Day 26- Betrayal in NJ

The day started out so well-it was a little chilly this morning, about 50 degrees but I didn't mind. I like the lower temps, it's easier to hike in my opinion. We set off around 8 and made great time over some really nice trails. We made about 5 miles in about 2.5 hours, a good pace for us. 

Then it happened. New Jersey betrayed us. Rocks, big rocks like New Jersey was trying to show off to Pennsylvania. We basically had to scale a cliff face, which is problematic when you have a giant pack strapped to your back. But that wasn't the worst of it. 

About a half hour past the cliff face, the skies opened up and it started pouring. It was still only about 60 out so the rain was cold. Rocks, and rain slowed us down quite a bit. Our plan was to get to the next shelter and stop for lunch. It took us what seemed like forever, up and down over big piles of slippery wet rocks. Sweat seems to find its way directly into my eyeballs making what little sight I have useless. 

Eventually we made it to the shelter, but I'm not going to lie, I had serious doubts as to whether it even existed. We were greeted by one of the NOBOs we'd seen in MD, Slug. It was good to see him and he was really happy to see us. That lightened my spirits a bit and so did the chance to get out of some of my wet clothes to warm up. 

We spent about an hour there waiting for the rain to pass. Once it did, we headed out again to finish the 3.5 miles into Culver's Gap to resupply. We made it a few hours later. I had a chill I couldn't shake, despite the delicious hamburger and multiple Yuengling's I washed it down with.  We grabbed a room for the night and a long hot shower finally helped get rid of the chill. Tomorrow we resupply and head back to the trail. I'm glad to be inside tonight, as it's supposed to be down in the 40's tonight. 

-XL

Day 25- NJ continues to impress

Coin set out a little ahead of me this morning, so I had some time to myself on the trail. It's a different experience hiking solo. I popped my headphones in and got through some of the back catalog I have of podcasts I follow. I took my time and enjoyed the morning. NJ has had some great views so far. The trail's a bit rocky still but nothing like PA rocks which tended to be incredibly jagged. 

I did the 6ish miles to where we met back up, an AMC maintained lodge called the Mohican Center. We had some good food and recounted our mornings. During my morning hike I had run into Mambo whom we'd last seen a few weeks ago. It was good to catch up with her for a few. 

After lunch another 6 miles brought us to our campsite. We set up and are just relaxing, resting our feet after a long day. Tomorrow we've got another 12 to get into town to resupply, as I'm scraping the bottom of my food bag. 

Here are some of the views I saw today-

Day 24- Bye bye Rocksylvania

Coin and I had been wrestling with skipping the rest of Pennsylvania, mainly due to how terribly the rocks were already and how much worse they were going to get. My ankle was suffering pretty badly on them, and both our feet were torn up. After hearing horror stories from people that had been going since Georgia and how their feet faired, we decided to pull the trigger today. So we grabbed a shuttle and skipped about 90 miles of the rockiest terrain on the AT. 

I have about a hundred "bonus miles" that I hadnt really accounted for in my fundraising. I limited the number of miles on hikefor.com to 1100 and the trail from Harpers Ferry to Katahdin is about 1194, so that made the decision a bit easier. 

We got into Delaware Water Gap around 1pm from the shuttle, ate some lunch and an ice cream then back to the trail for a jaunty 1400' ascent to our current campsite. I wasn't sure what to expect in New Jersey (no offense NJers, I just don't immediately associate it with the outdoors) but the trail for the five miles we've been on it has been absolutely gorgeous. And our campsite is beautiful.

(Well beautiful except for all the hiker trash laying around).

The weather was nice for a change, low 80s with a great breeze. More of that tomorrow, which has done a lot to lift my spirits. I look forward to finishing out NJ and moving into New York. It's a few steps closer to home, which I miss. 

Thank you all for following along on this adventure. It hasn't been easy and I suspect that's not going to change any, but it keeps me going knowing that people are following along. Special thanks to those that are supporting me on Hikefor.com. Extra Life is a huge part of who I am now and I love you for helping me help the kids. #forthekids

-XL 

PS- my Mom asked for a picture update so she could see the hair situation. Here it is. 

Damn, that dude is hairy!

Day 23- Thunderstorms

As I posted yesterday, the rain was back and steady over night. I stayed in the shelter we were at while Coin pitched his tent. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of staying in the shelters but I'm less of a fan of dealing with a wet tent. 

I have trouble sleeping in the shelter surrounded by other people. I have to make sure I grab a spot near the wall and I pretty much listen to music all night long. I can't seem to relax and get any good sleep. It's a little better when the shelters have bunks like the one we're at today. Then I'm not paranoid about rolling into someone. 

Today was a short day as the weather is terrible. We came to what's called the 501 shelter in PA. It's a big bunkhouse that sleeps 12. There are bad thunderstorms over us right now. A bunch of thru hikers just came into the bunkhouse ahead of the worst of the storm. They're an interesting group -mostly young. You never know what they're going to be like. Some of them are super excited and excitable which is a little too much to take some times. This group seems so okay so far. We'll see how the rest of the night goes. 

Day 22- Welcome back rain

We got back on the trail this morning around 8:45 after doing a number on the hotel breakfast. It was another muggy day and I spent most of it with fogged glasses. Makes it tough to see the rocks but I'm developing some sort of trail sense so I've managed to avoid disaster. Most of today was good trails. But there was also this -

We did about 8 miles to the next shelter in line and got in around 3pm. Met an older section hiker named Butterscotch, who gave us some butterscotch candy (I know right?) andet back up with a couple flip-flioppers we had met a few days ago. We shared some stories of blisters and vitriol towards the rocks. 

About halfway through everyone cooking dinner, the skies opened up and it has been pouring for the last 20 minutes. I'm glad I was already done and I can sit back and soak in the misery from my compatriots. I'm a terrible person. 

Day 21- Escape from the rain

We woke up to rain and nearly 100% humidity. We packed up as quickly as we could, wet tents and all. My glasses fogged up immediately and we set out walking. Not being able to see very clearly made it slow going. We did a little over 4 miles and then grabbed a shuttle into Pine Grove, our resupply spot. Two of our fellow hikers, Bond and Snowball met up with us and split the shuttle with us. Bond is a fellow LASHer (long-ass section hiker) and Snowball is doing a 3 week section hike. Her travel visa (she's German) is up at the end of next week. 

We got dropped off at the Comfort Inn, a really nice hotel with an awesome hiker rate. A hot shower, a chance to do laundry, dry some stuff out, and being out of the rain was a good thing. We took a walk up to The Diner, had some good food and the hit the Dollar General to resupply. Now we're ready to hit the trail again in the morning (after we take advantage of the all you can eat breakfast). 

This is how hikers dry their tents. 

Ouch. 

Day 20- The eighteen

It's a little after 8pm and I'm laying in my tent-completely exhausted. I just ate some cold couscous mixed with tuna fish. It's all I could muster after getting to camp and setting up the tent and all that. 

Today was the hardest day yet, my feet are screaming at me and the rest of me is about the same state. But we did 18 miles today. 18. Fricking. Miles. Through rocky Pennsylvania which beats the hell out of your feet. Mine did great. Boots are broken in finally and no new blisters today. 

18 miles was the distance between the previous shelter and where we're at now. The next one in line is a little over 13, so tomorrow may be more of the same. It feels good to actually making some good mileage. I'm sure I'll sleep well tonight. 

    This is where we ate lunch and dipped    

     our feet. 

-XL