So, I am going to skim over a lot that has happened since my last post. I've been avoiding this because I know its a big job. Let's see how fast I can do this.
After Daleville, VA, we started an interesting section of trail, where 4 days out of 5 had a 2000+ ft climb. We managed to keep our mileage up through most of it, but the last day we had to descend the Priest and climb the 3 Ridges. When I started the climb, it began to rain, hard. We planned to lunch at 14 miles in, because there wasn't really a good spot before that. We never left lunch. (Well, not until the mext morning.)
The next day was a 21, and we drove into Trail Days, after meeting up with Spyro's parents. It was slightly disappointing to see all of the hiking I'd done for the past month be driven in a few hours. We got in after dark and just set up. Satuday was the fun day. We got the worst service of my life at the Blue Blaze Cafe. (Our first time there it was really good. They were overloaded.) Then we went to the gear manufacturers. I was planning to buy a hammock, and expecting to pay $200-250 on it. Luckily for me Hennessey has a half off sale at Trail Days, so I got the expensive, ultralight one for $135. The parade was fun, and Prom was way too packed, though it was funny to see the different levels of dressed up that all of the hikers were.
On Sunday we were driven back. Jan continued on home, while mtnrunner stayed with us to hike the Shenandoahs. We had some good times spotting day hikers and bears. (And ticks weren't as fun.) I almost walked into a bear at one point. It waited until I was 5-10 ft away without making a sound, then bolted up a tree. My heart skipped a beat and I almost fell over. I backed up a 100 yds, we both then calmed down and went on our way. Also, blackberry ice cream.
We got to mtnrunners car and he resupplied us in Luray, after which social week continued. (As I called it at the time, it was more like social month.) Madison day-hiked with us after bringing us a fruit salad breakfast on Friday. We met up with Brian, who Spyro knew on Saturday morning, and my family came for Saturday dinner.
After that we hiked the Rollercoaster, I finished the Wheel of Time, and prepared for the 4 State Challenge by not getting enough sleep. (Two nights before I finished the WoT and got about 7 hours, the night before I got 4. 10-2)
The challenge was, well, challenging. We were out by 3, and we started with a nice downhill into a boring river walk in WV. I say boring because I was tired and could only see 40 yds. I'm sure it would be nicer in daylight. I took my first break at 12 miles in, and took a nap with it. As some hikers said (who I met that day but don't remember), "Break your own break." Then I was humming along, making decent time past the halfway point, where I could count down the miles and not be too scared by the numbers. The worst part was between 15 and 10 to go, when it had started to rain, but there was no landmarks. The rain blew over relatively quickly, but the landmarks were still not there. My feet hurt really bad, enough that I jogged parts because that used my feet differently. At 10 miles I got excited, and started counting down the miles. Dark fell around 6 left, and MD had one last surprise to throw at me. A rocky uphill that I accidentally took a side trail off of, and its rocky downhill counterpart. (Side trails should be dark blue blazed, not with sky blue that looks like white.) The last 3 miles were easy, and I took a break where I seriously considered sleeping where I was. Then I though about how much effort it would be to set up camp, and decided to press on instead. If I had stumbled across a bed, that would have been it. But I made it to the state line where half a pizza was waiting for me.
I was pretty excited to be north of the Mason-Dixon line, and in my home state (PA!). That zero day was great. Two more days of hiking took us to the halfway point, where we both came off. I drove Spyro to his bus home and then went to the beach for a day trip. My dad then dropped me back off in Pine Grove Furnace State Park, and got to watch me walk away into the darkness. Apparently it looked like the start of a horror movie that wouldn't end well for me. I did fine.
Then I decided to book. I wanted to hike the Pinnacle loop with my dad on a Saturday, so I hiked 110 miles in 5 days, waking up at 5 on the laat day to be at the trailhead at the right time. And then my little brother showed up and raced me up the only hill of the day, with his day pack, on fresh legs. He beat me by a little. Dominic Lopez also came out with us, and was talking about a natural bug repellent that he had concocted and wanted me to beta test. I told him I would once the no-see-ums start biting. I may end up not waiting that long. They also resupplied me, and I switched to a Sawyer filter since I couldn't find any Aqua Mira in town. I figure I'm far enough ahead of Norovirus.
My next day was an 11. Got made fun of for that one. (I was hiking with Haiku for part of my 110, and pulled ahead of him at the end. He caught me after my 11. Then I hiked with Joe Toole for a 17, which was good for me, since we did some rock scrambles as side trails and Joe convonced me they were fun again. Haiku congratulated Joe on going 13 that day (I met him after 4), and made fun of me for only doing 17. He pushed on and is a few days ahead of me.
Then it began to rain.
(It's a quote from the Wise Man's Fear that I really appreciate now.)
The next few days were marked by soaking boots and pruned feet. I knew I was going home that weekend, so there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I ended up calling home a day early, while eating a miserabled lunch. (Though at least the bread wasn't soggy.) Lauren and Jimmy picked me up and I was home to 4 walls and conditioned air. When I left the house, it was in a car! Travelling with a roof over your head is a fantastic idea. Also, the weather turned nice again. The next few days I was pretty overwhelmed by social interaction. At some point at Emily's graduation party I was in a bit of a food coma and basically just stopped talking to people. Then there was a Father's Day breakfast, and I went back to the trail, with clean(er) clothes and new shoes, trail runners that looked like they would dry fast.
Then the states really started rolling. I was picked up in NJ, and made NY in a day or two. The start of NY was awful. The first 4 miles took me two hours. Rocky, constantly steeply climbong and falling the same 20 feet. I met back up with Long Haul Trucker, who I hadn't seen since the Shenandoahs. I set up my hammock poorly my first day in NY, and woke up to a puddle of water above me and rain getting in the side. It was easy enough to drain the puddle and go back to sleep, since the worst of the rain had already happened (so I thought). I pushed on the puddle and managed to pour almost all of it out. Into the hammock, that is. I abandoned ship and slept in the shelter that night. You can see the result from the morning below. My phone didn't work for a few days after that. I wonder why?
I got it working again at Graymoor in the morning, so stayed to charge it. My morning routine thus messed with, I managed to leave the SPOT behind, which is why you probably won't see any pings from me anymore...
The next day I ran into mtnrunner again at RPH Shelter, after beer trail magic and a swim in a lake with a concession stand. Good end to a good day. The next day he drove me back to look for the SPOT, but we didn't have any luck. It was nice to see him again. I still owe him a bottle cap.
Right now I'm waking up in a motel room that I split with Mr. Jingles. We Nero'd yesterday, and had all our shopping done by 2. We watched TV with a six pack each for the rest of the day. TV advertising is really hard to ignore when you're not used to it. Anyway, I need to check out and hike.
Oh, and at some point in the last two days I entered CT. 7 states.
Pussel-gut (PG'14)
