • Saw 15-20 BRIGHT orange salamanders with black spots. Trinity kept stepping on them... & Meltdown probably too because he claims to have only seen 1. Which means he must not have been paying much attention...
  • 21 total mi today. Hiked the last 5 miles in 1 hr 15 min!! Claimed it was because he knew he was getting to see me - I think it was because he was desperate for a shower & neck shave.
  • Trail angel, Bill, took them to the Quality Inn in Waynesboro - where Half-brew, Tupperware & Meltdown remained for the next 3 days.
  • I met Hearts at the laundromat & from there we went for Mexican, watched the Pens beat the tar out of the Flyers & camped at the KOA in Verona.
  • Time to zero!

Monday, May 5, 2008

Cowboy camping just past the sugar shack, eh...

5/4/08 - Long snooze indeed... went to bed at 8:30 & slept all the way through till 7:15 in the morning! You're gonna need it...

  • Hiked in a big train all day - Tupperware, Snoopy, Hearts, Half-brew, Spock & Twiggy - marched single-file down to 900 ft & then all the way back up to 4200 ft!! Big climb!
  • By breaking it up into 5 mile intervals & peppering the climb with plenty of water breaks - they managed to make it much more palatable.
  • Picture taken at the top of Apple Orchard Mtn. highlighting an oddly shaped FAA tower.
  • Just before Thunder Hill Shelter they came across strange sight - a man unpacking his car...
  • Turns out he was unpacking a ton of gear to cook the hikers pancakes & eggs at the shelter!! You KNOW Amos ate like 4 of them - and in true Amos fashion - made certain they were smothered in peanut butter, applesauce & real grade A maple syrup!
  • Slept under the stars about 2 miles beyond the shelter with Half-brew. (Should I be jealous...? I think we all are.)
  • Total 19.5 mi. (but not of that!)

5/5/08 - Woke-up & hiked over High Cock Knob and then meandered all the way down to the James River.
  • Crossed over the James River Footbridge - the largest foot-only bridge on the trail.
  • Chris (of Chris & Davey from GA) was waiting for them at the end of the bridge (Rt. 501) with Gatorade & a ride into Lynchburg!
  • Lynchburg provided a quick resupply at Food Lion, case of PBR, Subway, AND I DISTINCTLY HEARD AMOS ORDER 3 WHOPPER JUNIORS over the phone - that's right - 3 Whopper Juniors - you know they're made of meat don't you!! He claimed they were for Half-brew, but I know for a FACT that Half-brew only ordered 2! Who do you think's going to shovel down the 3rd...!?! I know who.
  • Chris took them back to the AT where they set off for Johns Hollow Shelter (about 2 miles down the trail... what... did anyone really think they were going to make it much farther than that with case of beer?? I'm surprised they didn't... and in fact I'd be willing to bet they cracked more than a few open well before the walk began).
  • Not too shabby for a 14.5 mi day.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Senior moment...

5/3/08 - Started the day with a brisk walk to Wilson Creek Shelter -725.5 miles from Springer Mountain- where they took a short break to relish in the joy of being 1/3 of the way DONE!!!!
  • 1st encounter with the Blue Ridge Parkway. The trail wove back & forth across the road for a while. Found themselves fed up with that nonsense in no time & decided to walk along the parkway since there's so little traffic this early in the season and it provided more scenic views than the trail.
  • Successfully thwarted a harebrained scheme by Half-brew to accept a ride into Roanoke for a pool party at a retirement community. Luckily, the guy that dangled this treasure in front of their furry little faces couldn't ensure they would be able to hitch a ride back to the trail - or they would have surely defected. Bikini-clad babes are a guaranteed 'near-o' every time...
  • Stocked up on water at Bobblets Gap Shelter. Forced to carry 3L of water (each) for 6.5 mi... because Cove Mountain Shelter (where they spent the night) has no spring.
  • Today's goal was to hike 20 mi (hastily) to beat the severe storms that killed several people in Arkansas the day before. They did. Hearts personally hiked his tail off & arrived at the shelter around 4:15. The remainder of the evening was spent setting up gear, whipping-up dinner & promptly nodding off for a long snooze.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Mexican't...

5/2/08 - Morning of mail fiascoes meant they didn't leave town in very good time...
  • Early bird gets the bagel: Arrived downstairs for the continental breakfast 5 minutes after it was over... what a tragic way to start the day.
  • Spent all morning hitting up the post office (Snoopy's new pack arrived and Amos had to mail back his broken water filter & a roll of film) and waiting around for UPS to deliver Half-brew's summer gear (sent by his lady-friend/wife). I guess that transaction went down much later than expected because they didn't make it to lunch until around 3:30.
  • Say no to Rancho Viejo - a soggy queso burrito seeping with some kind of thin, watery salsa - 1st reporting of BAD Mexican on the AT!
  • Found Spock & Twiggy (yay!) 5 miles down the trail at Fullhardt Knob Shelter where they decided to spend the night.
  • Received a voicemail from Naked Ron (obviously hitting-up happy hour at el Rancho Viejo) checking to see if Amos was still in town - so close! Maybe he'll catch up in the next few days.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Some Smorgasbord...

5/1/08 - 7 am start. Hiked 9 mi into Daleville. Another day of fantastic weather.
  • Clambered across a 'super-rocky' ridgeline with a ton of graffitti - you know, the type teenagers slopily stencil when they're drunk & trying to prove their adequacy among their peers - "Seniors '07"!
  • Post office, outfitter, shower, laundry - the usual.
  • Hitched a ride south with some section hikers to The Homeplace Restaurant (HUGE buffet) where Amos maintains he scarfed down more food than I could eat in a week - maybe went a little overboard...
  • Staying at the HoJo with Half-brew & Snoopy (Mr. Friendly went MIA a few days ago).