We made it!!!

So we started off with super-duper heavy packs in Caratunk, thinking that would be our last hitch, last trail town, "last meal" before the end...but as the story goes, we got sucked in once again to another AYCE (all you can eat) breakfast in Monson...there is certainly a magnetic force between stinky hungry thru-hikers and AYCE. Monson did end up being our last trail town, because then we ventured out into the spooky, crazy, isolated 100-mile wilderness. HAHA. Yeah right. Woke up the next morning to the pristine sound of logging trucks, then were handed Pepsis on a road we passed a few days later. Heck, we also saw day-hikers in jeans! The terrain was quite a gift, pretty flat, and with a minimum amount of rocks/roots before we reached the "greatest mountain" of all! Katahdin!
We arrived in Baxter State Park, and along with 26 others, enjoyed more trail magic at Katahdin Stream Campground, while waiting for my Mom and our friend Sita to arrive. We then had a fantastic summit-eve at Sunday Pond cabin, where we not only saw 1 but 2 moose!!! Chillin right by the pond.
It was an absolutely beautiful "Class 1" day when we summitted Katahdin; the views were astonishing. We toasted with Yoo-Hoos at the top and waited our turn to take pics next to the famous sign (which is shiny and new just this year!) Took the Knife's Edge Trail down and met our famous chauffeur at the bottom.
We went into Millinocket to attempt to get some of our 5-month stench off before getting into the van to begin the journey back to NY, into the wonderful world of cotton tee-shirts and hot showers. (and also the glowing blinking Wal-mart lights, and crazy traffic yuck)
And now Sparky's hidden secret...are you all ready???? Make sure you are sitting in a stable chair. Okay...

Sparky here. So, it must have slipped my mind, but back when we were just entering the Smoky Mountains on Mollies Ridge (yes, that's how it's spelled) we had a jolly little thunderstorm. As luck would have it, some baby lightning (or maybe a sideflash or ground current) found its way to my body and out my left hand causing me to momentarily cease to be standing. I made a very curious Darth Vader sound kind of like the masculine equivalent of a scream. In all honesty, it wasn't painful at all (sort of like touching a live power outlet), and I saw another small bolt of lightning hit maybe 10 meters away right after I was struck. So, that's how I got my name, and I'm completely fine. I didn't blackout or have any burn marks, but I did develop a healthy fear of thunderstorms. My left ear was ringing for about a minute, and now I have a really cool story. Just had to share the story so I don't have to tell it another 800 times like I have on the trail. Sorry, no superpowers that I've noticed yet.
That's it. We're done. It was a great trip. Sally and I are still great friends. Thanks for reading our blog!

Last Post Before We Finish! 150 to go!

So, T-Toe's toe is much better, though the hornets had a good time with many other parts unfortunately. We're almost to the 150 miles point and sitting pretty here at some lodge-like place in Caratunk, ME. Easier terrain lately, though some very beautiful country with serene ponds. We hit the only place in the U.S. with a human-powered ferry still in operation. We loaded up our two packs, signed a wavier, and then I helped him paddle us back across the river. He even had resupply products in the back of his truck since Caratunk is a little short in the resupply arena. We're a bit tired from getting up extra early to catch the ferry, so we'll leave you with our top ten things we'll miss and top ten things we're excited for (we've vetoed individuals from this list):

Top Ten Things We Look Forward To:

• Hot showers!
• Fresh food, like FRUIT
• Dry feet!
• Couches
• Having a variety of activites every day!
• Music
• Cotton shirts!
• No more aches
• Being able to watch thunderstorms, while inside
• Rest and relaxation

Top Ten Things We'll Miss:

• Trail Magic
• Hitching
• Eating mass quantities of food whenever we want
• Jumping into my amazing sleeping bag after a tiring day
• Beautiful vistas
• Swimming in pristine ponds
• Searching for wildlife....bears, moose, snakes...
• Cool trail towns
• Thru-hiker discounts (like 50% off for this sweet room!)
• My beard (that is from Sparky!)

