New Jersey - mostly.

Walking on some boardwalks in NJ...for the most part, the AT in this state has been beautiful, and less rocky than the latter part of PA. This particular section, though felt like boggy tropical lands infested with the friendly mosquito. It was kinda cool actually - not the buggie part.

Sunfish Pond is the southernmost glacial lake on the AT, located in NJ.
Blueberries are ripe and ready to eat all along the higher elevations of NJ and NY. yummy.
This was a sign way back in New Caledonia State Park...I suppose it should be posted elsewhere, but it's here. This is where the July 5th trail magic with a big bbq, fruits, and donuts took place.
A bakery in Delaware Water Gap (in PA, but basically on the border of PA and NJ) actually does sell what the sign claims...a slice of pie and a hot dog for a buck forty-nine. homemade pie even. This bakery was loaded with delicious treats, and is where i found my chocolate raspberry b-day cake... (it's sideways...I don't know how to change it on blogspot...if it bothers you, get over it :)

Where zinc grommets used to come from...

We spent a good amount of time hiking in Pennsylvania - known for it's horrendous rocks. We've been hearing about these rocks since day 1 - actually since before ever hiking I had heard about these notorious. But just to clarify - the rocks are only the last 25% of the trail. Most of PA in my opinion was nice, flat, easy - what VA was rumored to be (a false rumor).

If anyone has ever read A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, you've read about the beauty of Lehigh's Gap. The mountains in the surrounding area of Palmerton, PA are completey naked - stripped bare to it's rocky core...no trees, no plant life, just rocks. And maybe a couple flies. The mountains in the area, including Lehigh's Gap, used to be part of a zinc smelting industry. Since then, the EPA has provided funding to regrow what was lost using seed infested sludge...there's a little more to it than this, and I'm sure wikipedia or some online source can give more info about it...

The 2 pics below is after the Superfund went into the area...so the space between the rocks have been filled in and that is why there are flowers and grass and such. We did hike along this ridge 10+ miles and at least a 4 mile section which is currently getting superfunded is still bare on top, minus the rocks. It's weird.

Pyrofly hiking up the treeless Lehigh's Gap. This gap is known for it's exceptional heat during the summer, but thus far summer has been unexpectedly cool (I'm sure August will change that). Anyway, I was rather surprised at how much a enjoyed this gap and the surrounding exposed areas...makes me excited about being above treeline in VT and NH. It's a nice distraction from steep inclines to constantly having beautiful scenery around you that you can actually see.
The town of Palmerton is visible peeking out the side of the mountain at the top right of the photo below. This town was a very pleasant surprise. We ended up hiking a 25 mile day and weren't planning on going into town. Some of the friendliest people so far on the trail...and for some reason the layout of the town sorta felt like we were in a small coastal town in FL. Pyro ordered Scrapple for breakfast one morning...the pride of PA - something like a homemade gooey Spam product made of the rest of the pig not used for bacon or pork chops. pleasant. really pleasant. i tried a baby bite and that was enough for me.
The town provides a place for hikers to sleep for the night in the old police station (below is a pic of The Jailhouse - the name of the hostel). There were also showers in the old courthouse that still used the same water pressure before efficient, environmentally friendly shower faucets came about...it was a nice HOT shower!

Photos of the halfway-ish there point...do you see the turtle?

View of a river who's name I don't remember right now. This is perhaps 3 miles north of Harper's Ferry - the 'mental' half way point for many people on the trail...the official halfway point is another 100 or so miles north.
Me feeling ok...not 100% health, though. I had started taking the giardia meds the night before. It was a short day for hiking...no appetite with no energy = not a good combo for hiking. But I was happy to at least keep moving forward.
Downtown Harper's Ferry. We were planning on just hiking through, but ended up staying 2 nights with a zero in between because i got sick.

Walking along the failed canal (the railroads beat it out back in the day) just after Harper's Ferry. Lots of cool looking green muck.
Where's the turtle???

Mi Familia

My mommy, auntie and sister, Paige, took a 10ish roadtrip to PA from GA to visit me a my mom's best friend since they were five (pretty cool, huh). My sister, Katy, was also able to take a break from NYC and visit for the weekend. My mom trailmagicked me and Pyrofly with a 15 mile slackpack, food and a hotel for the night. awesome. Kate was able to join us as well for the hike and kicked 15 miles of Pennsylvania's butt!

