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.

Caledonia State Park PA

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

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

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

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.