A New Fashion For Hikers

Since you last heard from us we've traversed all of New Hampshire and gotten a fair way into the lovely state of Maine. The White Mountains didn't smack us down, though our progress through them was rather slow with all of the tough peaks and "steps" that make the Great Wall of China steps look like they were specially designed for a retirement community. Nothing like placing your foot such that your knee is at about eye level!
Anyway, we summited Mt Washington of "the highest recorded land air speed anywhere" fame, and luckily it was only blowing hard enough to
knock over those under eight years old and to break T-toe's glasses in two. It was pure luck that we had crazy glue and black duct tape or we wouldn't have been able to get that new "faux hiker nerd" look we've been searching for. Fashion is so important on the trail.
We tackled others in the presidential range and stayed at two different huts which are like crosses between a B&B and a remote wilderness cabin. They have a full staff, bunk rooms, and normalish toilets. We stayed in the huts for free by doing a little work in exchange for food and lodging. Quite the sweet deal. In one, we even slept in a room called "the Dungeon" which is really an emergency shelter for idiots that are up there in the dead of winter.
Short of nearly getting run over by the cog train that leads down off of Washington and one day averaging a third of our normal speed, we really enjoyed the spectacular views and great weather in the Whites.
So, guess what happens on the AT after the Whites. Yes! You guessed it--Maine and more super-tough terrain! We stayed and resupplied right before Maine, catching up with some old friends, and proceeded to eventually hit the hardest mile on the AT which, as I'm sure you know, is called the Mahoosuc Notch (rhymes with flatoosick splotch). 2 hours and 15 minutes! On good terrain that's flat with the stars aligned, we can do that distance normally in 20 to 25 minutes. What we didn't know ahead of time was that this Mahoosuc fellow had a second part and an arm.
My shoes are starting to fall apart, and we're excited to be two weeks from finishing. We're in Rangeley, Maine now, getting T-toe's toe checked out (it's looking infected), so hopefully tomorrow the doctor will use her magic toe-wand to get us back on the trail to Katahdin. We split with Evergreen unfortunately because we needed to zero here, but we're at a great hostel that we have all to ourselves that's run out of this guy's house (it's like we're just chilling in someone's grandpa's family room right now). We made it here with the help of our new friend Scott who not only drove us the 10 miles to town, but drove me back to town to have dinner followed by driving back to the hostel after getting T-toe a large pizza. He called the hostel today to see how T-toe was doing. Don't worry, she easily finished the entire pizza.
That's the story. 220 miles left. The hardest part of.Maine nearly done. A refined ability to consume 3000 calories in 11 minutes. Let's knock this sucker out!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

NH! 440 miles/2 States to go!

Yea! We crossed over the Connecticut River and are now in NH, which means we are onto our final 2 states! Today we took our last "zero" day until the end, or that is the plan at least. So much has happened since NY...we have a new hiking buddy, Evergreen, who we met about 2 weeks ago, and who miraculously lives in Hanover, so we have been resting on nice cozy couches, eating great meals for the past day and a half. We leave again tomorrow morning (surely we can't stay in the same place for too long) and will head into the Whites, supposedly the most challenging but most rewarding section of the trail. We are excited to see some great views, and a bit nervous about the unpredictable storms, but we have mastered the crouching down technique so we will be fine. Some highlights over the past few weeks: - Awesome views from the summits of Mt Greylock, Bromley Mountain (Funny to be on the top of a ski mountain without any snow and to read the ski maps from the top), Stratton Mountain, Killington Mountain -A record high of 7 trail magics in a day! Started with (1) pancakes for breakfast in a cabin (a beautiful, cozy cabin run by ATC volunteers, close to a pond where we swam, fireplace inside to warm up after a chilly, rainy day), followed by a (2) cooler of sodas, (3) a box of granola bars/ Moonpies etc, (4) a trip to the "Cookie Lady's" house, you can only guess what that meant, (5) 2 more coolers and huge barrels filled of goodies, (6) a box of sodas, and (7) a night stay at Tom Levardi's house, a super kind generous man in Dalton, MA who opens his home to hikers...hot showers, laundry, bed to sleep on...what a day! -Staying right next to Big Branch River---so nice to cool off after a long day -Clever chipmunks or squirrels...not sure who to blame for eating my cookies and bagels from my stuff sacks that were bear-bagged....guess it was only good enough to deter the bears! But watch out for the sneaky rodents. -Hiking with family! One of my aunts came out to hike for awhile in CT. It ended up being a long road walk, a trail detour, which cracked us up a bit. We did see a nice waterfall too though, and were spoiled to lunch at a cafe. -Another aunt and cousin also came out for a few days...it happened to be raining when we met up with them the first night, which meant postponing their "wilderness experience" for a little while and getting a cabin for the night. We indulged in yummy food and loved sleeping in a dry place. Hiked from Gifford Woods State Park into Hanover, where we hung out and roamed around the Dartmouth campus -Lot of soft cushiony pine needle trails, which I love! - Seeing lots of cute orange newts, which I kindly escort off the trail, so they won't get squished. I am quite appreciative to be indoors right now, as it pours outside. Hoping it will rain all night, and the SUN will be shining bright again tomorrow. We are off on to the final stretch....

