Appalachian Trail Memoirs- VA, WV & MD

As time allows I am going to continue to record my experiences from the trail, both for my own recollection down the road and also to share the stories with those of you who have expressed that you enjoyed reading my blog.

As a little update- I am currently residing in Steamboat Springs , CO. I am working at the Steamboat Smokehouse and will be starting my position as a Ski Instructor in early December! I miss the trail dearly; I miss the people, the camaraderie, the exercise and the peace, but- I am SO happy to be back in Colorado and starting on this new adventure. 

After the amazing Shenandoah river trip I spent a few days with family in Front Royal. Donna and Junior were amazing hosts, feeding me delicious meals, including southern fried chicken; they sure knew how to take care of a thru-hiker! We took a cruise on the skyline drive and visited the gravesites of my great grandparents, I even had the opportunity to see the house that my grandmother grew up in, in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. The visit was refreshing and wonderful but it also left me starting back out on the trail solo, as the friends I had canoed with had pushed on during my family visit. It was absolutely pouring on my final day with Donna and Junior. I was ready to start hiking again but also did not want to start out on the next leg of my journey with soaked gear.  Instead, I explained slack packing to them and they drove me 20 miles north on the trail so that I could slack pack back to Front Royal. It felt amazing to be in the woods again and with no pack to weigh me down, I found myself doing some trail running in the rain. I moved so fast that day and before I knew it was back at their house with a warm shower and huge dinner. On my hike I passed some of my trail friends whom I had not seen in a while; Apollo, Hammer, Lil Wing and Burning Man so I knew that I would see them the next day and that I had not completely lost my “bubble”, also many of my friends were still a few days behind me- sickness, waiting for packages and the three days of pouring rain having slowed them down through the Shenandoah section of trail. 

After my day of slack packing, the rain finally stopped and I set out with the sun shining ready to take on the “roller coaster”. This section of trail is named for the continuous assents and descents that stretched on for 13.5 miles. After a week of sitting in a canoe and a day of hiking without a pack, my legs felt out of shape. After 15 miles I came across Bears Den Hostel and decided to stay there and call it a night. Bears Den is a very well known hostel on the trail. It is a huge beautiful stone building and they offer a pizza, pint of Ben and Jerry’s, shower, laundry, a bunk and pancake breakfast for around $30.00. I decided to camp and forgo the pizza and ice cream, but was still able to shower, do laundry and make pancakes for breakfast. This was an easy and fun first night back on trail. Upon arriving at Bear’s Den I noticed that there was a BBQ taking place. A couple of locals had brought up food and beer for trail magic and the friends that I had passed on the trail the day before were all gathered around, hanging out and catching up. Handstand was also there and I had not seen her in forever! We had a really nice evening and I had a peaceful night camping near the garden, surrounded by fireflies.

The next day left me crossing into West Virginia and within reach of Harpers Ferry- the “psychological half-way point” on the trail. Rather than get into town late and pay for yet another hostel I decided to camp a few miles before town and hike in early the next day. I caught up with Hammer and Lil Wing late in the day and after consulting our handy AT guidebooks we found that there was an Italian restaurant only a quarter mile off trail. Even though we were well supplied, it is always difficult to turn down non-trail food when the opportunity arises, so we got dinner then walked the remaining few miles to camp. It was a small dingy site and was already inhabited by two older gentlemen who were stoking a fire. We set up and joined them around the fire listening to their stories. One of my favorite parts of the trail was these nighttime conversations with other hikers who were headed in the opposite direction or moving slower, and that you would never see again.  It is always amazing- the stories you will hear and the things you will learn when you just take the time to listen.

It rained again throughout the night and when I woke it was still raining and gloomy. I had traded tents with another thru-hiker (my one person for his two person) so by utilizing the two vestibules on the rainfly I was able to take the tent down while keeping it and my pack mostly dry. This turned out to be one of the best features of the two person Big Agnes Copper Spur and why I would recommend it over the one person.  I left camp before Lil Wing and Hammer and headed towards Harpers Ferry- the excitement of passing through another state and registering at the ATC office pushing me through the rain. 

