Week 14: Halfway? Not Quite

Day 92: The Unofficial Halfway

Saturday, June 8th

Air BnB

1 mile today

1,026.7 miles total

We caught the tail end of hotel breakfast before heading out to hike the mile through town and stop at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) HQ. With it being a Sunday there was a lot more tourists than when we walked through at 9pm on a Thursday. We made it to the ATC which was just unbelievable. I’ve walked over 1,000 miles to get here, to this point where so many others have stopped on their journey. They took our photos to put into their album where they keep track of all the hikers that come through. It was cool to flip through and see the familiar faces I’ve met who’ve already passed by. I ended up being number 527. That means I’m roughly the 527th thru hiker to get here from springer mountain. I started off 3 months ago being number 914. So I’ve passed 387 people who’ve slowed down, taken a break or given up. I would’ve been more emotional if I wasn’t so dehydrated but I’ve also been thinking about this moment for a couple hundred miles before. It wasn’t me I thought about getting to the 1000 mile marker but the people who only made it that far or couldn’t. I just think about all the hard work, perseverance, and dedication it took to get this far to only imagine it being taken away. The trail will always be here for those to try again though but some may never have another chance. I feel so lucky to have made it this far unscathed and I wish you all the best of luck on your next attempt pack mule, you deserve it.

The ATC was nice they had a whole hiker lounge with a fridge, hiker box and a scale 3D topo map of the entire trail. I can’t believe how mountainous Georgia was looking at it on this map and how much smoother this next section is going to be.. until New England, which they say is the hardest part. Spencer’s parents met us there before we kept hiking through town dogging tourists and walking across the Potomac bridge to Maryland.

We saw a lot of people tubing and rafting and I kept trying to convince Spencer to go tubing on this hot sunny day. After walking around a bit more I had Spencer convinced to tube and he called to make a reservation and they gave us directions. Spencer’s dad drove us in their rental jeep to the rental place only to find out it was the wrong place.  They said this place was for rafting and the one for tubing was ten minutes in the opposite direction. Our scheduled time was 2:30 and it was already 2:10. We went over there to see if we could make it but already accepted defeat at this point. However, we got there and still had time to sign up but when she said the total was $146, we looked at each other and said “um what, where’d those fees come from.” Something about a Maryland tax and a transaction fee and a recreation tax and I said no thank you. We got out of there as quick as we could. At least the NOC had correct pricing on their website.

We ended up just going towards the Air BnB and stopping at ALDIs for food. A few gravel dirt roads later in the back woods of West Virginia we arrived. Hung out there for the night while Spencer’s parents went back into town to explore Harper’s ferry.

Day 93: Reunited Once More

Sunday, June 9th

Air BnB

0 miles today

1,026.7 miles total

We had a nice elderberry jam on our English muffins for breakfast with fruits, eggs and sausage before going back into town this morning. Joey was at the ATC and we could see him outside when we pulled up. We walked around the backside of the building and kind of surprised him (he knew we were coming). It was really good to seem him again and have us all together. It’s been over a week since we last saw him over 100 miles ago.

This last stretch has been tough, mentally and physically. And I just think about him struggling not only with the back pain and the humidity and tough climbs but the mental battle of being alone and with unfamiliar people. It was interesting to see the other side of that because I understand that feeling when I went by myself and when the guys caught up to me again it was so nice to have that familiarity when everything can seem so foreign and you don’t have that bond with the people around you.

We went down to the outfitter store where I almost bought a new pair of shoes but they didn’t have the ones I wanted and I didn’t want to buy another pair of unfamiliar shoes.  I resisted buying stuff I didn’t need but I did buy another set of tips for my treelike poles because I lost the tip to my other pole.

Then it was to Walmart for a resupply and then back to the air bnb. We were gonna go to the battle of Antietam historical site but it was already 4:30 when we got back and they closed at 5. We hung out at the house though and Joe got in the hot tub while Spencer’s parents cooked on a little grill they brought and we had Brats, grilled veggies, and beans. We watched videos of people hiking the trail and canoeing the allagash in Maine.

