Day 80 - 90

Day 80: Distance hiked: 13.6 miles. Fairly easy day. I left Jim Murray property at 7 AM and hiked with Rhino until noon. We stopped at the Heavenly Hills Farm next to the trail and gorged ourselves on Carmel Apple Pie and Tomato Pie. It was heavenly. I then decided to alter my plan and stay at the local hostel so I could finally update this blog! (the previous post) Rhino continued on to Prospect Rock in New York State.






Day 81: Distance hiked: 24.5 miles. I recieved a ride back to the trail from a trail angel and then had trail magic at the first road crossing in the form of Sprite. There were some good views during the day and I passed into New York State early on. New York loves its rock scrambles.  It's amazing how many variations of "tough" there are along the AT. Midway through the day I ran into LT Dan and we went and ate at a hog dog stand and creamery just off the trail before pushing on. I saw a copperhead snake near the end of the hike and ended up camping near Little Dam Lake, setting up camp in the dark after some night-hiking.





Day 82: Distance hiked: 19.5 miles. A challenging yet enjoyable day. Harriman State Park was beautiful and I enjoyed the "Lemon Squeeze" and other rock obstacles New York provided. For lunch I stopped by a beach area off of Arden Valley Road and as I was walking through a bunch of New York BBQs toward the vending machines, a man came over to me and asked "Are you hungry?" I said yes and the man said, "I will feed you. Have a seat." The next thing I know I'm sitting next to two other thru-hikers, Buzz and Sprout, and the man is grilling us an amazing plate of Carne Asada, rice and beans, all perfectly spiced. After I ate my plate, Angel (his name) just kept cooking and gave me another two hamburgers and a hot dog. It was awesome! I asked how I could repay him and at first he said it was his pleasure but after some insistance on my part he said if I wanted to do something that I should buy his book, Rise to Grace. It turns out that Angel was once running an immense drug empire in New York City and after getting shot by his best friend and almost dying, he turned his life over to God and now helps keep young kids off the streets. His book just got bought by Hollywood and he said there will be a movie coming out in the next few years. Pretty cool. Thanks Angel! I'm buying your book. After leaving the BBQ, I then hiked into the night and ended up camping at Bear Mountain with a spectacular view. Along the way a large blacksnake startled me.











Day 83: Distance hiked: 21 miles. Started the day hiking to the top of Bear Mountain and viewing some of the West Point grounds as well as New York City in the distance from the observation tower. I then ate lunch outside the Bear Mountain zoo before proceeding through it. That evening turned out to be the craziest yet. LT Dan and I got caught in the biggest storm of the trip and we walked through the pitch black forest as trees exploded around us (when lightning hits a tree it makes a deafening crack through the forest--this happened many, many times). It was a war zone and we were alone and unafraid. We night-hiked until midnight, our thin headlamps barely penetrating the heavy rain. It was like walking through a waterfall, over rocks, in the pitch black. In the midst of all this I picked off a tick without even thinking about it and it was then that I realized how far I've come as a hiker. That night was definitely my proudest and most exhilarating moment to date on the trail.





Day 84: Distance hiked: 19.3 miles. Woke up early after that midnight walk through the rain. LT Dan and I had made it to Fahnestock State Park, where Rhino had already reserved us all a campsite. In the morning, a man named Joe cooked us breakfast. Joe has been coming to the State Park for five years for the sole purpose to feed the hikers. He comes there every other weekend. Amazing. Started hiking at 11 AM and it was an exhausting, hot, humid day. Received some trail magic at RPH Shelter and pushed myself through the day, ending at Poughquag, NY.







Day 85: Distance hiked: 14.5 miles. Rather slow day. Hiking was rather uneventful and I stopped midday at Tony's Deli just off the trail for lunch. I then came across trail magic in the form of ice cold water just when I needed it the most (I had run out of water and was SOOO thirsty!) Very refreshing. Stayed in Wingdale, NY that night. Ate dinner at Cousin's and had a beer at the local bar, Riverview.



Day 86: Distance hiked: 11.5 miles.  Entered Connecticut. It was a hot and humid day which made the hike very miserable. There were a few good views however, so that was nice. Made it to Kent, CT, had some Annie Bannanie's (4 hot dogs, 3 milkshakes, yum!!) then went to dinner--a sushi place--with LT Dan and the Sicilian Gypsy. Stayed at Fife and Drum and avoided the storms.  





Day 87: Distance hiked: 17.9 miles. Saw a snake and multiple salamanders. Rather uneventful hiking day. LT Dan and I got picked up by Bearded Woods hostel at Sharon Mtn. Road and had an amazing dinner. Rhino was there as well so it was great to hang with the crew. Bearded Woods hostel is now my favorite hostel (bunk and dine, that is) on the trail. Big Lou and Hudson, the owners, are amazing. I felt like I was at a friend's house.



