cBenigni's Travelogue

Final Remarks and Favorite Pictures (Part 1)

2007-12-02T01:16:00.001-05:00

A view from the Bear's Den.

I met a very nice gentleman who was on his way south to meet up with other Civil War living reenactors. When I first spotted him on the trail, there was a very long moment of me questioning my sanity and my quantum portability. Fortunately, I know I'm not crazy and I'm pretty sure I'm still in the same universe...

To some: a nice little creek. To me: a nice little watersource.

With a net gain of 0ft in elevation, the morning was spent climbing and descending well over 5,000 feet worth of hills. Stupid hills.

Final Remarks and Favorite Pictures (Part 2)

2007-12-01T01:30:00.000-05:00

One of the less glamorous parts of hiking areas where nobody has been for a week or two: spider webs. I'm pretty sure I got caught in several hundred webs throughout the entire hike. Pretty, but also pretty hard to get out of a beard.

Creepy walking through mist... but kind of fun in a sick sorta way.

Literally and figuratively walking in the clouds at that point :-)

Welcome to Shenandoah National Park! Perfect timing, as the whole hike was designed to arrive at the peak of fall colors in the one spot so famous for it!

Final Remarks and Favorite Pictures (Part 3)

2007-11-30T01:55:00.000-05:00

One very nice thing about the Shenandoah National Park is the excellent trail markers. Not very often do you find stone/metal markers... it signaled the beginning of my return to society.

Leaves. Lots of em.

Another gorgeous view in the SNP.

One of my last overlooks before being picked up!

Today brought me 15.3 miles

2007-10-28T18:54:00.001-04:00

Today brought me 15.3 miles down to the Rock Spring Hut where I am literally chillin out! It is cold and windy!

Pass Mountain VA

2007-10-27T16:09:00.000-04:00

Yesterday brought my third day of rain in a row as I hiked 13.4 miles and climbed 3000 feet in altitude. It as a very difficult day to say the least! Today brought me sunshine as I have been hiking 13.1 miles to the Pass Mtn. Shelter. Hopefully I can get my things dry soon! While the fall foliage is nice, I won't be able to enjoy it properly until I'm dry!

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Front Royal VA

2007-10-25T20:18:00.001-04:00

Today was an interesting day. First, it hasn't stopped raining since yesterday, which has grown old pretty quickly. Second, I was greeted by a crazy local as I was leaving camp, who decided to walk with me for a mile or so and tell me everything about bears that I didn't want to hear. Later on the trail, I ran across an AT volunteer, Sharon, who was looking for an injured hiker, Seeker. I offered to watch out for him and got her cell number and continued my hike. Believe it or not, I found Seeker about two miles down the trail, where he had been stuck for two days, and ended up helping him carry his stuff out to the nearest road where Sharon took him to a free hiker loft where he could heal up. During the whole process, Sharon offered to shuttle me to the loft after I was done for the day and I readily accepted the offer. So I am sitting inside a house with a load of clothes in the
laundry, enjoying the sound of rain from behind a window pane!

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Manassas Gap Shelter VA

2007-10-24T16:59:00.000-04:00

I'm back on the trail! And it's raining! I did my first major hike in the rain, totalling 9.2 very wet miles. Fortunately, my new boots held up nicely and my rain gear did what it's supposed to. Despite the rain, I am still happy to be back in nature (being in a shelter helps a lot). Hopefully the next few days won't be the same!

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VA, MD, WI, and TN in a week!!

2007-10-21T20:52:00.000-04:00

Hi everybody! As I am sure some of you have noticed, I have been negligent in updating my travelogue lately. For that I am sorry, but I haven't exactly been hiking... which may excuse me, right? Well, maybe not.

I headed to Belleville, WI, on Thursday, the 11th to see Jessica for a long weekend. Simply put, it was great! She had a full agenda planned out for us, so we kept busy the entire weekend doing everything from navigating a corn maze, seeing a play, hanging out with her family, to shaving off my beard! Yes it is true, she made me shave! Actually, I owe her a thanks for doing me such a service. Thank You Jessica!

As after any good weekend, I was left feeling miserable! I had caught a cold somehow, and was left feeling sorry for myself without the ability to get back on the trail. Then, my mom made a brilliant suggestion: that we should head to Tennessee, to see family for a long weekend! I thought that this was perfect, so we packed up our stuff, tied up my little sister, loaded everything/everybody in the car, and headed south!

We had a great weekend, at least I did! I got to catch up with my grandparents (on my mom's side) and my Aunt Barb & Uncle Scott (who are pretty cool except the whole NASCAR thing). We watched the new Elizabeth movie, walked around SAU's campus, and stayed up way past our bedtimes! Also, I must say that one of the best parts of the weekend was the food... I ate like a king! Cheers to the wonderful chefs in our family! It was very nice to be able to see them in the middle of my trek...

Now, I am ready to hit the trail again!

Bears Den Rocks VA

2007-10-09T15:13:00.001-04:00

I'm on my way to the Sam Moore Shelter, where I'll be spending the night. Today is the third day in a row that I'm hiking over 15 miles; I am pleased to say that I am finally getting into good shape and am not exhausted at the end of every day! Although, I still won't do lunges at the gym with Ereck! The "hills" you see in the background are exactly where I'm heading, known as the Blue Ridge Mountains. Next stop, Shenandoah National Park!