Day 94: Battle of Antietam

Monday, June 10th

Air BnB

0 miles today

1,026.7 miles total

I’m struggling to remember what we did today, we didn’t do much. I woke up to breakfast and we just hung around the house for pretty much all day. After lunch we went to explore the Battle of Antietam national park. The bloodiest battle of the civil war was also the bloodiest battle of U.S. history. Just around Harper’s ferry 23 thousand casualties occurred within 24 hours and the union soldiers were barely able to provide a win strong enough for Abraham Lincoln to announce the emancipation proclamation. Where the events of Gettysburg would happen almost one year later. We drove around the 10 sites that explained the events in chronological order. It was cool but it took so long I was slowly losing interest before we had to leave and go to the restaurant we had reservations for.

We went to a place called the Bavarian inn, it was pretty good, I didn’t love the burger I got all that much. It had 2 patties and a brat and a lot of sauerkraut. On the way home we stopped at the Weis store so Joe could get a smart water and drinks. When we went to pay he realized he left his card at the restaurant. So we had to drive back to pick it up before going home. It was already late so I went to bed early while the guys watched a movie and hung out in the hot tub. I wanted to get some sleep in before we go back out tomorrow.

Day 95: Vortex

Tuesday, June 11

Air BnB

0 miles today

1,026.7 mile total

So we didn’t go hiking today.

I woke up well rested, got all packed up, had a nice breakfast and was ready to go. Then the guys rolled out of bed and by the time it was noon they decided we should just take another 0 day. So that’s what we did. Spencer’s parents went off to go do more sight seeing and we stayed at the house to rest and recover. We laid in the hot tub, ordered pizza and watched the documentary thirteen lives. When his parents got home they made burgers and that was our dinner. Not really much to our day.

I’ve been thinking about all the red meat and things I usually would never eat. I’ve been telling myself that I should just eat whatever I can to keep up the calories. I think that was subconsciously a fear of mine going into this hike was not being able to eat enough but I haven’t lost any weight so far. I think I owe it to myself and the planet to be more conscious about what I eat going forward. Unless someone’s already bought it or made it I’m going to go back to limiting my red meat consumption like I used to. I just watched a video on YouTube from John Green talking about how he’s doing the same which sparked my inspiration.

Sometimes your view on the world gets so small that you get tunnel vision a little bit and forget your decisions impact the world around you. I’ve met several vegans and vegetarians on trail and they’re fine, cranking out big miles days with no problems, I have no excuse. With a thousand miles under my belt I think I feel comfortable letting my grip go on a few ideals. I really want to finish this hike but I’d rather do my part to try and minimize CO2 emissions than to do “whatever it takes.” There are more important things than hiking. I guess I can thank the guys for the 0 day so I could step back a bit to reassess my mindset and perspective. It can be hard when it’s been a week since you’ve been in town and you’re so tired your willpower isn’t there but the first step is being aware.

Day 96: Remembering Pain

Wednesday, June 12th

Dahlgren Backpack Campground

17.2 miles today

1,043.9 miles total

The pain was excruciating, tightness in my shins made every step worse than the last. I slowed my pace watching the guys fade off in the distance. Alone in my thoughts I wanted to give up just stop right there. With the lack of sleep and nausea in my stomach this could be the cherry on top. I don’t want to walk anymore but I keep walking hoping it’ll go away like it usually does. But I never know when it’ll be too much. Thoughts of “should I have bought those new shoes?” Or “is this because I don’t stretch enough.” What am I to know what’s right or wrong when there’s no one right answer. We’re not even hiking uphill this morning it starts off on  the flat C&O bike path. I try to let it go but today it’s getting to me. I try to remember this feeling I feel every morning and remember that it’ll go away eventually. Today that doesn’t ease my mind. I stop to stretch on a fallen branch and it helps. I stretch again and it helps a little more. The pain subsides, I feel alright.

