Appalachian Trail

We are writing from Manchester, Vermont, where we are spending the night at Green Mountain House Hostel. This is one of the nicest hostels we have ever stayed in. It is a very clean house with a large flat screen TV, computer, laundry, kitchen, and all kinds of “Ben & Jerry’s ice cream! Jeff Taussig is a super host.

There are 3 states left for us on the AT. The Vermont section of trail is 150 miles long and is known as the “The Long Trail”, which is shared with the AT for 105 miles. It stretches from the Mass./Vermont border all the way to Canada, but we will be hiking halfway up the state before the AT turns east towards Hanover, New Hampshire. The Green Mountains are beautiful, and the trail is often called the green tunnel. There is no shortage of mud here. Our boots are covered with it at the end of the day. It is tough to keep the feet dry!

We have completed the rest of Connecticut (52 miles in three days) and Massachusetts  (or has we call it; “Mosquito-chusetts”) (90 miles in five days) since we last wrote. There were some wet days in there, and that brought on the bugs! They are not too bad here in Vermont so far.

We are starting to have more climbs now as we approach higher mountains leading into New Hampshire. The White Mountains are two weeks away! 

Lost Acadian still has a sore toe. She has been as tough as nails. We hope it improves as the weather gets better.

Happy 65th Birthday, Dad! Hope you had a great one.

BK & LA
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We’re happy to be further north, and past New Jersey and New York where it has rained for all of June except for one day! The hiking was much tougher through certain stretches than we thought it would be. Not many straight aways, lots of ups and downs on the ridgeline (and mood).

Ruby, my relative, picked us up in Bear Mountain and we hung out in NY city for a couple days with her and Kyle. It was a shock to the system; being in a car driving through the city and experiencing Broadway, Harlem, Ground Zero,Times Square, and the hospital (Lisanne had to get a prescription for her infected toe nail, which has been bad for the past three weeks).

We noticed that there was so much noise, many people, too much concrete, but no trees. It felt strange to walk along a sidewalk and not have evey person who walked by say, “Hello” or “How are you today?”  Everyone in the city seemed to be lost in their own little world; most talking on a cell phone or listening to music on an ipod. I guess we’ve been the woods too long!

We looked for the “Cash Cab” (tv game show), but did not find it!

Ruby dropped us off back to where we got off the AT at Bear Mountain a couple days later. We felt full (Thanks for all the meals) and ready to hit the trail again.

Thanks for helping us re-suppy at Delaware Water Gap, Ben. It was a pleasure meeting another teacher on the trail.

Thank you, Ruby and “Doctor Kyle” for all your kindness in New York. Lost Acadian appreciated all the medical attention you gave to her in-grown toe nail. She’s still hiking through the pain, but it’s getting better! 

BK & LA 

We are now in Vernon, New Jersey, at 1,346 miles into our hike! We are staying at a church hostel here in town. The layout is a big open area of the downstairs of the church. We have a full kitchen, tv, computer, laundry and shower(which is nice!), and the whole place to ourselves. They take donations for the stay.

We arrived in the garden state a few days ago. NJ has the highest population of bears per square mile in the U.S. We’ve seen five of them in the past few days. One was an especially enjoyable encounter since it was very large, close (~20 feet away), and after we made eye contact for about five seconds, it took off running up the trail. We followed it for a couple minutes (from a safe distance) and watched it make its way from berry bush to berry bush. We don’t feel threatened at all when we see them because they seem so peaceful, but we appreciate the fact that they need personal space.
 
We are really happy to be out of Pennylsavania, since the rocks were brutal. Our feet took a beating every day, and we have never had so many blisters. Our heads were always looking down, so it was tough to see views from the ridgeline, and wildlife. Hail storms (marble size) and some daytime thunder storms struck, which made hiking in this state interesting.

We have passed half way point (Pine Grove Furnace) a couple of weeks ago. It is tradition to eat 1/2 gallon of ice cream for this occasion. Shawn was successful at this challenge and became a member of the 1/2 gallon club (he won a special wooden spoon). I tried, but was unable to finish it.

