Highlights from the first half, part 2

This is the second installment in the series "Highlights." We have now hiked half of the entire Appalachian National Scenic Trail!

Day 44, mile 497.9: The Grayson Highlands are our go-to "favorite part of the trail" when people ask. As I've said before, I truly enjoy balds. You can see for miles up there, and it gives you a short break from all the trees. It's so rewarding to finally reach the top of a long climb, come out into a clearing, and be able to see where you've come from and where you're going. There were also giant rock formations here and there which were fun to climb through and around. What made this bald area so wonderful were the wild ponies. Although wild ponies and horses are not actually native to the Americas, quite a while ago settlers let loose ponies in the Chincoteague area (not the area we were in, but my family did vacation/camp on the island when we were younger, and the ponies were great). In order to maintain the balds in the area of Southern Virginia we were in, they brought some of the Chincoteague ponies to Grayson! So although they were "wild," they were not so wild, and didn't mind us walking up to them to get pictures (we even pet a few before we ran into the sign that said we'd be fined if we pet them! Oops!). One of them even came up to us at a shelter we stopped at and harassed me for food. It must have been well trained by other hikers, but you would also get fined if you fed them (something I would never do anyways). I did not fall for it's antics though, and had to shove it's face out of my open backpack at one point, but it did look adorable, all pregnant and sleepy. It ended up standing right next to me, resting it's head on the table and snoozing!

Day 51, mile 607.8: We stopped by a little store .5 miles off the trail for some cold sodas and then continued on to a nice camping spot near some falls. The trail actually does not go by very many falls. It used to, but as they've been relocating the trail (on ATC owned land), they started bypassing the waterfalls and good views. You usually need to hike at least half a mile, usually more, off the trail to see these great things, so many of them we just walk by. These falls were under a mile off the trail, and had camping spots, so we decided to camp there for the night. The creek was relatively wide, with the bed being of solid rock - my favorite find of water bed. Adam climbed down the falls and swam in the pool below, but it was way too cold for me. The cold hurt my feet! But it was beautiful.

Day 52, mile 620.9: Woods Hole Hostel is one of my favorites so far on the trail. Although the hostel itself wasn't much to speak of, Woods Hole itself was amazing! The couple who ran the place used the old cabin as a resort/bed and breakfast type place, but they were also an organic farmstead. They had pigs and goats as well as a garden. They also offered massages, sauna, meditation, yoga, and home cooked meals. I loved this place so much because it's a lot like something I would like to run at some point in my life. Luckily Adam shares this dream: running a Christian retreat center that is also a sustainable farm. I'd like to grow all our own food, create our own power (living off the grid! woot woot), recycle/reuse everything (no landfills for us), while also offering a monestary-esc setting for individuals or groups looking to spend time seeking the Lord.I would also like to offer yoga with Christian meditation as well as a hostel for hikers or explorers in whatever area we end up being in (hopefully overseas).

Day 53, mile 638: This was actually a pretty tough day for us, we hiked for a while after a late start leaving Woods Hole, into the next town to resupply. I was unaware of the time (thinking it was quite a few hours earlier than it was), and when an older couple approached us offering to take us home with them for a nice, free, relaxing evening, Adam was confused. I took his confusion for lack of interest and a desire to hike those next 7 miles we had planned. We declined, much to our later dismay when he found out it was free and I found out it was 5:30pm. The seven mile hike up the steep mountain was torture, especially because we kept thinking of what a great time our friend Dawg was probably having in our stead. HOWEVER! Although it was mostly horrible, we were just reaching the shelter on the top of the mountain as the sun was setting. It was the most beautiful sunset I've seen thus far on the trail (actually the only one, since we usually crawl in our sleeping bag right before sunset). Plus we were reunited with fellow hiker friends we hadn't seen in a while, so it ended us being alright. By the time Dawg caught up with us to gush about how nice it was, we had already come to terms with our loss and it didn't sting as much.

Day 55, mile 695.8: We hiked up to the top of a ridge-line called the Dragon's Back. Fun, right? I enjoyed imagining the rocks to be giant scales as we tiptoed over the back of this sleeping dragon. At the other end of the ridge-line is the Dragon's Tooth. These are two large monoliths - extremely tall, broad, yet skinny slabs of stone rising from the "Dragon" at a 90 degree angle. We climbed to the top of one of them - kinda scary, but lots of fun and great views. The most fun for me though was the "hike" down the mountain. You might think hiking the AT is just walking, but this was rock climbing. It was a challenging change of pace from our regular hiking. I couldn't help wishing my brother, Josiah, was there hiking that section with us, because I'm sure he would have enjoyed it.

Day 64, mile 800: While hiking we sometimes come across abandoned buildings, ruins, or old rock walls, and I find myself wondering about who might have lived there and what their life was like. Through one section of valley, someone went through the bother to put up displays telling us about the former valley dwellers of "Brown Mountain." They were recently freed slaves, given this valley land to farm and work in. I can't imagine having to farm this valley - the mountain side was somewhat steep, by now covered in trees. Apparently, they farmed the land but had to rent a team from nearby neighbors, who could get up to 50% of the profits. It sounds like these freed slaves had a very hard life, so no wonder they sold the land and moved on. I appreciated the attempt to remember these hard lives.