Harpers Ferry is a beautiful historic town. The trail runs along and through town, passing many historical sights, including Jefferson Rock. The ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservancy) office, located in town, is a magical place for a thru-hiker. There are beautiful pictures of the trail located throughout the office and a 3D topographical map of the trail. Part of the custom of visiting the ATC office is getting your Polaroid taken on the porch and added to the register of hikers who have already hiked through. It was exciting to look back through the previous weeks at the hikers who had registered before me. I recognized many faces ahead but also got an idea of who was still behind me on the trail. My number was 401- meaning I was the 401^st person to pass through the office in 2013 registering as a thru-hiker

 

I had a lot of errands to run while in town but it was so early in the day that I knew I could get everything done and still hike out 6 miles to the first shelter in order to avoid staying in a hostel. I went out to lunch with Hammer, Lil Wing and Burning Man, picked up a birthday gift for my mom, stopped at the post office for my re-supply box and headed to the library to update my blog and dry my tent out in the sunny lawn. While in the library I got news of Tornado warnings in the area and the huge storm that was rolling in. Within an hour the sky’s were black and I could see the storm advancing.  I was over a mile into town, away from the trail, and was torn between hiking out in the potentially dangerous conditions versus coughing up $30.00 for the Tea Horse Hostel, a quarter mile down the road.  I was buying some extra snacks at the 7-11, watching the rain pour down in sheets and weighing my options, when a local asked me if I needed a ride anywhere. He was familiar with the hostel and said that it was very nice, I decided to call it a day and put safety before stubbornness and took the free lift to dry accommodations.

The hostel turned out to be the nicest one that I stayed in on the entire trail. It had the setup of a lovely apartment, with the bedrooms being bunkrooms. I ended up with an entire room to myself and once again got to take a shower!! (Three showers in 4 days is really a treat on the trail.) There was no one that I knew at the hostel, all of the other thru-hikers were guys who had started around a month later than me and were clearly approaching the trail with a different mentality- but it was really nice to meet them and I ended up crossing paths with them many times over the next couple of weeks.  Breakfast at the tea horse was amazing, all you can eat waffles with fresh strawberries and bananas and cups on cups of coffee- the perfect way to start a day of backpacking! 

I left town alone, crossing into Maryland- slowly but surely crossing states off as I headed northbound on the trail. After crossing the bridge out of town there are a few miles of walking along the river on a rail trail. I came across an older gentleman who was actually from Hot Springs, NC (one of the trail towns that we had walked through). He was also thru-hiking and we had a really pleasant conversation as we walked together, once we got to the first climb I pushed ahead and never saw him again… this is also the nature of the trail; some people that you meet you may see day after day, others you may not see for a month but then you will walk up to them on a mountain top enjoying an afternoon snack and have an enthusiastic reunion, and some people will come into your life if only for an hour or a day, but still make an impression on you that will stick with you for a lifetime.

The trail was crowded leaving Harpers Ferry. Whenever you leave a town, especially after a stormy day, a large bubble of hikers tends to form that you then hike with until you reach the next town or stop on the trail. I met a lot of new hikers in this section and had so much fun hiking “solo” for the first time. Every day the decision of how far to hike and where to stay was completely my own and I was able to finally camp solo for the first time- which is crazy because I had already completed almost half of the trail and never had a campsite to myself. 

Maryland is a very short state to hike and can be completed in just two days, some crazy hikers even attempt a “four state challenge” which starts in Virginia and ends in PA – a total of 42.5 miles in just 24 hours. The terrain is fairly easy and all of the trees were blooming with beautiful flowers. The trail in Maryland also passes through a number of public parks and even has a campsite with a shower house- which of course I took advantage of.  I decided to stay at the Annapolis Rocks campsite, which was where I had my first solo evening. This location has a number of group and solo campsites spread out throughout the woods, a fresh spring and a caretaker. The name “Annapolis Rocks” comes from the huge rock cliffs just a minute walk from the campsites, which supply amazing views of the surrounding valley and the opportunity to catch a lovely sunset. I cooked dinner on the rocks, watching the sunset, and was filled with a sense of independence and confidence that I had not yet experienced on the trip.

