Favorite Pictures So Far (PART 1)

Well, I debated whether to update past posts with pictures & details, but I think that it would be too much for everybody to have to go back to every post and re-read what I have written, so I decided to make a couple of big highlights-blogs to give you some nice pictures taken from my normal camera.

Enjoy!

My first steps on the AT!

My Sleeping Arrangements

A view to the east from "Bake Oven Knob"

A cool picture if you ask me...

A view to the west from "Bake Oven Knob"

This is a portion of the trail about a mile long called the Knife Edge. It was a ridge that came to a very fine point and I had to jump from rock to rock with open air (and a few trees) on both sides of me... kind of scary for my first full day of hiking!

A typical section of the rocky trail in northern PA

Me at Dan's Pulpit... this was the only day I think I wore pants on the trail... I have since worn shorts exclusively!

This is the view from Dan's Pulpit looking south across a valley which I had to cross the next day and climb to The Pinnacle, which is located on the top-left part of the ridge in the picture... I crossed the valley about three miles to the west of this location (to the right).

A new friend!

Favorite Pictures So Far (PART 2)

A view from the Pinnacle

Me on the Pinnacle

A slow butterfly on its way south...

This is a picture of the pond I wrote about in my blog for 9-20. It was a very peaceful place!

This is called Pocahontas Spring. I don't know why, but I like the fact that somebody went to the trouble to stack rocks over it!

A picture of my dad, stepmom, and me in Duncannon, PA, after they saved me from being stranded in Pine Grove, PA, without a pair of functioning shoes. Thanks guys!

More Rocks!

A picture overlooking Duncannon, PA, and the Susquehanna River from Hawk Rock. This is basically a duplicate picture, but better, from my post on 9-24

A Chipmunk! There's a lot of these on the trail so far...

Surprisingly, gas lines going through the forest tend to make for nice views. This is another picture of the Susquehanna River, south of the last one.

Favorite Pictures So Far (PART 3)

This was one of the first open fields that I saw on the AT at that point! It was quite a different feeling walking through open space.

This boardwalk lasted at least a quarter of a mile; I was impressed with that fine work of AT volunteers!

A view from the boardwalk.

This day, the 25th, took me over the Cumberland Valley. The AT went through many pastures and along many property lines; it was a very different trail than what I am used to!

Boiling Springs, PA.

I crossed paths with a nice four-foot black snake on the 26th. It was just hangin out and didn't seem to mind the photo-op!

More trees, eh?

Me taking on a 1/2 gallon of Moose Tracks ice cream. I almost finished... but almost doesn't really count in 1/2 gallon challenges.

The night after eating all that ice cream, I stayed at the Ironmaster's Mansion Hostel, in Gardners, PA, which was actually part of the Underground Railroad. The keeper was kind enough to show us hikers the false-floors and tell us a bit of the history behind the property. It was pretty cool to see it! Fortunately, we weren't required to sleep in the basement!

This is me hiking through some old stone building that the AT actually passes right through! I thought that was a nice touch! Is the beard progressing enough for you?

Favorite Pictures So Far (PART 4)

This type of fern seems to be one of the first plants that changes color for fall. They make for nice pictures... but I can't wait to get to the Shenandoah National Park for the changing of the season!

This is in Caledonia State Park, PA, where the AT is very well maintained... they even make tunnels for their hikers!

A crik in Caledonia State Park

A few miles north of the MD/PA Border

These are the birds that I was talking about in my post on 10-1. There were thousands of them!

Me on Annapolis Rock, in MD!

Looking out from Annapolis Rock over the Boonsboro/Smithsburg area.

Big buzzards... not my friends.

This is a familiar site for all of you who drive on I-70 between Hagerstown and Frederick: the AT footbridge crossing the highway. I have seen this thing so many times, I couldn't tell you how many. But it was nice being on the bridge instead of under it for a change!

This is me next to a 1955 Ford Thunderbird. On Friday, my stepdad took me to the Carlisle Car Show! It was cool seeing all kinds of old cars and getting an ancient-history lesson while we were walking around! Haha, I jest!

Comfortable in Smithsburg, MD

Today was a much needed maintenance day. I slept in, called Merrell (shoe company), went grocery shopping, organized everything for my next couple of hundred miles... and then just sat around!

Since I haven't mentioned this yet, I would like to take a moment and announce that I have hiked a little over 150 miles so far. When I look at the official AT distance of 2174 (or so) miles, I feel a bit underwhelmed by my status, but let me say that this has been no small feat. I think half of the battle has been getting myself out there on the trail, and am happy to say that I have hiked any portion of the trail. But don't take this chatter as a sign of retirement, I'm just trying to give myself a pat on the back and get myself ready to keep on moving!

And how better to push on than to do so in a leisurely fashion? Tomorrow I am set to do my first "slack pack" day. This is a fairly popular way that hikers do day trips when shuttle services are available: you leave most of your possessions where you are staying, carrying a day pack filled only with things that you need for the walk, hike for the day, and then get shuttled back to your lodgings at the end of the day. In this case, my generous mother has volunteered to drop me off and pick me up on the trail tomorrow so I won't have to carry close to 40 pounds with me! I'm looking forward to feeling what 15 miles feels like without the dead weight!

As I mentioned above that I was on the phone with the Merrell shoe company today, I should reveal that my second pair of shoes is beginning to fall apart! I have them wrapped in duct tape so that they hold each day I wear them. As a result of my conversation (and a bit of whimpering) with the people of Merrell, I am being shipped another pair of shoes, and this time, a new higher-end model at no extra cost! Hopefully this new pair will be the end of my shoe woes.

Smithsburg, MD

Alas! Maryland is beneath my feet, and I am writing from a computer at my Mom and Stepdad's house to boot! How exciting! I began about 5 miles north of the border at around 9:30am and was picked up, 15 miles later, on the side of the road by my mom at 4:30pm, covered in sweat, dirt, and a dozen or so insects that were matted to my body and couldn't escape.

It was quite a gratifying experience crossing the MD/PA border! I imagined all the wonderful trails that were before me and the pleasant people that I would meet in my old state... I was greeted, however, with more hills, rocks, and nobody worth mentioning in the first 10 miles of the Old Line State. Not a good start, but at least there are only 30 miles left of it!

I haven't taken the time to inform everybody out there that life on the trail ain't exactly clean. I pride myself, unlike several hikers that I've run across, in my use of deodorant and daily cleansing rituals. You'd be surprised at how quickly one gets ripe out in nature! So, upon getting into Mom's car this afternoon, I grabbed a towel from her trunk as I loaded myself into the car and sat on the barrier for the 5-minute ride home. Lucky me, unlucky towel.

So here I sit, behind windows and before a keyboard, enthralled with the novelty of it all.

South Mountain PA

Today, I find myself at the Deer Lick Shelter, just 4.7 miles away from Maryland! I hiked 3 miles yesterday evening after getting dropped off and 10.2 miles today. The weekend gathering was great; I even went hiking with my nephews, Dad, and Uncle Brian! Now, it is time to get back into serious-mode and avoid those deadly naps! I took this picture when I was under a cloud of migrating birds, thousands of them! Hopefully they show up, I can't tell. Also, they were surprisingly loud.