Day 66, mile 819.3: I loved Spy Rock. On a short side trail, we had to climb up a  large rock to get to this beautiful view. It was about the size of a three-story Applebees (I know, bad comparison, but I couldn't think of anything else to compare it to that you readers might be able to imagine). The top of the rock was above the treeline, and we could see for miles in every direction - a perfect panorama. Unfortunately, it being a holiday weekend, all the weekenders (my term for weekend campers) were also on top of Spy Rock. I imagined myself buying the land there, putting a little cabin below the rock (and planting a garden there) and building a small platform on top of the rock for tea, prayer, and yoga. Then I could have the rock to myself. Sounds great, right?

Day 68, mile 838.7: Devil's Backbone Brewpub let us hikers tent in their backyard. It was a lot of fun to hang out there with some great hiker friends, Dawg, North Star, Vooooo Doooooo, the Kallin Family, and Oconee. We also got a free beer from a former thru-hiker who recognized us as hiker trash. I was also a little jealous of all the nice dressed, pretty smelling, non-hiker gals. 

Day 72, mile 857.9: We stayed at a Lutheran Church Hostel our last night in Waynsboro, VA. We ate some free food, which was followed by a Vespers service. I had really been missing church lately. We usually are not in town on Sunday mornings, so I hadn't been to a church service since Easter Sunday. The service was very short. We sang a few hymns (he let the hikers pick which ones), and he gave a short message which I enjoyed very much. He talked about how in today's society people don't walk, unless it's to or from a car. He mentioned a few scriptures that talked about Jesus walking, and how when we walk, we come into contact with people, instead of everyone being closed off in our separate cars. Our society and our ministry hurt from this separation, and he urged us to not forget our time on the trail and how important walking is once we return to "regular" life.

Days 73-78, mile 858.8-962: The Shenandoah's were pretty nice. The trail was easy and there were lots of stops for food. We only had to carry a day's worth of food (sometimes only two meals, really) since we could re-supply at campground stores. We also saw ten bears (and an eleventh right after we left the park), so that was a plus. The first ones we saw were so cute though - a mother bear with two tiny cubs, each only about the size of a house cat! We came upon them as the mother was showing the cubs how to find and eat ants under large stones on the path. Too cute.

Day 82, mile 1019.6: Harper's Ferry was alright. I didn't realize it was such a tourist town, but every building is either a museum or a souvenir shop. It was fun to learn about the history, especially about John Brown and the first African American college (two separate things in the same town). We also got to go to church there since we got in early on Sunday morning! Woot woot! We stayed at the Teahorse Hostel, which is one of my favorites on the trail. It was soooooo clean (a rare trait for a hostel); the showers were warm; there were sheets on the beds; and a free waffle breakfast in the morning (not my favorite breakfast food, but I can't complain about free food, especially since they woke up extra early just because we were leaving on an early train). They also gave us a ride to the train!

Day 83-85: I loved visiting DC. We took that commuter train in from Harper's Ferry and got there nice and early Monday morning. We visited a bunch of museums, the zoo, a few monuments, a bunch of great eateries, and got caught up watching Modern Family! It was also wonderful to visit with family: Adam's brother, Austin, and his wife, Theresa live there, so we were able to stay with them in there super sweet house. I think all houses should be like the ones in Washington, D.C. They are all two-to-four stories tall, connected to all the other houses on the block, skinny but deep. They don't take up nearly as much space as suburbs do (I'm not a fan of urban sprawl), yet everyone gets a front and back lawn (or patio if they don't want a garden or grass. I'm also not a fan of unused grass). Stairs help people stay fit, and if someone can't take stairs for medical reasons, they could get a personal elevator (haha, great solution, right?).

Day 87-88, mile 1092.6: Half-way point! The actual half way point wasn't too exciting - just a small laminated piece of paper telling us we had made it, stuck on a stick, but still more than I was expecting. We were at the very end of a long day, so I just sat there (after doing a very short "half-way celebration" dance). Harper's Ferry is more of the emotional half-way point (everyone always says it's half-way, even though it's 90ish miles short), so I by the time I actually got half-way I wasn't super excited. We sheltered three miles past, but then in the morning we had to tackle the HALF-GALLON CHALLENGE!!!!!!!!!!!! The much anticipated ice-cream gorging. We were fantasizing about different types of ice cream leading up the challenge. I got Moose-tracks while Adam got Chocolate Peanut Butter - a mistake on his part. He only got 1/3 of the way through the half-gallon. I, however, was victorious! And I felt very sick. It was horrible. I don't know why anyone would celebrate getting half-way anywhere by torturing themselves. I swore I would never eat ice cream again (though here I am, a few days later, having just eaten a "small" (12oz) ice cream). If you are ever thinking about doing something as foolish as this, I have a few suggestions. 1: Don't get moose tracks. The fudge swirls were WAY too sweet. 2: try to get a few different flavors (pints instead of one half-gallon). You'll get really sick of the same flavor. I could barely force myself to put spoonfuls of the sticky-sweet stuff in my mouth. Apparently, a lot of people throw up before finishing. I did not, but I almost wish I had. My stomach hurt all day, so we cut our hike short and stayed in a hotel... which was actually kind of nice. It was a nice hotel with an attached bar that actually broadcast a World Cup game! So sure, do a half-gallon challenge if only to go to a nice hotel, eat fish-and-chips, and watch soccer.

