thanks to everyone for your great messages and words of support...we look forward to reading your comments each day. we're trying to give you a good glimpse of life at the trail - but we realize there's much we're missing.
if there's something you'd like to know or a question you'd been meaning to ask, please post on the blog and we'll be sure to get a response to you.
many thanks - little pony & billy goat
after a lovely zero day in the village of delaware water gap pa we're about to cross the delaware river just like washington did back in 1776 (though not to fight the british) into lovely nj. we're looking forward to leaving this rocky state - though new pests are in store for us in nj such as ticks and bears (nj forbids the killing of bears therefore there's about 1 per mile in the state).
since we're heading into the lovely garden state I feel it only appropriate to address an important question posted earlier: yes indeed, I did get to see the finale of the sopranos. thanks to dc friends james and gabi I got to catch the last 2 episodes while we were in town to sell the condo. and for what's it worth, I did enjoy the ending and apprecited the feeling of chest constriction I endured the last 20 min of finale. I kind of figured that's what it must feel like to be tony soprano. off to be with the bears and ticks and a shout out to the jersey girls nichola, chris and amanda!!!
those of you more interested in things other than how many miles we walked today...i bring you trail fashion. hikers may be a filthy lot, but there are certainly trail trends in the clothing dept. fortunately for me, the big trends in hiker fashion are unisex - so this will be brief. in clothing, the in item is most certainly the hiking skirt or kilt, for the guys. we've encountered 2 kilt wearers. kilts communicate to other hikers: "i'm comfortable with my sexuality and i'm willing to take risks." billy goat and I wonder whether undies are optional. there are chaffing issues to consider. for ladies - there are long and short varieties - mountain hardware makes a nice skirt with straps on the sides to adjust the length. footware: the hands down favorite for post hike footwear are the rubber crocs. they are soft and the ultra lighters tell us they are the lightest shoes available (and they know cause they've weighed them all). I am stuck in the year 2000 and remain loyal to my tevas, but I can be pursuaded. hottest accessory: small parasols to keep the sun and rain off your shoulders. some use these instead of carrying rain gear and they're handy when crossing exposed sunny fields. as for nots - you can do no wrong as long as you stay away from cotton and non wicking fabrics.
those of you more interested in things other than how many miles we walked today...i bring you trail fashion. hikers may be a filthy lot, but there are certainly trail trends in the clothing dept. fortunately for me, the big trends in hiker fashion are unisex - so this will be brief. in clothing, the in item is most certainly the hiking skirt or kilt, for the guys. we've encountered 2 kilt wearers. kilts communicate to other hikers: "i'm comfortable with my sexuality and i'm willing to take risks." billy goat and I wonder whether undies are optional. there are chaffing issues to consider. for ladies - there are long and short varieties - mountain hardware makes a nice skirt with straps on the sides to adjust the length. footware: the hands down favorite for post hike footwear are the rubber crocs. they are soft and the ultra lighters tell us they are the lightest shoes available (and they know cause they've weighed them all). I am stuck in the year 2000 and remain loyal to my tevas, but I can be pursuaded. hottest accessory: small parasols to keep the sun and rain off your shoulders. some use these instead of carrying rain gear and they're handy when crossing exposed sunny fields. as for nots - you can do no wrong as long as you stay away from cotton and non wicking fabrics.
I got a tailgate to a household spigot,
2 barely melted snickers icecream bars at a shelter,
trail maintenance volunteers bearing cold soda, snickers & Doritos.
And we walked another 15 miles, another 6.5 tomorrow and we will be out of PA.
-Billy Goat
After spending a night in "jail" (a hikers'-only hostel in Palmerton located in the basement of the "cop shop", we did laundry across the street, scored a tasty diner breakfast, took care of posalt logistics, and other logistics. We're almost 300 miles from our start point and getting stronger every day. But our bodies definitely needed a rest. We're doing 20 miles tomorrow, over one of the toughest sections yet (even worse than the "knife's edge", which was as scary--and as exhilarating as it sounds). It starts with a near-vertical 1000 foot climb, then 4 miles over an exposed rocky area that was spoiled by a a zinc mine dump. To make it easier on ourselves, we're "slack-packing" (or "slacking" this dounting section. That means we're only carrying food, water and rain gear and sending the rest of our stuff to a hotel at our next stop. No, we're not wusses. Even "Gorrilla", a burly 6'6 dude who cruised past us a week ago, signed a logbook we passed earlier saying he's "slacking" thru a good chunk of PA. Many other really good hikers we've met have done the same. The rocks take a toll on one's souls and one's soles. Anyway, 20 miles is still not exactly a wimpy distance. I'm sure we'll get to the hotel, shower and crash. Then, only 16 more miles and we'll be free of PA!
