Trail Magic - Delaware Water Gap

On my way to Palmerton, PA for the Spartan Sprint, I passed the Appalachian Trail at the Delaware Water Gap.  I decided that I would do some trail magic on the way home (Sept 11th), so Ashley and I stopped at Target, bought some Mountain Dew and Nutella and left it on the trail for the thru hikers.  It feels nice to "pay it forward," we were graced with trail magic several times, and it really brightens your day.  I hope the hikers enjoyed it. 

It was a really beautiful area, so we did a little photo shoot in a creek.  I'll be heading back there this weekend to take Alex on her first backpacking trip!

Day 32: Driving home!

Woke up, drank some coffee, Ellen and John went to work. Weighed ourselves, Chad lost 6 lbs, I lost 2. We helped ourselves to some hash browns, eggs, sausage, cherries and yogurt for breakfast, packed up our stuff and hit the road. We are on our way to Syracuse to Chad's parents' house to sort/clean our gear. Then I'm back to Buffalo tonight! excited to sleep in my own bed! Will post pics from camera soon (fb and some online album). Also, it is amazing/depressing that it takes 10 hours to hike 20 miles, and less than 20 minutes to drive 20 miles...

Day 31: Exit Plan and Culture Shock

Took a taxi from Peru, VT to Bennington, VT. As we stepped out of the van, saw our friend we met our first night, Johnny Walker, walking right past us! He had gotten off the trail for a few weeks and had just hopped back on! What a cooincidence! Chatted with him until Amy and Steve came to pick us up (thanks guys!). We had lunch with them and they took us to the train station in Poukeepsie, NY. We took the train to Grand Central Station. Walked through NYC with our packs, got some funny looks, or people just avoided eye contact with us...to Penn Station, where we took another train to Summit, NJ. Ellen picked us up there and took us to their house (where the deHavillands so kindly let me keep my car for a month) and we spent the night.

Day 30: our last day on the trail :(

we woke up in a cloud because we were in the mountains, and got an early start to the day (7 of us on the trail by 8...well 8:14). It was a 6 mile hike to the road which takes you into town. we started hiking with everybody, because we had a silly plan: whenever we passed by another hiker, Jack Rabbit would play "Chariots of Fire" on his iPod and we would all hike dramatically in slow motion past them. To add to the awkwardness, Larb and Handstand didn't wear pants. Good times. We parted ways because we had a cottage reserved in Peru, VT and they had to go to Manchester Center (laundry, post office). awe checked into Johnny Seesaw's, which was a nice ski lodge and restaurant, and they even picked us up at the trail. We showered, lounged, started eating peanut butter and nutella out of jars then decided to go into town for some real food. called a taxi service and got a ride from a crazy man named Leonard. We ate at Friendly's (3rd time) then met our friends at the laundry mat.  Doing laundry on the trail can be awkward, because everything you have is filthy, and you want to wash it...so you end up wearing nothing but rain coat and rain pants (Raindancer), or swim trunks. I wish i had a picture of this scene. Then, we hung out in the motel room they were all sharing, ate some pizza, watched some Lord of the Rings, then I got a migrane and we said our goodbyes :( went back to our cottage and crashed for the night.

Day 29: 21 Miles

Traveling with a group can really make you pick up the pace. we did 21 miles miles, including up and over Stratton Mountain (3961 ft). Pink Floyd is really fast, he was up ahead, scouting out a place we could all stay. left us notes on the trail telling us where to go. I was the last one in, at 7:30pm. Solid 12 hours of hiking, boy we were tired. Luckily, we had some extra food, so we had 2 dinners. then we had a hot chocolate festival. everybody enjoyed french vanilla, amaretto, and mint hot chocolates as well as some hot apple cider with tullamore dew. we had a very strange bug net burning ceremony and called it a night :)

Day 28: Hitch-hiking!

hitching out of Bennington! in the back of a pickup truck. 7 of us :)

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

Day 27: The Vortex

summited Consultation Mtn. and hiked 13 miles to the VT 9. Grabbed a shuttle into Bennington. We are staying at a place called "The Vortex" it is a free hostel run by an art teacher and her family. She offers her couches, front porch, barn and woods behind her house to AT hikers. She says that her house is our house, we can shower (she has soap, shampoo and towels) and use the kitchen, computer. living room, etc. she has a room full of musical instruments for people to jam. picture is of the barn, some hikers playing pool. there is a whole wall of thank yous from hikers. Friendly's is 2 doors down. we went with some friends we have been hiking with and all ordered "fatty melts" (not what they are called on the menu. burger made with grilled cheeses instead of a bun, i had a boca burger) and milkshakes and lots of calories. right now, the girls are braiding the guys beards,
hangin out in the barn. in the morning "pink floyd" is making us all pancakes from scratch. :)

Day 26: Into Vermont!