A few days later, as we got in to a shelter for the night, we saw a big black snake sitting up on the rafters near a bird nest. You can guess what he had for dinner. Fortunatly, “Tax-dollar” was able to catch the snake and let it go back into the woods. Then, the next morning, we discovered a wolf spider in the corner of the shelter (they’re big). We were glad to have found it in the morning rather than the night before. Soon after, as we were having our cold oatmeal for breakfast, a large black bear strolled in front of our shelter. As everyone turned to look, it ran away. 

The “Big Agnes” seedhouse 2 tent, weighing little more than 3 pounds, is the latest addition to our gear. After our old tent, North Face Talus, started leaking when it rained, and it just seemed to be too heavy at more than 6 pounds. Every pound we can save matters out there! The new tent has been working well so far.

Leaving for NY state in the morning after finishing the last ten miles of NJ (80 miles in total). Hope to get some nicer weather there. The AT runs through 90 miles of NY.

Trail Magic…

A Big THANKS goes out to Luke and Jamie (near Mt. Holly Springs) for the BBQ they put on for us at their house. Thanks so much for the ride and great meal!

Another Big THANKS to Jeff and Julie (Culvers Gap) for dinner, the tent space in the backyard, and use of the kayak!

Congrats to all Fredericton High School grads! Have a great summer, students and staff!

LA and BK

We are in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, this morning after arriving last night to re-supply and watch the Pens defeat the Wings in game four! The rain is coming down and we hope it lightens up soon.

Pennsylvania is 175 miles long, and we have heard where hikers like to call it “Rocky-vania” due to the high concentration of large rocks on the trail. This will make it hard on the feet. There is a lot of ridge line and walking on elevation between 1,000 and 2,000 feet high.

We have really enjoyed all of the Civil War (mid 1800′s) history we have seen over the past few days since Harpers Ferry (a historic site). The AT has crossed near former battle grounds and monuments, and we have been able read much about it through information boards along the way. Over 600,000 soldiers were killed during the war which ended slavery in the U.S.

Everything is dry now (only to get wet again!) Back to the trail this morning.

Thanks very much for the drive into town, Mr. & Mrs Watson!

BK & LA

The last week has been tougher than we though when it comes to the climbs we’ve encountered. There has been lots of days where we hike up the 3,500-4,000 feet, and descend to 1,000 feet or less. We have yet to discover a “flat” section of the AT.

Snakes seem to be the theme of the week. On the trail, we have come across many black snakes, garden snakes, and one copperhead (which you have to watch out for) they were are anywhere from three to four feet in length. Usually Shawn would try to grab them by the trail or poke them with a pole, but they would quickly slither off the trail. The copperhead, on the other hand, was not alarmed by us, so we were sure to walk a long way around him since they have been known to strike at people.

We’re doing well with our daily mile count, although we would like to increase it. With all the climbs, and rocky terrain, we have been able to do between 18-22 miles per day this past week. We try to be on the trail as early as possible, and hike until 6pm. The rocks on the trail have been punishing our feet lately.

We have been hiking with an Australian off and on over the last week. “Ruin” is a retired detective in his 50′s and his company has been one the the highlights of our trip. He often shares “crime stories” with us when we camp in the same area. He’s funny, and is always in a good mood.

Yesterday, Shawn was surprised after I pointed out a tick clamped on the back of his leg. It had not been there long since his head was not buried in yet. We pulled him off with tweezers! It was our first of many more ticks on the hike!

We also experienced trail magic twice yesterday! Tom and Susan, from Richmond, were kind enough to share their lobster (from Maine) and pita with us while sitting on a vista. Thanks so much! An hour later, we found a cooler on the trail filled with beverages and chocolates bars. We were thrilled with this act of kindness, too!

Thanks Evo and Flashlights for the drive in the back of your truck into town!

We’re off to the Shenandoah Park in the morning. We hope to get good weather, but they’re calling for rain and thunder showers for the next 5 days!

Thanks for your comments!

LA & BK