2/3 Down

We're about two-thirds finished at this point and about to leave T-Toe's home in Fishkill, NY to begin Connecticut. We've been staying at her house each night as we hiked through New York, and we were joined by her brother for two of the days and by a former coach of hers on another. I took off two days, and much thanks goes out to T-Toe's mom. We're heading out for the trail pretty soon, so this will have to stay brief. Next time you hear from us, we'll probably be in Massachusetts or Vermont.

Our 1st PA Black Bear!!!

So, a few days ago, we are walking along and hear a sound in the woods. Now, I am so accustomed to these noises that I assume it is either a squirrel or chipmunk, and just keep on walking. Then, Sparky says, "Look, it's a bear!" No way, I thought, we haven't seen a bear since the Shenandoahs. But, lo and behold, there he was, a medium-sized black bear cruising about. He definitely knew we there and well, wasn't running towards us, but wasn't exactly running away either, so we decided it would be a good idea to walk SOUTH for bit...of course going south won't get you very far at all when it comes to reaching Maine. So after a few minutes, when Mr. Bear was a bit further from the trail, we continued on our journey. Gosh, I really wish I had pictures to document moments like these, but well I am too much of a scaredy-cat to hang around very long, guess I will have to buy the AT photo calendar or something when I finish the trip instead... Occassional bouts of going south aren't the only thing slowing us down. We came across an enormous blueberry patch the other day right along the trail. AYCE Blueberry Buffet!!! Gosh, it must have taken half an hour to walk 1/8 mile, and we loved every second of it. I would start walking, then notice Sparky eating, so I would stop again for more. Then, he would pass me, stop look back, see me eating, then stop too and eat some more. Well, just imagine the progress. Similar story occurred a few days later, just substitute the word "raspberries" for the word "blueberries." Copperhead! About a week ago, when I went ahead a bit to meet up with relatives, I was walking along ("Really? You were walking?"..."Yes, I decided to go for a walk that day.") when I spotted a copperhead. Yikes! He was right where I would expect him, on a rock basking in the sun. After all the black snakes, kind of cool to see a different variety of snakes (except of course that he is one of the evil ones!), however 3 secs of looking at him was more than enough time for me, so again no pictures... So rocks, and dirt, and trees, and overlooks where you can see towns, well, I am certainly enjoying myself immensely on this hike through the woods, however, it is definitely more motivating sometimes when you have people picking you up a certain day at a certain time...so I cranked out a few long days to meet my Uncle who picked me up in Port Clinton. (Woohoo! 34.8 is now my record high. The feeling in my legs definitely brought back great memories of that Warren Farms hill workout in high school, or better yet the hill workout we renamed "The Mountain" however I ended up that night at an enclosed shelter with a solar shower...Incredible.) We dove to Havertown, PA where I was spoiled rotten by my Uncle, Aunt, and cousin, who cooked amazing meals, took me on a shopping spree so I could have a break from my dry-fit shirts, and running shorts, and choffered me around... and now a week later, we were picked up in Wind Gap, by our friend Meghan from Peace Corps, and yes, are being spoiled once again. Hot shower, laundry, yummy pasta and meatballs, a trip to the movie theatre!!!, and much more coming tomorrow for the 4th of July. And the amazing friend and family mini- vacations (we call time off the trail a "vacation from a vacation" ) will continue in about a week in NY, with lots of Briggs family time!!! I have to say that I love the progression of hiking South to North, and really seeing some of the cultural differences within the US. Definitely have noticed changes since crossing over the Mason-Dixon line. The South certainly has a slower pace of life, most noticeable I feel in grocery stores, where the cashier, will carry out a whole conversation with the person in line in front of you and it is no big deal. But up here, you are in and out, just like that. People just seem more on the move up North, where in the South people would hang out in front of convenience stores for hours calling it their "front porch." Of course the trail has changed from the "Appalatchin Trail" to the "Appalachian Trail." And the menus are changing as well, from ordering grits, and biscuits and gravy, to ordering cheese steaks and pierogies. I remember talking to one hiker from New Zealand a while back who said, "You know, the States are really 48 different countries, and I don't think many people really realize that." It is fun to be able travel in my own country and learn more about it, after spending the past few years overseas. Oh yes, and it must be July because "I'm going to need an ocean...of calamine lotion!" Uh-oh. Poison Ivy season is here, and so far I have a few dots on my legs, just hoping it won't spread too much. We'll see though, my family certainly has a record of being covered in that yucky, itchy stuff.... Until NY, have a festive 4th of July!