Day 88: Distance hiked: 15.5 miles. It rained the first 4 hours of hiking so I took refuge at Toymaker midday. Toymaker is a quaint restaurant in Falls Village, a small town off the trail. While eating there, Laura Linney, the actress, sat down at my table with her husband (there are only two long tables in the shop). I didn't talk to her but it was interesting to be two feet from her nonetheless.  I like her movies. Supposedly her and Meryl Streep frequent this little establishment. Who knew. I then finished hiking (the sun came out, awesome!), made it to Salisbury, CT, and stayed at the Bearded Woods again, awaiting the arrival of my friends from home!  









Day 89: Distance hiked: 11.6 miles. Scott Slattery, Jeff Goodin and Gina Bartucci arrived at Bearded Woods in the morning to hike with me for two days. They quickly earned trail names: Shitkiller, Meadow, and Pale Eyo (or just Eyo), respectively. We set off from Salisbury and immediately climbed Lion's Head and Bear Mtn. There were some great views and it was great hiking with friends again! We then entered Sages Ravine and went swimming in the ice cold water. One of the great moments was yelling "Freedom" at the top of our lungs while waist deep in the freezing water. Haha, good times. We camped just off of Race Brook Falls trail, made a great campfire, and talked away the night. It was awesome. All of them did spectacular on the hike and it was so great to be in their company.











Day 90: Distance hiked: 6.2 miles. We left camp around 9 AM and immediately climbed Mt. Everett, a rather steep rock climb. Luckily, on the other side of Everett was some trail magic in the form of ice cold water! We needed it. Some highlights included the view from the bench on Everett, the meadow at the bottom, and the woods as we made our way to our pickup point. Hudson from the Bearded Woods then picked us all up and brought us back to his place (that's right, third time for me!). Big Lou made us an amazing dinner and we sat around, drinking some beer and conversing until we all passed out from exhaustion. Another awesome day with friends.









Day 68 - 79

Day 68: Distance hiked: 25.7 miles. Left Allenberry at 6:30 AM and enjoyed flat farmland for the first 13 miles before climbing back into the mountains. It was another 100 degree day and I made it into Duncannon, PA slightly after 4:30 PM. I took a wrong turn on the trail, however, and then talked to an old thru-hiker who had hiked with Earl Shaffer, the very first thru-hiker. The guy convinced me to hike up the entire mountain I had just come down in order to see a spectacular view of Duncannon on a side trail. I hiked back up the mountain (at the end of a 25 miles day, am I nuts???!!!), then retraced my steps onto the Appalachian Trail where I had made the wrong turn, and finally made it down to and settled into the Doyle Hotel, an old Anheuser-Busch place.






Day 69: Distance hiked: 21.2 miles. Left the Doyle Hotel around 10 AM and the temperature was over 100 degrees yet again. Hiked over the bridge out of Duncannon and up the mountain on the other side. Stayed on the ridge for a while and eventually camped in a great place on top of another mountain. Saw a long blacksnake along the way.



Day 70: Distance hiked: 25.5 miles. I really enjoyed the first 10 miles walking through dark woods and along some rivers and old mining towns. I walked by a big rattlesnake coming down into a gap before re-entering the ever existent Pennsylvania rocks. I have not mentioned the rocks as much as I should have yet. The rocks have been constant and brutal since just after Shenandoah National Park. Pennsylvania is known as the place where shoes go to die. Every step hurts because the rocks are tipped sideways and have knife edges from where the rocks split in half millions of years ago (ask a geologist about PA). Anyway, by the end of this day my feet were complete hamburger meat. I made it to 501 Shelter in good time and ended my day by catching a shuttle into town (Pine Grove) for pizza and a movie.





Day 71: Distance hiked: 24.4 miles. After doing close to 100 miles in four days over those brutal rocks, my feet felt less like hamburger meat and more like mashed potatoes. I do not understand why anyone would ever hike in PA for enjoyment. AT thru-hikers hike PA because they are forced to hike it in order to complete their journey.  I barely saw any day hikers in these sections. Day 71 was a very hard day. There was no scenery, no thrills, no wildlife, only rocks and extreme heat. If anyone wanted to clone me, my DNA is all over those PA rocks. Half my soul is left on those rocks as well. Anyway, the day ended on a high note because after a steep descent into Port Clinton, Rhino's dad gave Rhino, Carver, and I a ride into Hamburg. Carver and I split a room at the Microtel and zeroed the next day for the 4th of July.





