Day 66-97: Catching Up!

Oh! Where to begin? So as many of you may have noticed I am a little behind on my blog. In order to catch up and make life (and this hike) just a little bit easier I'm going to consolidate the next set of posts.

Mileage:

Day 66:Harrison Ground Spring to Rocky Row Trail- 15 mi.

Day 67:Rocky Row Trail to Brown Mountain Creek Shelter- 16.4 mi.

Day 68:Brown Mtn Creek Shelter to Spy Rock- 18.5 mi.

Day 69:Spy Rock to Devils Backbone Brewery @ Reeds Gap- 19.4 mi.

**Camped behind the brewery! Awesome!! Thank You Devils Backbone!

Day 70:Reeds Gap to Waynesboro,Va- 19.2 mi. 

**Stayed at free camping at the YMCA in town. 

Day 71:Waynesboro, Va to Spring @ 869.8- 8.1 mi. 

**Entered Shenandoah National Park!

Day 72:Spring @ 869.8 to Pinefield Hut- 25.7 mi.

**Experienced our first Shenandoah wayside! Basically a restaraunt/convenience store combo very close to the trail.

Day 73: Pinefield Hut to Bearfence Mtn Hut- 20.6 mi. 

Day 74: Bearfence Mtn Hut to Byrds Nest #3 Hut- 22.4 mi.

**Very rainy day. Byrds Nest Hut was very comfortable.

Day 75: Byrds Nest #3 Hut to Hogwallow Flat- 21 mi.

**Finished the Shenandoah's!

Day 76: Hogwallow Flat to Dicks Dome Shelter- 25.2 mi.

Day 77: Dicks Dome Shelter to Sand Spring- 21.2 mi. 

Day 78: Sand Spring to Harpers Ferry, WV- 16.6 mi

**Finally done with Virginia! Harpers Ferry is considered the mental halfway point of the AT and it sure felt like it. 

**Sadly, this is where Jersey Girl decided to get off the trail, but he promised to section hike with us later down the trail.

**We also went to Washington DC and visited the natural history museum at the national mall.

Day 79: Harpers Ferry, WV to C&O Towpath North End- 3 mi

Day 80: C&O Towpath North End to Dahlgren Backpack Campground- 14.3 mi

**This campground was awesome! It had bathrooms and showers. Also, we passed into Maryland!

Day 81: Dahlgren Backpack Campground to Ensign Cowall Shelter-14 mi

Day 82: Ensign Cowall Shelter to Tumbling Run Shelters-18.1 miles

**The tumbling run shelters were gorgeous!

**Crossed into Pennsylvania!

Day 83: Tumbling Run Shelters to Birch Run Shelter-19.4 mi

Day 84: Birch Run Shelter to Campsite at  Mile 1113.2- 21 mi

Day 85: Campsite at Mile 1113.2 to Stealth Campsite at Mile 1133- 19.8 mi

Day 86: Stealth Campsite at Mile 1133 to Pickup Spot for Hershey, PA- 15.8 mi

**Special thanks to our friend Andy for being so hospitable to us when we were in Hershey, PA!

Day 87: Pickup Spot to Stealth Campsite at Mile 1160- 11.2 mi

Day 88: Stealth Campsite at Mile 1160 to PA 72 Campsite- 20.6 mi

Day 89: PA 72 Campsite to Hertline Campsite- 18.4 mi

Day 90: Hertline Campsite to Port Clinton, PA- 18.5 mi

**Scott Jurek passed us in this town on his speed record attempt of the AT.

Day 91: Port Clinton, PA to Eckville Shelter- 14.8 mi

Day 92: Eckville Shelter to Stealth Site- 22.1 mi

Day 93: Stealth Site to Leroy A Smith Shelter- 18.8 mi

Day 94: Leroy A Smith to Delaware Water Gap, PA- 20.2 mi

**Very cool little town.

Day 95: Delaware Water Gap, PA to Stealth Site after Mohican Outdoor Center- 10.6 mi

**The Mohican center was very comfortable. Good place to day hike the AT from.

**Crossed into New Jersey!!

Day 96: Stealth Site to Gren Anderson Shelter- 20.6

Day 97: Gren Anderson Shelter to NJ 23- 11.3 mi

**This day got miserably cold and wet so we decided to emergency split a room in a nearby hotel with a fellow hiker named Joker.