 

Maryland was the beginning of my 3-4 mph days- where the terrain was consistently flat enough to allow me to move quickly and efficiently through the woods. This terrain allowed me to hike 20-25 miles, often before 5:00- leaving plenty of time for socializing and relaxing at night. I was able to maintain that pace through PA and much of NJ, NY, CT & MA, once my body and mind got used to walking “big miles” each day it became habitual and anything less than 20 miles felt lazy. It was with this mentality that I began to really cover miles and push onward, northbound. 

Rainy Days and Lovely Stays

Yesterday has made it on to my top 5 list of hardest hiking days for this trip. (There are 3 days on the list so far including slush day in the smokies and freezing rain day out of davenport gap.)

Yesterday I started out of Jenny Knob Shelter with the goal of making it to Woods Hole Hostel, 22 miles away. I knew the forecast was 80-90% rain for the entire day so there would be no stopping and camping instead of putting in the mileage. My rainfly on my tent was already soaked from the showers throughout the night and my only wearable socks were about to become completely saturated. I had to get to Woods Hole.

I woke up at 6:45 and it was coming down so I dozed back off. Not 20 minutes later I heard Thunder Foot (who usually sleeps in until closer to 9) packing up his tent. The rain had stopped, providing an opportune time to pack up a tent without allowing water to get inside the tent body.

I got dressed and packed in ten minutes and quickly took down my tent. I hung my fly to blow in the wind for a few minutes and shook it out as best as I could. End result; tent was completely dry, footprint mostly dry and rainfly damp but not saturated… a small win for the day.

I typically spend about an hour in the morning sitting in my sleeping bag making coffee and a hot breakfast and reading. On this cold morning I forced down a granola bar and a few sips of water while I organized my pack in the shelter. (At this point the rain had started again).

I set out before everyone else, determined to just get through the day. I started my hike in just a quick drying t-shirt and my rain pants. It was not warm out but I had a climb to start the day and when I get overheated on climbs I typically get nauseous. By the time I was done with the climb and started on my decent I was completely drenched, shirt clinging to my body, and there would be no quick drying as the rain was relentless. To make matters worse, as I was coming off the hill I ran into 100 feet of trail that was covered in a deep slick mud. Of course my feet slid out from under me and I fell, covering myself and my pack in the brown goop. After about nine miles I started to get really cold so I took my ONLY mini break of the day, removed my wet shirt, put on my rain jacket and grabbed a baggie of chocolate covered raisins (the only food I ate in those 22 miles).

The day seemed to drag on. I was more like a machine than a person…trudging on, pace set, rain streaming down my body, moving as fast as I could to stay warm. The rain was soothing to listen to but the cool temperatures and long distance really made the day difficult to enjoy at all.

Besides my mud bath, I had many other physical mishaps throughout the day. I slipped and almost fell on three separate wooden footbridges, slick from the rain and mud. I created two stick trips which sent me lurching forward. (A stick trip is a term I created for when a stick is lying horizontally across the trail and you step on one side of it causing the other side to pop into the air which you then trip over as your other foot comes forward.) I also slipped on countless wet rocks and boulders that littered parts of the trail. The only thing that stopped me from smashing my face in was my trekking poles but each time I stopped a fall I jarred a different part of my body; (arms/shoulders/back).

The final two miles of the hike were bittersweet. I was happy that I was almost to the hostel and warmth but the forest all around me was dead and charred black (presumably from a controlled burn) and the terrain was rocky and slow.