On the trail somewhere!

2007-10-08T19:57:00.001-04:00

Well, I haven't been good with simple updates recently, but at ldast I got my nice pics up two days ago! I am currently in WV and will be entering VA tomorrow. I am sadly done with MD, but at least I enjoyed the last 30 miles of it. My mom and stepdad even hiked a portion of it with me! They seemed to even enjoy themselves as I forced them to march at a fast pace, perhaps they are who I get my outdoorsiness from! I hung out in Harpers Ferry for a few hours todayand had a blast seeing things I remember from my childhood!

Favorite Pictures So Far (PART 1)

2007-10-06T21:14:00.000-04:00

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)

2007-10-06T21:12:00.000-04:00

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)

2007-10-06T21:10:00.000-04:00

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)

2007-10-06T21:08:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-03T20:52:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-02T17:08:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-01T18:45:00.000-04:00

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.

Caledonia State Park PA

2007-09-28T18:25:00.000-04:00

On Friday, I hiked over many rocky paths to end up in the Caledonia State Park, 10 miles away, where I got picked up to go to a family gathering. The hike was great, besides the rocks, and I had to remind myself several times to stop gazing and start walking to prevent missing my ride. I'm not used to deadlines on the trail quite yet, other than sunset!

Birch Run Shelter PA

2007-09-27T15:13:00.000-04:00

I hiked a mere 9.9 miles on Thursday, ending at 2pm! I decided to do this because I was only going another 10 miles on Friday before getting picked up to spend the weekend with family. I am starting to see the arrival of fall in the forest, as the picture hopefully shows. I just don't want winter to arrive too soon!

Gardners PA

2007-09-26T19:59:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday, I participated in the half-gallon ice cream challenge as a group of us crossed the half way point of the AT! I finished over 9/10ths of it, but was overcome with common sense and didn't make myself sick! I was close, though! I ended up doing 15.5 miles, which was nice to do on a sugar rush, and ended up staying at the Pine Grove Furnace State Park. The place where I stayed was the Ironmasters Mansion Hostel, which was actually a part of the Underground Railroad! It was cool too see the false floors where escapees actually stayed and take in some history! Sorry for the delay, I haven't had a good signal to send a pix message until now!

Boiling Springs PA

2007-09-25T19:19:00.001-04:00

Today, I hiked across the Cumberland Valley, for a total of 18.2 miles! This involved a lot of open sky to gaze at, lots of roads to cross, and tons of farms to meander through! It was a long haul, but I was trying to keep pace with another hiker who has been hiking since Maine, and Succeeded! Tonight, I'm staying at the Alec Kennedy shelter.

Hawk Rock PA

2007-09-24T14:31:00.001-04:00

This pic is looking down on Duncannon, PA, and the Sesquehanna River. I ended up not hiking yesterday because of blisters I got from racing to the post office on Sat. But I am off again with a new found stamina! I will end up in the Darlington Shelter tonight, which will be a 11.4 mile day! Not bad for having bad feet! At least my new shoes arrived and they fit fine! I finally met some other hikers heading the same direction as me, which is cool because I may not always be camping in solitude! I hope you are enjoying the internet, because I am going through some major withdrawl right now!

Pine Grove PA

2007-09-23T08:36:00.001-04:00

It has been a very interesting past few days! On Thurs. night, I saw that my right shoe was starting to fall apart, so I got on the phone and had REI ship me a new pair in Duncannon, 70 miles down the trail from where I was, in Port Clinton. But first, I had to make it to the Pine Grove post office by noon on Sat., which was 28 miles away! To make it, I hiked 18 miles on Fri. and 10 miles on Sat. morning to get my food shippment just 15 minutes before the PO closed until Mon. morning! Unfortunately my shoes didn't last, so I was stuck in Pine Grove without trail-worthy shoes! Luckily, my parents were attending a wedding less than an hour away. They graciously picked me up and took me to my new pair of shoes in Duncannon, which is where I am going to pick back up again on the trail! It has been a very exciting past few days!

Windsor Furnace PA

2007-09-20T12:08:00.000-04:00

This morning, I stumbled across this peaceful pond after an hour of hiking. Shortly afterwards, I startled a few deer but wasn't able to grab my camera before they were long gone! Today is an easy day; I'm heading into Port Clinton for a night in a free hostel, for a 6.1 mile total. Tomorrow will bring another large climb, so today's slacking is justified.

The Pinnacle Eckville PA

2007-09-19T13:21:00.000-04:00

I just finished the 1,000 foot climb to the Pinnacle, which was easier than I expected because of smooth trails. Lots of hawks up here! There have also been several hikers enjoying the view with me. Just 4 miles left until camp!

Dan's pulpit PA

2007-09-18T18:49:00.000-04:00

I just stumbled on this great view after about 5 miles of uphill hiking. Now i just have 2 miles left downhill, hopefully there aren't any cliffs to scale! I met three day hikers today going the opposite direction who warned me of more rocky terrain; they weren't kidding! I must mend my feet tonight, but otherwise i'm doing great!