Billy Goat
After 14 days and about 140 miles, we're becoming part of the AT community. We tend to bump into hikers we've already met at shelters, water sources and post offices. Thru hikers are overall really kind and helpful-but don't have much time to chat-we're all pushing for that extra mile. Speaking of miles, I'm stil stoked by our 15 a few days ago. 10 today was a cakewalk. But plenty humbled, too, as we've met people who've done 20+ More on these superstars and other cool characters soon. - Billy Goat
alas - we didn't know that summer solstice is hike naked day. billy goat is disappointed to have missed this opportunity to hike the way nature intended, but stay tuned: we may yet see billy goat earn his miles in the buff (i'll try to get photo evidence) - billy goat won't mind as he is quite proud of his physique these days. he enjoys pulling up his shirt and giving himself a good slap in the gut (billy goat's way of saying: next week i'll have a six pack).
our proud moment came day before last when we did our first 15 mile day. it was a rough one too. after walking over sharp PA rock for hours followed by a near vertical descent, little pony had meltdown #3 (or 4 - but who's counting?) cause her feet felt like she'd been jumping on meat tenderizers for 8 hours.
we entered into port clinton - a very pixturesque town nestled in the schyukill river gap between 2 ridges of blue mountain. we stayed at the port clinton hotel which is the kind of hotel/bar/restaurant you'd expect to see on hbo's deadwood. the owners are grouchy and even though they supposedly cater to hikers (the AT has been routed through the town since 1929) it appears that hikers aren't much liked. my crack sociological theory is that it's a class thing. judging by the looks of the other folks at the bar this is a former factory/mining town and I guess folks that take 3-8 months off to enjoy a nature trail sounds about as bourgeois as it gets. and they're probably right - and we're fortunate to be doing it.
only 60.5 miles before we get outta PA - it sure is beautiful country but we're not gonna miss the rocks.
Today was a relaxed day mostly because we had to trek into town for our first mail drop in pine grove pa. Technically our first drop was in gardners but we had to have that package forwarded since the post never seemed to be open when we needed it to be. But pine grove made up for it. In addition to our food drop we had not one but 2 trail magic packages awaiting us. THANK YOU Jason and Jack - you guys made our week! There's a solar shower at our shelter so I put your shampoo and condit to good use, Jack. My hair hasn't been this lustrous since we hit the trail. And we shared the dark chocolate and squid chocolates with the big posse staying at the shelter tonight which was appreciated by all...there was a small debate on whether we were eating squid or slugs. The squids won it in the end.
ahhh...but back to the post office...as we were surveying our grand loot...a local walks in to check his po box and cautioned ua about the rattlesnakes. After he left, billy goat and I looked at each other and said: "iggy pop lives in pine grove, pa!" lust for life is alive and well in pennsylvania.
after a brief foray into dc for the closing on our condo (we're officially homeless) we are now back on the trail. We spent an evening at a lovely b&b in carlisle PA (pheasant field b&b: www.pheasantfield.com) - the home which dates back to the 1800s was once a stop on the underground rr. We rejoined the trail at swartara creek only to be reminded of the joys of PA hiking. Our path was very narrow and was lined most of the way with poison ivy. To keep things even more interesting, the trail was covered with rocks (which is what PA stretch of AT is infamous for) ... And to take it up a notch...our friends on the trail informed us of multiple (as many as 10 in 2 days) rattlesnake sitings. This doesn't exactly make for leisurely walking. We spotted a coiled rattlesnake sleeping on the side of the trail but we didn't get the trademark rattle out of him that makes grown men like billy goat jump in the air as if they are auditioning for riverdance.
with all do respect to our friends from PA we are looking forward to bringing this stretch to a close in a little over a week if we can help it. Tomorrow we pick up a maildrop in pine grove - happy times!
our wireless connection is lousy in pa... updates are on their way...stay tuned as we make a mad rush out of pa as fast as we can....
inge hiking, binge eating!