8 hours after starting my hike, I finally came across the hostel and could not have been happier. I walked on to the porch of the hostel and said excuse me to the young man sitting right inside. He turned around and it was none other than Novi!! (He left Atkins on his own earlier this week to get some solo hiking in). Novi and another hiker helped me get settled. First up was a HOT shower in the outdoor shower (which no one else was a fan of but I absolutely loved), setting up my stuff in the upstairs “bunk room”, eating two homemade oatmeal chocolate granola bars, and drinking two cokes and a juice. I then went inside the main house and washed all of my drenched and dirty clothes and signed up for the community dinner. Many of my friends that I keep running into were here including Mr. Gigglefits and his girlfriend Paisley, Finder and SugarBombs, Sunshine, Owl, M-80 & Trooper, Novi… And Thunder Foot, Oatmeal, Toast, Rusty and Big Yankee were right behind me.

I am absolutely in love with this hostel and wish I could take a few zeros here. The owners have adopted a ton of sustainable lifestyle principles which I think is amazing. The have huge gardens, chickens, goats, pigs & beekeeping. They make amazing huge community dinners for the hikers. For $13.00, we had a delicious salad with the option of three different homemade dressings, and pretty much all you could eat homemade bread and gumbo loaded with vegetables and meat. For breakfast today is cream brûlée french-toast, farm fresh eggs with kale, fresh fruit and more homemade bread!

Massage is offered to guests for an affordable price. Last night we ended the evening with meditation and this morning after breakfast we will do yoga. The house is beautiful, rustic and antique yet charming and homey. They offer indoor beds for just $25.00 and a place in the bunkhouse is $10.00. They are very welcoming in this weather and allowed us bunkhouse patrons to hangout in the warm living room of the house around the fireplace for the entire evening.

I decided last week that I wanted to start staying at more hostels because they are a unique part of this experience that I feel I have been missing out on. Being here has felt like a blessing and I could not be happier about my choice. Although yesterday was a hard day, I went to bed well fed, relaxed and in a great state of mind. It is supposed to rain relentlessly for the rest of this week but I am rejuvenated and ready to face today and all of the slippery rocks it has to offer.

*After-note- I am now in Pearisburg, VA – mile 630.8- today was another cold rainy day of hiking but we only had to do ten miles! I fell three more times but luckily did not get hurt. We are staying at the lovely Plaza (motel :-p) drying out our soaked packs, shoes and tents and resupplying for the next week. I just ate at a Chinese buffet, it was actually disturbing how much food I ate before I felt “full”!

Four Season Backpacking on the AT

As I mentioned in my previous post, the weather over the past couple of weeks has been a roller coaster. The week before I started the trail the mountains were slammed with snow, since I have started there have been 70 degree hiking days with 40 degree nights but I have also woken up to an inch of snow on the ground and hiked all day with temperatures not going above freezing and wind chills close to zero. The next three days are calling for freezing rain and snow. It’s also hard to get exact weather predictions because all forecasts are for local towns but most campsites and shelters are between 4000-5000 feet and get wind gusts like you would not believe. Oh and I forgot to mention, the Smokies have over three feet of snow in some parts and my schedule has me there for a week starting next weekend.

When you are on the trail for a thru hike, moving forward is your full time job. Typically when planning a thru hike people set aside savings for zero days in fun towns along the way but plan to spend most nights camping along the trail. For future thru-hikers I would suggest also having a “rainy day” fund set aside, especially if starting your hike early in the season. While you may think you can tough it out, you may also find yourself sick or even hypothermic in these type of conditions, even if you are as prepared as you can be. I would also suggest setting aside money for gear changes early on and make sure you have a great pair of wind proof gloves and a wool hat for packing up and hiking on the cold mornings.

Over the past week MANY people have quit the trail all together (a combination of wether and also how strenuous the terrain is). Two people in the group that I was hiking with have gotten very sick, one with pneumonia who will need to go home for now and the other with a nasty cold that will have him checked in to the motel for a few more days. Also, on the first really cold night we were up half the night in our shelter because one of the people in our group was wet and could not stop shivering or get warm and there was a fear that he might get hypothermia so Sir Packs A Lot (a local guide who was with us) was constantly checking on him, giving him more clothing and feeding him warm liquids.