I'm in Vermont! Bam! The AT follows the Vermont Long Trail (273 miles, goes north into Canada) for 105 miles. I wonder what the liquor laws are in VT... 3 more miles to the shelter, already went 13, lots of steep hills. I would say it has been our toughest day so far. ready for dinner, and bed.

Day 26: Mt. Greylock

left camp at 7:15am, summited Saddle Ball Mtn (3238ft) and Mt Greylock (3491ft). A lighthouse sits at trhe summit (and smells like urine inside) as a tribute to soldiers of MA. On a clear day you can see the Green Mtns of VT, Catskills and Taconic Mtns. We will have an overpriced 2nd breakfast ay Bascom Lodge up here, and might even stick around for lunch so Chad can have a burger. Food tastes better on top of a mountain. PS: I saw a girl eat a "breakfast burrito" this morning that consisted of a tortilla with nutella and m&m's. this is socially acceptable among hikers, and I need to get some tortillas.

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

Day 25: Cheshire MA & up

Dan headed back to his car with a group of hikers going the same direction. We headed up up up. Summited North Mountain, which had a great view at "The Cobbles" I wish I took my phone up there to show you the view, but it was uphill and off the trail so we dropped our packs. You could see the little town of Cheshire which the trail goes through, a lake, and Mt. Greylock. Greylock is the highest peak in MA. We were excited to hike through Cheshire because there is a ice cream shop, an outfitters (we need a VT map soon!) and a pizza place. Ice cream shop: closed. Outfitters: closed. Pizza Shop: closed. Well great. We ended up going to a gas station just past the town and getting cold drinks and some unhealthy carbs. After the gas station it was up up up. We are close to the summit now, staying at the shelter. There was a forecast for T-storms and we heard thunder so we ended
early at the Mark Neopel shelter. Full house (20?). Played pass the pigs with new friends (pic).

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

Day 24: Dan filtering water

Dan pumping some water. Thanks Andy for letting us borrow your filter! All water out here should be treated before drinking. You can use a filter, they are heavier but make the water tasty and you can drink it right away. backpackers who are trying to have really light packs (minimalists) usually use iodine drops or tablets, or a few drops of bleach. these are small and light, but you have to wait a half hour before drinking it, and they taste kinda nasty. Havin a relaxing day with Dan, 4 mile hike to campsite, ate some junk food, built a fire, collected wood for tonight, played pass the pigs, and took a nap on a patch of grass. now we are going for a little walk to check out a pond nearby.

Day 23: Dan Harry Smoking Room

Met Dan (my brother) at 8am where the trail meets a road. some speed bumps in our plan: place we had planned to stay is no longer in business, it is the weekend and everything is booked, we desperately needed to do laundry and take showers. so, we found the closest motel for under $100. this place sucks, and it is a smoking room. showered, went to go see Harry Potter (yay!) and bought some beer and cigars for our smoking room. went to grocery store and got some treats for tomorrow night (corn on the cob and sausages) and some other treats for the trail (olive oil, peanut butter, nutella, jelly & naan). went out for lunch at Panchos while we did laundry. picture is of me feeding dan ice cream after dinner. now we are back in the motel, debating whether to sleep IN the beds, or ON the beds in our sleeping bags. oh, and when Chad went to plug in the fridge, he found a pink pair
of shorts behind it. yum. don't stay at the Heart of the Berkshires Motel. goodnight!

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

Day 22: The Cookie Lady

18 miles today :) our personal best. it can be attributed to the pancakes this morning, the flattest terrain we have seen, and the day of rest we had the day before. we left at 7:45 this morning, walked over the 90 (mass turnpike) summited 2 unimpressive mountains with poor views, then went to go visit the famous "cookie lady". she lives .1 miles off the trail, and bakes about 1500 cookies each year for hikers. they own a u-pick blueberry farm, and we went wild. they gave us buckets with strings to wear around our necks to collect the blueberries. they were the biggest blueberries i have ever seen! $2/lb! pressed on from there to the Kay Wood shelter, where a caretaker is staying and a group of high schoolers from inner city NYC out on their first camping trip. they are on a 4 day trip and will be climbing graylock. nice to have some company on the trail with so much energy!
tonight we are eating about 3 dinners, because we will resupply tomorrow. dan meets us in the am!