Allentown shelter PA

2007-09-17T19:13:00.000-04:00

What you see in the picture is a typical AT Shelter. They are scattered along the trail every 5 Or so miles. Today, I hiked 11 miles (10 on the trail and 0.5 to and from a spring), and i am exhausted! The terrain was extremely rocky and there were a few toug h climbs. On a lighter note, i almost fell flat on my back after two turkeys shot out of some bushes next to the trail! I thought i was done for with the amount of noise they made! Thankfully, i survived.

Bake oven knob PA

2007-09-16T17:39:00.001-04:00

Only two miles on the trail and i already have been rewarded with a great view! Thanks goes to the old guy for driving me to the trail! Wish me luck!

Does anybody want to buy a Porsche?

2007-09-15T14:13:00.001-04:00

It is Saturday and I haven't left yet. I won't go into too many details, but I have been tying up a lot of loose-ends and working on getting my car, a 1983 Porsche 944, ready to sell. Do you want to pick up a project car? This has been taking a lot of my time, but I am set to hit the trail tomorrow morning!

One of those loose-ends was writing a mass-email to pretty much everybody that I know (at least everybody that I remember I know)... which took over two hours to do because I didn't have any email addresses stored in MD and ended up having to look up every single email address. If I forgot to include you, I am sorry! No offense intended! Well, maybe... just to you Andy! I just wasn't cut out to be a spammer.

My pack officially weighs 42 pounds at most (with two liters of water and about seven days worth of food on board). Without the food and water, the bag should be tipping the scales at about 26 pounds. Not too bad.

Testing for text message!

2007-09-13T02:04:00.000-04:00

Testing for text message!

...Well, it seems as though I will be able to use my cell phone to do updates while on the trail! (The above message came from my cell phone!!!) Those posts will not be as long as these past few... but I'll try and get as much info in them as possible and update them once I am in front of a computer!

As this is my last post before I begin the trek, I thought that it would be a good idea to let everyone know where I finally decided to begin hiking: The Delaware Water Gap. It is at the northern end of the PA section of the trail, which is approximately 231 miles away from the MD state line.

If all goes according to plan, I should reach MD by the end of September and have a convenient chance to bail out then (family members with AC are located conveniently close to the trail right over the MD state line!). If I don't bail, I should finish the MD and WV portions of the trail in a few days and be set to tackle the mere 550 miles of trail wandering through Virginia!

Wish me luck!

I should get some food sometime, huh?

2007-09-12T00:53:00.000-04:00

I received a package in the mail today from Wisconsin. It contained the ever important books that will help me plan my meals and stops on the trail, books that I forgot to bring with me when I left the cheese state! Jessica was kind enough to sift through my storage unit to find them and ship them out to me. She’s so sweet ;-)

Since I have to carry everything that I will eat, I’ve got to pack as many calories into each pound as possible. Being a vegetarian makes this even more interesting... no meats makes protein a tough commodity to come by. There will be lots of pasta, grains, beans, nuts, and anything that is typically prepared by boiling it in water! Can anybody say Good Old Raisins and Peanuts? All the “expert” sources have said that I will consume about two pounds of food a day to support a hiker’s 4000(+) calorie per day diet. This means that I will need to carry about fifteen pounds of food alone in order to survive for a week on the trail. I’m sure that I will try to cut down on long legs of the journey in order to save on weight… eventually. Grocery shopping is going to be a fun time tomorrow!

Preparations

2007-09-11T17:10:00.000-04:00

Ever since I was about four feet tall, I’ve thought about hiking the length of the Appalachian Trail somehow, someway. Unfortunately, serious planning had never taken place before this past fall. Then, for some reason, I went to pains in order to distract myself from school and work in order to figure out if it would even be possible for me to undertake such a trip. I mean, 2150 (or so) miles? Come on! Even I don’t think that it’s a smart idea…

After months of researching, planning, and wasting tax refunds on camping gear, I stand before you as a totally clueless traveler about to attempt a partial hike of the Appalachian Trail. The plan has shifted several times; I originally wanted to begin in July and wanted to do the whole trail. As you may notice, it is September and I am planning on beginning the hike in northern Pennsylvania. Oh well… as long as I try, right?

I am set to be dropped off on the side of the road by my old man this Thursday, September 13, 2007. From there, I will begin to hike south until it is too cold to do so anymore, or until I stop having fun. Forget A/C, forget clean showers, forget TV’s, and forget civilized life; I am on my way to lose myself in nature (so long as I don’t forget my map).

First Post

2007-09-10T17:18:00.000-04:00

The purpose behind this blog is to keep my friends and family (and apparently the rest of the online community) updated on my whereabouts as I am roaming around on the Appalachian Trail and living life in different places. It seems as though it will be much easier to keep a blog than constantly maintaining an email list and calling twenty people a day. We will see...

Immediate news: I am planning on hiking a portion of the Appalachian Trail over the next few months. To give you an idea of where this trail is, I've uploaded this map to the left, compliments of the Appalachian Trail Convervancy.