A guy named mark picking up trash on the sides of the trail tells me about the good view up ahead. He also tells me a bit of history on the area and that this is called the  Weverton Formation. A quartzite geologic formation that spans from Virginia through Pennsylvania and is why there’s so many rocks there. A formation that took place in the Cambrian period upwards of 541 million years ago.

The view was pretty good and the climb wasn’t that bad up to it. We could see Harper’s ferry off in the distance and the wide Potomac river down below. The rest of the day was ridge walking but dam there was a lot of rocks. My feet can feel the nearly 600 miles I’ve put on these shoes and all the pebbles and cobblestones below them. We have lunch at Gathland state park and meet a lady named mother trucker who gave us some Mt. dew before heading on. I’ve sent some more clothes home so my pack is lighter but with all the food from our recent resupply it feels just as heavy.

We decided to end at this campsite right next to the trail. We’re in a new bubble now with everyone we knew doing the 4 state challenge and just hiking ahead. Some people ordered dominos to the campsite. This one also has showers and a bathroom. It’s quite nice but I’d rather be away from all the people I don’t know. We’re shooting for another 3:30 wake up time to try and do 30 miles tomorrow.

Day 97: Sunsets

Thursday, June 13th

Zero Days Hostel

23.5 miles today

1,067.3 miles total

So I woke up at 3:30 and didn’t hear any movement from the guys so I went back to sleep until about 4. Soon Joe came over to wake me up but I was already up, procrastinating. I stretched out my calves and legs a little and that helped so much. I didn’t have any pain like I did. We stopped at a Washington monument (not to be confused with The Washington monument) for a very nice view.

It was a really hot day and by lunch I was nearly out of water. Joe said there was a cascade coming up so we pushed up and over a hill, past a creek, and up the next hill before we realized there was no water to be found there. I was not walking back down the mountain and we had a half mile to go so we waited for Spencer to catch up and then we just climbed to the shelter. The real kicker was the fact that the water at the shelter was another .4 off the trail and several hundred feet downhill.

When I finally accepted my losses I went down to filter water and Joe took Spencer’s bag for him. I saw another couple that was section hiking and today was their first day on trail and it showed. They had a really small water filter and I knew it was going to take them forever so I offered to use mine and filter it for them.

When we got back up the hill to rest and have lunch the couple, hedwig and ranger, they ended up giving us some of their extra food since they were cutting their trip short. We ended up taking a three hour break at the shelter before continuing on. At this point 30 miles was out of the question for the day.

We made it to the Pen Mar park and saw some people we knew and just a couple piece of fruit later over from trail magic that happened earlier that day.

We debated hiking more or trying to stealth camp at the park. But when Joe realized there was a hostel across the street he has his mind made up. So that’s where we ended up and I’m glad we did because there was a bunch of the left over trail magic left there and the guy Hoodie was really nice.

I ran out of the house to enjoy the sunset at the park and sat there for a while soaking it in. We had cheddar hotdogs while Joe ordered pizza and went to bed.

Day 98: Out Of The South

Friday, June 14th

Joe’s House

13 miles today

1,080.8 miles total

I slept like a rock. Sleeping in a bed feels so good sometimes and even better after a few nights out. Again I hiked another day with little to no pain thanks to stretching. The first thing we did was cross the Mason-Dixon Line! I’m finally out of the south. It wasn’t as emotional at we thought but still an amazing accomplishment.

We got some trail magic about halfway in from Tycoon. He made us some hotdogs and have Gatorade and snacks. The climb out of there was hard but we crushed it. Joes friend Steve picked us up at a road crossing and gave us a yuengling to celebrate. We listen to Greta van fleet all the way back to his house. We saw his dog Macy and his wife Mandi before she went off to work and we went to get all you can eat sushi and then all you can play arcade until midnight. I got a high score on digdug and beat Joe in air hockey but that was mostly luck.