I personally have had a hard time sleeping because of the cold so I have had to make some gear adjustments and adjust the clothing that I sleep in. I had spent close to 5 hours pre-trail deciding if I wanted to buy a bag liner and what kind to get. I ended up buying a silk liner because it is the most lite weight, it helps with the bag temperature and you can wash it which helps to keep your bag cleaner. My bag is only rated 25 (I bought this based on the naive assumption that the nights would not be colder than this.. Ha!), I wish I would have gone for the slightly heavier 15 degree bag. Three days ago I ended up buying the sea to summit thermolite liner that adds up to 25 degrees, it is almost an extra pound of weight but I have been so much warmer with it. I have also doubled up on my thick wool socks, wear my wool hat and only wear light weight long underwear in my sleeping bag. This combination has finally brought me a comfortable night sleep in the cold temperatures. (I found that wearing a sweatshirt or too much clothing in the bag was causing me to sweat which in turn made me colder). Next up will be figuring out how to get warm and not get my sleeping bag wet after walking in freezing rain all day and then setting up my tent in the freezing rain 🙂

Poor weather conditions have lead to a lot of changes in our hiking plan since the last time I wrote. On Sunday (St.Patricks day) Casey (Aqua Man) , Erin (Brown Sugar) and I started out with the intention of hiking only 7 miles. We ended up pushing on and hiking 13, setting us up to hike out 4 miles Monday morning for our Nero day in Hiawassee. We got to camp just as the sun was setting feeling very proud of ourselves. The rain was not “forecasted” to start until 11am Monday so I felt optimistic that we would be nice and dry on our 9am shuttle into town. (Another naive assumption). The rain started to come down around 6:00 am. We packed up in the rainy dark and set out for the shuttle around 7:30. It was actually a really beautiful hike as it stared to lighten up and the woods were filled with a thick rainy fog. Knowing my pace on this terrain has been about 2 miles an hour, I started to worry about missing the shuttle and getting stuck in the rain. About half way down the hill I started to run (literally run-with a 35lb pack on my back and on feet and knees that have had me hobbling). I made it to the road by 8:45 and when Casey finally caught up to me he dubbed me Quick Switch (now my trail name 🙂 ).

After our Nero day the plan was to spend the next seven days hiking to NOC with no re-supply or hotel stays. That night at the fire all anyone was talking about was the upcoming weather.. Rain rain and more rain. The next day we planned on hiking 12 miles instead of 8 in order to get us closer to Franklin, NC (in case we needed to get off trail). As I pulled into the agreed upon campsite no one was there. Knowing that I was last in our pack for the day I pressed on three more miles to the next shelter and arrived after 15 miles as the sun was going down. Pure exhaustion and slight annoyance is a good description for how I felt. I found out that the group plan was to head into Franklin the following night, after just two nights out. After waking up to snow (I think I am the only one who was warm during the night) everyone was more set on this plan. We did 12 more miles (much of this without water because all of our water and purification drops were frozen) bringing our two day total to 27.

I originally planned to get back on trail this morning but the overload on miles has my feet in a frenzy. I decided to take a zero today with everyone else and headed over to the local outfitter. I picked up a new pair of boots and also green super feet insoles. (Everyone swears by these for arch support and shock absorption). My feet are taking me to Maine so I hope that this further investment will help make the miles less painful. For the last few days every step has been excruciating and my blisters have not gotten any better.

We will be heading back out tomorrow morning. We still have 30 miles to the NOC, I currently plan on making this a three day trek but if the rain is absolutely freezing and I cannot get dry I may try for two more 15 mile days (despite by better judgement).