Knee Update

So, I stayed another day with my new friends Tom and Carol, who live here in Lancaster, PA. It's Friday, and I'm for sure getting back on the trail tomorrow either in Port Clinton, or at the 501 shelter so I can be in Port Clinton when T-toe gets there sometime on Sunday. Tom and Carol took me around today to Mennonite country near Intercourse, PA where we visited a pretzel factory, got ice cream, and bought some homemade root beer. They've been so incredibly kind to me the past few days while I rest, and we even got Chinese food yesterday. We had a nice brunch this morning, and I spent some time just relaxing and reading for a little bit. I still can't believe that we ran into each other after originally meeting them over two weeks ago. They were only in Duncannon for a short bit (they have property there), and I was lucky that they happened to recognise me when I was saying goodbye to my girlfriend. What a funny world we live in.... -Sparky

Keep on trucken

With the half-way point behind us, we're now set for the rest of Pennsylvannia. My girlfriend has sadly left Duncannon, but on the bright side, I ran into a couple we met in the Shennendoahs who live near here. I'm staying with them tonight while I rest my knees, and they're taking me to Port Clinton where I'll meet up with T-toe again (she went ahead to see a relative for a day). You'll all be pleased that T-toe and I both passed the half-gallon challenge in Pine Grove Furnace. T-toe had a respectible time, but I took 73 minutes to eat my butter pecan box. They didn't think I could do it, but I pulled through. .We've enjoyed some great weather and my girlfriend really got to see a nice slice of trail life. In Boiling Springs we feasted on the fare of a real grocery store, and that night we stayed at a quirky B&B owned and run by two older individuals still living in the 50s. Did you know that the question "this is a historical house?" has an hour-long answer? At least they were only 70% homophobic. How can you beat that? In all honesty, it was a pleasant stay. Lots of corn and wheat fields lately, and we've eaten all sorts of wild berries with no ill effects. I'm excited to relax my legs and read for a few days, then the last of PA! -Sparky

1024 Miles Down

Well, Shenandoah was pretty much what we had been led to expect: easy grading of the trail with fairly easy climbs during most of its length. Shenandoah has quite a few waysides that we visited which are basically just restaurants. I think they don't call them restaurants so as to remind us hikers that the prices are about 200% higher than normal restaurants. Regardless, they made the days even easier since we didn't have to carry a lot of food with us. We had about 10 minutes of hail during a thunderstorm during which we hunkered down at a low elevation, but that same day we saw plenty of wildlife. Early in the day, we were walking in a grassy area when I heard this sound unlike any I'd ever heard before, and what did we discover not a meter off the trail but a fawn that jumped up and bounded into the forest looking for its mother. We saw the mother a minute later running toward the sounds of her baby. If that wasn't enough for one day, we also came across a bear that was calmly eating maybe 15 meters off the trail. We also, on a later day, saw a mama bear with her three cubs once we were at a shelter for the night. One day, we were picked up by T-toe's mother and went to visit her cousins in Gainsville, Virginia, and we also busted out one of our longest days since we began (I don't remember exactly how long, but it was well over 23 miles I think). We FINALLY made it out of Virgina (no offence, Virgina, but you're one long *$#%&#% state). We stayed in historic Harpers Ferry at a really nice inn, and my girlfriend arrived after a grueling day of traveling from the other end of the country. We're now in a hostel in Maryland, just over the state line, and T-toe will join us tomorrow at a shelter we agreed upon. Excitedly we look forward to the second half of our trip having walked over 1000 miles. The official half-way point mile-wise is only a few days away. You'll next hear from us probably somewhere in Pennsylvania. -Sparky

Waynesboro Ho!

We've had some shorter days lately and some pretty awe-inspiring views. One day, I caught up with T-Toe who thought she saw a tiny bear, but upon closer inspection I decided it was either a large squirrel or a marmot or something much less fear-invoking. We also came across a deer and her yearling (I think) and spent a few minutes walking slowly by the pair which were amazingly fearless of our presence. Last night, we had a super-sweet campsite near a waterfall, and almost had the entire shelter area to ourselves. T-toe threw a wicked bear-bag line, and my ramen noodles were da bomb with the dried veggies I received from Nicoal in the mail. Thank you, Nicoal, for making my alfredo ramen into Veggie-alfredo ramen. Right now, we're at a Lutheran church hostel in Waynesboro, Virginia, enjoying some movies, food, showers, and eventually a good night's sleep. Let me tell you about Waynesboro--two words: Ming Garden. I think we spent three hours in the buffet and saw a complete turnover of people twice. The library was nice, though I didn't dig the choice of romance novels they had for sale. Do people really read those? I've read some Star Trek novels in my time, so perhaps I shouldn't be talking... Anyway, life is good, and we should see T-Toe's mother on Saturday. We enter Shenandoah tomorrow, so we're going to fly from this point on. Maybe we'll finally see a bear (or a really huge chipmunk).... Sparky