Saturday, our hike motivator was the knowledge that our destination - celadonia state park (near gettysburg pa) had a concession stand. Despite the usual pain felt we pushed on hard as we could with the fear lurking in my mind: what if we get there after the concession stand closes (GASP)??!! We met 2 brothers who have been hiking 3 months and they've lost 30-40 lbs each since starting. So if the other park goers clutched their children in fear as they watchd us sink our hungry fangs into our burgers...so be it!
After saying goodbye to Burgundy Lane, Murphy & Margaret, we started a 750 foot climb. It wasn't bad--except for the heat. Our Jacuzzi clean sweated away. We stopped at a spring to fill our bottles and soak our feet and shared the water with a primping bird. He'd dip his head in, shake, his tail feathers, shake, wings, shake. He'd take a good glance at himself at every stage, like a teenager in a high school bathroom.
So my day of mental and physical meltdown was followed by a perfect day (yesterday). My feet were in miraculously good spirits. We hit some beautiful trails and during lunch at a shelter, we discovered a business card attached to a post for the burgundy lane bed & breakfast. It wasn't technically a "town night" but this card seemed to say "this is a sign - listen to me. " besides we earned it. we called the innkeeper - margaret - who met us at pen mar park. she wisked us off to the lovely inn that her and her husband run. we had the honeymoon suite w. a 2 person jacuzzi...we now know what heaven feels like. only scary thing was the tub water after we were done - twigs, bugs, dirt ans leaves were floating around us. after a dinner of pizza and am amaxing breakfast, we were as good as new to tackle penn. terrain. margaret was kind enough to take us out to a store and dropped us back at pen mar park were we soon xrossed the mason - dixon line. one of the best things about the trail is meeting kind strangers. it buffs the callouses off your soul. imcidentally: if you're ever in waynesboro pa or want to get away from it all, chek out the burgundy lane b&b and tell margaret and murphy that polina and paul say hello:
tel: 7177628112, http://www.burgundylane.biz.
So we replaced the O ring, fired up the stove, had water boiling in t minutes and an Indian dish in 10. After cocoa by a friendly fire, the bounce has returned to the pony's gait. I bet we'll hit PA tomorrow-especially since the word on the trail is that there's pizza there.
Little pony had intimations of bad luck yesterday: blisters forming, trouble sleeping, and most tragically of all, an uncooperative backpacking stove. Today we dried off from a sudden rain storm to find the situation had deteriorated. The blisters had worsened, much of our few clothes were damp (and kindy stinky...nothing like mildew mixed with sweat) and the stove was definitely leaking fuel. So we got a late start and the pony hobbled about half speed, wincing over a sharp stretch of rocks, up 500 feet of switchbacks, then down a steep, slippery stretch. It was a LONG 6 miles and well under the 11 we want to average these early days. But after setting up camp, we scrutinized the stove,s manual (it made IKEA instructions look like child's play) and found that a part listed but not diagramed was missing.
Day 3 and we're halfway thru Maryland--and we're dirtier than Bretton, a neighborhood cat that likes to roll in the parking lot grit. Fortunately on nite 2 we camped two miles south of a county park with SHOWERS. However, I anticipate our cleanliness will be short-lived. We have a challenging 9 miles to our next campsite. -- billy goat
well...we survived our first day on the AT ...and a wet day it was. what started out as misty showers turned into flat out downpour by the time we got to the shelter to discover (no big surprise here) that it was packed with other hikers. fortunately we found an overhang and found a cozy spot to set up tent. nothing like sleeping under a downpour - it lulls you to sleep. yesterday mother nature asked : "you didn't think this was gonna be easy, did you?" this morning woke up and trekked .4 miles on steep downhill to get water for breakfast. a bug landed into my cheese grits just as I went in for my first spoonful and I thought: PROTEIN! and swallowed it down. all part of the transformation... good bye polina, hello little pony. hoping mother nature will be kinder to us today.
ps- in amazement that we still have internet access.
after months of planning and what seems like the longest week of packing...we're finally ready to set off on our summer walk. it's 6:30 am on sunday, june 3 and I can't sleep because of the excitement - and i'm not even a morning person. we're at beautiful hilltop house hotel in harper's ferry west virginia overlooking the shenandoah and the view from our room is absolutely breathtaking. our friends gene and christie have joined us (and generously shuttled us out here) and helped us kick it all off with dinner last night at the cracker barrel (can anyone say chicken fried steak). today should be an interesting frst day as thundershowers are on the menu for weather. now's as good a time as any to break in my new rain pants!!
not sure how long after we get walking that we'll lose our cell coverage but we'll keep you posted as we can.
stay tuned...