I know this entry may seem to have a negative tone but that is not at all my intention. Despite the less than ideal weather and painful feet, I am still having a ton of fun and I embrace the nasty conditions as opportunities to learn more about myself, push my limits and broaden my experience. The trail is stunning and the people continue to amaze me. We have had countless acts of trail magic in the last week including a spaghetti lunch at one of the gaps and a free all you can eat pancake breakfast put on by a local church in Franklin. We got to spend two nights with Andrew (River Rat) a previous thru hiker and his buddy Justin (Nom Nom). They were section hiking for the weekend and small world- Casey went to college with Andrew. They were hilarious and Andrew shared many stories from his time on the trail. I recently crossed into North Carolina and yesterday crossed the 100 mile threshold. Although my feet are sore I can feel my body strengthening with each day and my fitness improving.

I have a few more notes from the trail that Ill share while I’m thinking about them:
-A canvas water bag (I have a 4L MSR) seems to be less likely to freeze than the plastic water bags like the platypus.
-If the temperatures are below freezing make sure there is no water in the drinking hose connected to your water bag! (Also keep water in your pack to decrease likelihood of freezing and keep purification drops warm if they are your only method of water treatment)
-Tuna fish packets can freeze but after 8 miles hiking up hill, frozen tuna on a wrap is just as good as a gourmet meal.
-Ear plugs are a must for hostels, shared motel rooms, and busy camp sites; you never know when you will come across a heavy snorer!
-Hike your own hike, I have already learned the hard way that pushing myself too hard just to keep up with my friends was not a good choice for my health.

Prequel – Reflections & Reasons

I read somewhere that a common topic of conversation, especially when first starting out on the trail, is the motives behind doing a thru-hike: “Why are you here?” “How did you get here?” Each person who takes on the trail does so for his or her own set of reasons and with different expectations and goals in mind. I am excited to have these conversations during my hike and hopefully share some of the stories with you. For now I will attempt to dissect my own reasons for hiking the Appalachian Trail and how I got here.  

Growing up I always had an “end goal” of getting good grades, going to a good college, getting a good job and having a comfortable life. I worked hard and landed a position with a great start up company right out of college. I lived near NYC, traveled a lot, and had an adorable apartment and a boyfriend who was my best friend. I was really happy until I was not.

As time passed, I started to realize that the fast paced city lifestyle was not something I enjoyed. I was always sad leaving the office at the end of a beautiful day, knowing I had missed it all while staring at a computer screen.  I would go home with a headache, too mentally exhausted to do anything. Weeks flew by, years flew by.

One evening, I came across an old friend online and reached out to him. I learned that he was living somewhat of a non-conventional lifestyle but was following his dreams and what really made him happy in life. Our conversations sparked something in me that to this day pushes me to go after what I want in life even if it seems out of reach.

I started to consider what really made me happy and began doing those things more. I tried rock climbing for the first time and fell in love with it, I went on hikes in the NJ area and in the Catskills, and on my first backpacking overnight since high school, I took my bike out and explored the NJ canal system and I went on long weekend trips across the country. I got scuba certified and went skydiving and I could not get enough adventure. I re-focused my finances and my free time into things that I loved and I realized that the only thing that would hold me back (what holds a lot of people back) is fear of change and failure. Letting go of that fear, I sold my things and moved to Colorado.

Being in Colorado has transformed my life even further.  I have been fortunate in that I have been working part time since I moved here and have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time exploring the state- hiking, climbing and skiing in many beautiful areas. These experiences and the emotional euphoria they provide me has only reiterated in my mind that I am on the right path for me and that I need to keep pushing myself along.

Lily Mountain, Estes Park Colorado

In the future I plan to have a career related to the outdoors industry. There are a number of routes I can take, and I cannot even begin to speculate where I will end up, only time can tell. In the short term, my “next step” is to hike the Appalachian Trail.  I am looking at the trail as my grad school, an education for where my life is headed.  I know I have a lot to learn, I know it will be hard and I know there is no way I could completely prepare for this journey. I also know that I have the motivation and drive to overcome the obstacles that I will face and I have faith that I will finish with a sense of confidence and independence that I cannot even imagine.  I can’t wait.