Highlights from the First Half, part 1

Day 3, mile 29.3: Blood Mountain was so beautiful. The top of the Mountain was huge slabs of rock, and you could see for miles in all directions. It would have been nice to camp up there are watch the sunset/sunrise, but the park it was in required overnight hikers to use bear canisters, which are heavy and expensive. We decided to hike through the park, and, although we woke up at 4am, we still barely missed seeing the sunrise from the top of the mountain. It was still wonderful, and we were excited about heading down the mountain into Neel Gap - our first bit of civilization since starting the trail.


 Day 6, mile : Indian Grave Gap would have been just another gap with a dirt road winding through it. We were a few miles from the shelter we were staying at for the night, and it was just about dinner time when we came across the best trail magic we have hit yet! An older couple had set up a short order grill, and we got burgers and grilled chicken made to order, as well as fruit, salad, cookies, soda, and many more treats! It was truly wonderful; the only downside was that after having stuffed ourselves we had to climb to the top of a mountain. The climb was very tough.

Day 7, mile 69.6: Blueberry Patch Hostel welcomed us after a hard day of hiking. Gary and Linnie turned their garage workshop into the perfect hiker haven. We were even lucky enough to get a two person bunk, perfect for that two person sleeping quilt we have. I already mentioned them in my blog, and here's a part of what I said then, "What truly amazed me was the generosity of this couple. They were the most genuine, kind, humble, and hospitable people I have ever met. There are a testament to how when you find your identity in Christ it frees you to be truly generous without thought or worry of self-preservation. God is taking care of these people so that they can in turn take care of tired AT hikers. Many Christian ministries still worry about taking care of their things, preventing them from being truly hospitable. But when you see all good things as being gifts from God, and knowing they belong to God, not you or your ministry, you don't have to worry. That is true Christian hospitality, and a perfect example of Christian charity."

Day 16-21, mile 167.1-237.2: Just a few days ago, some section hikers we asking some of us thru hikers about the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Every thru hiker that piped up said it was a horrible section of trail. I can see why they would say this: the Smokies are wild. They are the highest mountains on the trail, and being at such an altitude lends itself to treacherous weather. While we were there it rained half the time, was foggy and cold the other half, and it even snowed a few times. They are not welcoming, but that's what I love about the Smokies. The Great Smoky Mountains will not be tamed. They are wild and free. If you want to hike through them, go right ahead, but be prepared for the worse. These mountains command respect. There is so much beauty there, but it is not easily grasped. The forests are diverse, the trees tall, the moss thick, the fog unsettling. Welcome to the Wild!

Day 22, mile 240: Although I highly respect the Smokies, I was glad to leave them and head to our friends' Gabe and Becky's house. It was wonderful to finally meet them, and they were very hospitable. We took a much need day of rest there are were able to hang out and catch up. We also got to see The Grand Budapest Hotel while we were there, and it was a good movie.

Day 27, mile 273.9: Hot Springs was, if I remember correctly, the first town the AT actually goes straight through. The AT actually goes right down main street, over the railroad tracks and over the French Broad River. We took a nero there (not quite a zero [zero miles for the day]), and were able to meet up with other hiker friends as well as get good food!

Day 32-33, mile 341.5: Although we didn't actually go into Erwin, TN, it still makes the cut. This is where my parents came and picked us up, and we were able to spend Easter with them in a nice hotel. It was encouraging to see my parents again, and this is where I found out Sarah was getting married! Woot woot! It was also nice to go to church, since we're rarely in town on a Sunday morning. I'm finding that I'm really missing going to church while being on the trail.

Day 35-36, mile 376-387: I really love balds - mountains that are covered in grass on the tip-tops, instead of trees. On balds you can actually see around you to the other mountains - such beautiful views. The Highlands of Roan amazed me. There are quite a few mountains in these highlands, and they are almost all balds. I loved walking through the high grass, being able to see so far, and imagining cows and horses grazing; that's what they used to be used for, and they still use cows and sheep to maintain the balds. Without maintenance, the balds would eventually become forest once again.

Day 41-42, 267: Damascus was a big milestone in my mind. We had finally hit Virginia (1/4 of the trail is in this state). We spend two neros and one zero here, resting, reading, hanging out with trail friends, and eating great food! Towns are always nice, especially when it's been a long time since your last shower!