Below is at the side of the road crossing where my mom (on left) dropped us off to start out hike again. My aunt, Karol is on the right...and I'm in the center :)

Me and my sister, Paige

Kate and me after about 14.5 miles of hiking!

Misc. AT

pink space-ship flowers:

A raspberry, up close and personal...ooooooh, blueberries are neverendingly ripe and I spent a good couple hours the day before we came to NYC filling a gallon zip-loc with them...don't worry, there are still plenty for the bears.

This train is leaving Harper's Ferry, and we are officially in Pennsylvania.
Shadow of leaves:
Butterfly on a Vitamen I (ibuprofen) bottle

more of my fave...super macro!!!

Some AT kids.

Dick Ludwig (center) used to be the mayor of Unionville when he first had verbal communication with the thru-hikers at the post office in his town. In '07 he decided to let hikers camp in his yard and would cook meals for them...he had around 250 hikers that year. Thus far in '09, he has already had over 600 hikers come through his doors and each hiker is expected to have a load of laundry done, a shower, a full dinner, and breakfast in the morning - cheese ommlette, home fries, sausage, toast, oj, coffee all cooked by 81 year old Bill (to the left). Butch (right) helps out when he can or when it gets super busy.

They also provide slackpacking for the day so you can stay another day at his house (he has 8 bunks in his basement which is dubbed 'The Outhouse' and lots of green grass in his large yard for a tent) and do it all over again. Truly one of the best town experiences on the trail. The best thing about it is how much these guys genuinely enjoying what they do - even though they have zero comprehension as to why a person in his or her right mind would want to walk 2000+ miles from GA to ME. Thank Bill, Dick, and Butch!!!
A reunion with Adroid (formerly known as Antrak) at the former Unionville mayor's house. We haven't seen this kid since the first shelter in the Shenandoah's...and after roughly a week off in NYC, I probably won't see him again on the trail...but you never know. And that's Pyro grinning in the bottom right of the picture.

Windbreaker at the Doyle in Duncannon. The Doyle is one just a few 100 year old budweiser train hotels (something like that) left in the country. Cheap beer and very good food. The owners love hikers as well. I was still on my giardia meds, so no celebrating the half-way point for me. :( Good thing there will be bigger things to celebrate in the future :)
We had some awesome trail magic at New Caledonia State Park on July 5th. The family who does it has done so on the same day for the past 10 or so years. And they had donuts. I like donuts but never really crave them on the trail...but that morning i couldn't stop thinking about them. Maple Donuts (this is an actual brand - not just a flavor) are perhaps some of the best in the world - a mix between Krispy Kreme and the generic Kroger bakery donuts. yum.
Bottom Bunk trying to complete the Half Gallon Challenge at Pine Grove Furnace State Park. It's a personal contest to try and eat a half gallon of ice cream in one sitting. Pyro and I opted to share a 1/2 gallon instead and have cherry coke floats. I was gonna do it but was still on the giardia meds which knocked out my appetite. ugh.

sunsets

Hiking day in and day out on top of beautiful mountains, ridgelines, and after blustery thunderstorms certainly brings about splendid scenery, including sunsets. The one below is me on my birthday - so it's not actually a sunset, obviously. But I am smiling so happy because i am watching the sunset on a magnificent mountaintop...on my birthday...just like i said 4 seconds ago. plus, I just like to smile.

Below are the spectacular golden clouds sparkling in the blue sky as the sun decides to go to bed. I was still a couple miles away at this point from our destination for the night - and this is only one of many photos. I didn't end up getting to the Mohican Outdoor Center til well after dark - and I'm not a huge fan of hiking alone in the dark, so i was slightly stressed. But Pyro had called for delivery of pizza and beer for my b-day dinner and I had hiked in a chocolate raspberry cake from the delicious bakery at Delaware Water Gap, so the night turned out as good as hiking in the sunset...
The beautiful photo/sight below happened on our way to 501 Shelter, just after a mighty storm blew through, with another on the way. Fortunately we were in shelters during both those storms and didn't get wet a drop. The 501 shelter is actually an enclosed bunkhouse that used to be a pottery studio for the people who had once owned the property. The studio had a 10 ft diameter circular sky light above, so we were able to watch the crashing lightning while looking up above without get wet a bit. It was nice.