Day 21: Zero at Upper Goose Pond Cabin

this place is awesome. we didnt hike ar all today, it is like a vacation within a vacation. a caretaker stays at the cabin for a week, cooks pancakes (ours were blueberry) and makes coffee in the morning. they have canoes you can take out, we went to a little island and had lunch (rice with veggies). our new friends Trump (19 years old) and Mark Trail (old man, went to the same high school as Chad, small world!) joined us out on the island. we drank some scotch and talked for hours. we played in the canoes, raced, laughed a lot and are back on shore now. caretaker is making us all a spaghetti dinner! lots of hikers coming in for the night. learning some new card games so we can play something other than rummy and scat. we will leave early tomorrow and hope to get 10 miles in before lunch.

Day 20: Luxury on the Trail!

arrived at upper goose pond cabin, it is amazing. each week a new caretaker comes, and makes pancakes in the morning. it is on a really nice pond, and they have canoes you can use. bunk room upstairs with 10bunk beds (with mattresses!). had a campfire and ate s'mores. and, it is free :)

Day 19: t-storm

no service yesterday, and no pics bc i kept my phone tucked away to keep it dry. we hiked about 10 miles from tom leonard shelter to shaker's campsite. nice morning, then on the trail, we saw a huge pile of bear poop. then, it went from bright out, to very dark very fast (around 3pm). we started hiking FAST. then chad had the excellent idea to hop off the trail and set up a little shelter with the rain fly of the tent, some rope, sticks and trees. worked pretty well. lots of laughing, chad cooked a nice hot meal of pasta primavera (thanks chad's mom!) while i manned the fort (quite literally holding sticks to hold up the tarp). we trucked on to the campsite after the rain was done. met a hiker named shark. he is a professional poker player. lived in niagara falls for awhile playin at the casino. passed out fast and slept well.

fungus amung us

edible? looks like it is from under the sea.

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

Day 18: how much wood could a...

how much wood could a porqupine (spelling-apparently i am really dependent on spell check) chuck if a porqupine could chuck wood? answer: a lot. they like to eat shelves inside of the shelters at 5:30am. thats one way to get an early start. anywho, last night was a bit different from the usual. we usually sleep in the tent, either set up on the ground, a platform, or even inside the shelter if nobody else is there. if it isnt supposed to rain, we keep the rain fly off and it is basically a nice bug net to sleep in (plus there is a breeze so we don't trap our stink in the tent with us. last night there were so many people in the shelter (6) we couldn't set up the tent inside. there were 4 bunks (big) and a loft. we slept on one of the lower bunks, and i am pleased that i did not fall of. hair was still wet from the rain so i slept in my mummy bag with just my nose and mouth
sticking out. i had a bug net nearby but didnt have to use it (because i covered my face with DEET)

Day 17: Rainy Rainy Rainy

Woke up this morning, Chad watched some awful TV shows (Dog the Bounty Hunter) and we had breakfast sandwiches and coffee and a blueberry donut at a cute little donut shop near the motel. Then we got dropped off at the trail by the motel owner after he took us to the post office. Hiked about 7 miles today. 7 wet, soggy, muddy, slippery miles from Great Barrington to the Tom Leonard Shelter on top of East Mountain. Seems like everybody is ending the day early today, there are 3 thru-hikers (including Stroller, who we met 2 or 3 days in) and one guy out for three days. Wet gear is hanging all over the shelter, and I really have to pee but I don't want to go outside. Stroller has a little baby doll strapped to the outside of the pack - I asked him about it, he said that he and his siblings have been hiding it in eachother's houses for years, and his sister snuck it into his pack before he left. Now, we are going to play some rummy, then probably read and go to bed early.

Day 16: mosquito madness and laundry

hiked from the hemlocks shelter into great barrington, MA today. about 7 miles. steep descent down jug end, then into the forest for MOSQUITO MADNESS! we spend a lot of time outside, and there are always bugs, but not like this. met our hiker friend Sherlock in the laundry room at the comfort inn (they let hikers use laundry room) and he told us there was some sort of illness that killed most of the bats in the area, so nothing is around to eat the mosquitos. he said the bugs will be bad until Greylock Mountain. we will hurry to get out of here! Sherlock also told us about a man named Tom in the next town who opens his home to hikers, and we can stay there for free. meeting so many nice people, having a great time. we went to Friendly's because it is right across the street from the motel. chad had a frunion burger and i had grilled cheese. then a cookies and cream sundae.
we agreed that we could have eaten 2 dinners...the night is still young...(brewery/restaurant close)