My feet after 5 days of persistent rain in the Shenandoahs. They look much better now.

Muddy trail.

I was hiker #480 to come through Harpers Ferry, WV. The town is considered the 'mental' halfway point for the trail. It also hosts the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's headquarters.

Natural history museum in DC.

DC. 

Snake.

The first Washington Monument.

Oddly enough this isn't the first or second time we found a pair of shoes sitting on the side of the trail. And yes those rocks are the trail.

More "footpath". 

Crossed the border!

Halfway there!!

The older and more festive halfway point.

Trail sunset

I began the infamous superfund site.

Lehigh gap.

Lehigh gaps narrow ridge.

Summit of Lehigh gap.

After 1000 miles my salomon trail runners fell apart.

New shoes!!

Border!!

Beaver pond.

Blueberries! Yum!

Day 101: Return of Jersey Girl

9.3 miles- William Brien Memorial Shelter to JERSEY GIRL!!! 

After another brief intense thunderstorm coming down on us we found out that our good friend Turbo was in the shelter. After having breakfast with him we tore down camp and hiked out. We had originally planned to meet Jersey Girl 16 miles away and he was going to take us to his house for the night near Newark, NJ. But with the downpours our plans fell short and we arranged for a meeting spot almost 10 miles away. This proved fortunate for us because the first few mountains (Black Mtn and West Mtn) were very difficult. Our last mountain of the day (Bear Mtn) was steep but had the most beautifully maintained trail making it not that difficult. At the top was Perkins Memorial Tower where we had nice views of the NYC skyline in the distance. At the bottom of Bear Mtn we got some delicious food at a concession stand and up walks Jersey Girl! He was wearing CLEAN clothes and had cut off his beard and gotten a haircut!! He looked so different it blew our minds and made us feel extra stinky and dirty. He picked us up and showed us around his town where we got Brazilian food and watched a movie. Wonderful ending to the day!

The next day jersey girl will take us into NYC for some much needed rest and to see family. So excited!

Day 100!

26.4 miles- Furnace Brook to William Brien Memorial Shelter

We woke for the first time in NY. There was a shelter 26.4 miles away that we really wanted to push for. So we hit the trail. It quickly turned out that not only the mileage today would be a challenge but also the terrain. We went over several rock scrambles in the first 5 miles. 

At lunch we came to the last water source for 6.5 miles. It was a creek fed by a swamp, flowing into a lake. The water was clear but tasted gross. I tried to mask it with several different drink mixes to no avail. I hiked 2 miles while stubbornly refusing to drink it. Then we came across some wonderful luck! A trail angel had put out several gallon jugs of clean water! I dumped out my bad water and refilled it, then hiked on into Harriman State Park ready to do these miles. 

Harriman State Park was beautiful! We proceeded through an infamous area of the park called the "Lemon Squeezer". It was a very narrow rock formation followed by a rock wall that you had to scale. I found it quite exhilarating! The state park reminded me of a prehistoric setting from Jurassic Park. 

Hiking to the next shelter proved easy and beautiful. When we reached it we had a snack of oranges and fruit snacks. The next 5.5 miles to our destination was a little harder and got dark in the last half mile. But we made it and we didn't get rain all day! 

That night in my tent I got little sleep due to a bone shattering thunderstorm just overhead. The lightning struck very close to me several times. It was nerve racking, but made it through the night without getting struck or wet.

The beginning of the rock scrambling.

Fitzgerald falls. Trail goes up the stairs to the right.

Uphill

Yes. Your looking at the Appalachian trail 'footpath'.

Navigating the Lemon Squeezer.

Lemon Squeezer.

Tric climbing the rock wall after the lemon squeezer. Most people take their packs off for this but we are stubborn. ;)