This was also the same day we found out Georganna and Logan's dog Corbin had been found after missing for 2+ days!

Sunset while walking through the farmlands of PA - before the infamous Pennsylvania rocks - which in my opinion only account for 25% or so of the trail in the state. But they were horrendous when they did show up.

Another sunset on one of the ridges in PA - can't remember which one, though.

In the city...

Howdy y'all!!! Guess what?! I'm at the Apple store in NYC typing this entry! ha ha.

Pyro and I arrived here after a lucky hitch from Bear Mountain, NY...which is where the zoo and lowest point on the trail is at 120 feet....which kinda sucks seeing that we've got to climb back up to 6000+ feet soon. :) But eh, oh well. We'll quickly get our super strong climbing legs back. After the lucky hitch, we took a train to Grand Central and Andrew - pyrofly's local connection and friend - met us there and took us to his casa.

So we've been here since yesterday afternoon...gorged on some bagels yesterday and spent lunch today at a vegetarian dim sum place in chinatown. Man, I was super pleased with all the veggies. yum yum.

I'm staying with my sister in Brooklyn...although I'm hanging out with Pyrofly and his friend Andrew today cause she has to work a double today - now that's exhausting...working a double at a coffee shop being the only employee there.

Being in the city has been good so far, not nearly as overwhelming as I thought it would be after so much time in the woods...but yesterday was a humid one and that was ugh.

More fun entries to come very soon.

ciao from the Big Apple!

Lost doggie :(

I'm in Palmerton, PA at the moment. This town is truly a hidden gem of trail town...one of the friendliest and most welcoming on the trail thus far. The town provides a hostel in what I presume is the old town hall type building. This morning we'll be climbing Lehigh's Gap - supposedly this hardest climb south of New Hampshire.

A lot has happened since I last posted, so I've got to figure out what to highlight. First and foremost, I must thank my mommy for driving all the way up here to provide some awesome trail magic. My sister, Katy, also joined me, pyrofly, honey-do, magic, scooter and a few others for a 15 miles day hike. And we got to slack-pack. My aunt, Karol, and sister, Paige, also joined along for the trail magic and good times! Thank you all!!!

That same fifteen mile day we ran into Time Travel and Duckman. They were hiking with Georganna, Logan and Corbin the dog for an extended period of time and when Georganna and Logan took a vacation from the trail, Time Travel and Duckman were the dogsitters. Unfortunately, Corbin ran away while Time Travel and Duckman were sitting (he chased a deer and never came back - the second time he's done this). It was a sad moment in time knowing the dog was not only lost, but lost on someone elses watch. TT and Duckman had been waiting, walking, searching, and looking with 2 or so miles from the general area that Corbin ran away for at least a day and a half with no signs.

We talked to Hopscotch the following day and he actually spotted Corbin up the trail not aware that the dog was a runaway. That was heartbreaking to hear. Hopscotch later read a note on the trail about the lost dog and felt like crap for the rest of the day. He left Georganna a phone message, though, telling her that the dog had at least been spotted...

And then...dah da da daaaaaaahhhhh!!!!! Georganna called back and joyfully let us know that a family had found Corbin the night before walking on a road and had taken him in til their return!!!!!! Yay!!! It seemed like it was gonna be such a sad ending...but a happy one it was!

There will be pictures coming soon, I promise.

WalkingStick, have fun on your IAT journey!! your leaving soon, right?

Christina, if you read this, we will be around Bellvale, NY on NY 17A by next Thursday...I'll keep you posted on location the sooner we get there.

Ahhhh, there's so much more to say, but so little time, and so much hiking to do.

1247 miles down...
931 miles to go!

Half-way done!

I've officially made it past the official half-way point. YES!!! And I did it with giardia - I bet you're impressed, huh? Well, I'm pretty certain it was the nasty little critter. I had the typical symptoms - lack of appetite, lack of energy, lots of burping (and I mean LOTS), and lots of yucky doo-doo...the runny kind. So my half-way experience didn't come along with the best of health, but I took some flagyl and am so far clear of the previous mentioned symptoms! excellent!

I'm in Duncannon, PA now and have some family visiting time coming up this Friday...awesome!

Pictures soon!