Day 72: Distance hiked: Zero. It was so nice to have the day off. Completed all the town chores (resupply, etc), lounged around the room in air conditioning, had some beers at the attached bar while playing trivia, and then BBQ'd off the back of the hotel with Rhino and his girlfriend. We grilled hot dogs, played Bags, and had a great 4th of July under the circumstances.

Day 73: Distance hiked: 21.9 miles. There were some nice views from Pulpit Rock and The Pinnacle. Rhino, Carver, LT Dan and I formed a wolf pack and started hiking together. It was another very hot day. I saw another blacksnake and a deer. Passed Eckville Shelter which was cool and ended up camping at Allentown Shelter, arriving around 8:30 PM. Big spiders in the privy again...





Day 74: Distance hiked: 17.7 miles. It was a hot, slow day. The sun really sucked the energy from me. I made it to Palmerton, PA and Rhino's girlfriend picked me up at the trail crossing and brought me to the Palmerton "Jailhouse." The Jailhouse is the basement of a city building in Palmerton where hikers are allowed to stay, shower, etc. The local police let you in and lock you in for the night, hence the jailhouse. It was a cool place and I enjoyed Palmerton. I ate a great meal at the Palmerton hotel with the wolf pack (Rhino, Carver, and LT Dan).







Day 75: Distance hiked: 20.4 miles. I loved the first climb out of Palmerton. It was more climbing than hiking and as most of you know, I love climbing! It was fun. Then, just after the climb, a large rattlesnake tried to take out Rhino, who was walking in the lead. We slowly removed it from the trail with our trekking poles as it rattled at us (we moved it several feet off to the right side and left a note so other hikers wouldn't stumble on it accidently). We then ate a great lunch at Blue Mountain Cafe (the Northeast is pretty awesome with all these deli's and resturants so close to the trail) and later had trail magic in the form of watermelon, lemonade, and water (thanks to Chameleon's and Roboticus' parents!). Made it to Wind Gap and camped in back of the Beer Stein, a local bar that allows hikers to camp in the yard and use their kitchen in the morning. Pretty awesome.







Day 76: Distance hiked: 15.6 miles. I walked a mile back to the trail from town and was slow to get going that morning. I took a small break on Wolf Rocks. I then took a small break at The Lookout, a place overlooking the Delaware Water Gap below. That night I walked into town, had something to eat, and split a hotel with LT Dan. Once again, the air conditioning felt pretty incredible.




Day 77: Distance hiked: 10.5 miles. Relaxed in the morning, ate a great breakfast, and then sat at Apple Pie Bakery for two hours talking to Chameleon, Roboticus, and LT Dan. Around 2:30 PM I started hiking again and crossed the bridge into New Jersey. I then hiked past Sunfish Pond (one of New Jersey's 7 natural wonders) and saw some great views before staying at the Mohican Outdoor Center.  The MOC had great deli sandwiches and a very clean bunkhouse. Great place to stay.







Day 78: Distance hiked: 17.9 miles. Left the MOC at around 10:30 AM (after eating more deli sandwiches and waiting on Carver and Rhino) and got to Catfish Tower two hours later. The view from the fire tower was cool and I chatted up the park employee manning it (Jersey is the last State to man all their fire towers). The afternoon hike was nice with several more views but the rocks continued to do wonders on my feet (Jersey is not much better than PA when it comes to rocks). Ate dinner at Gyp's Tavern in Branchville, NJ and then stayed down the street in a pretty crappy motel.







Day 79: Distance hiked: 21.3 miles. Trail magic in the form of a ride from the motel back to the trail in the morning. Ate breakfast at Joe's on the Go right next to the trail before heading back out. Unfortunately, Carver had to stop just after the first fire tower because his knee had popped the day before and was really starting to hurt him. As he choked back tears, fearing that his journey was over after making it 1300 miles, he shook our hands and hobbled to a nearby road crossing. That was a very tough moment and it's so sad that someone's journey can end so quickly and unexpectedly, especially after everything we have endured to get this far. Thinking of my own journey and thinking of how he must feel, I fought back a few tears myself as I walked away down the trail. Carver, I hope your knee gets better and we see you back on the trail. The rest of the day, after that sad departure, was fairly nice trail-wise and one of the high points (pun intended) was High Point State Park. Rhino, LT Dan, and I ate dinner at the concession stand near the beach and took pictures with several families (the further we go North, the more "celebrity" status a thru-hiker seems to have--it's pretty crazy and people want to take pictures with us, talk to us, etc, because they think it's pretty unbelievable that we walked to wherever we are from Georgia). We camped at the Jim Murray property that night which was awesome!