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!
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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

Dutch Haus

We've been doing a lot of long days lately in our attempt to meet up with various people in the next few weeks. Our friend Laura should be visiting in a few days, and we'll see some cousins of T-Toe's and my girlfriend within the next two weeks. It's a real challenge to figure out how to meet everybody, where, and when, especially when your cell phone never works. I've been continually dive-bombed by insects that aim for my eyes, and one day I actually had to walk with an eye patch on, lead by our friend Big Fish with T-Toe helping from behind. I was fine by later that night, but I definitely have this group of ex-boyscout leaders to thank for helping me out. We received some trail magic of apples and bananas from some random guy that saw us when we crossed a road, and one day when we were camping near that Pedlar River, a day hiker stopped to drop off a car and gave us their left-over pizza. Lots of people are in line to use the Internet, so I'll make this short. Basically, we hiked without packs (slack-packed) for 9 miles and were picked up by the people that run the bed and breakfast we stayed at (the Dutch Haus). So, we are starting today from the Tye River headed for Waynesburro, and we're in Montebello right now (Virgina of course). Over 800 miles down! Sparky

Contra-dancing, Zip-lines, Caterpillar Poo, AYCE...

I feel like a lot has happened in a week. So, Saturday night at Trail Days, we went contra-dancing. Missed the beginner workshop (Oops, milkshakes seemed more important at the time) so we jumped right in after watching one of the dances, thinking we would be able to catch right up. Haha. It sort of worked. I did one dance and was dizzy and exhausted! Lots of spinning and pretending to know what I was doing. I am not exactly the most graceful person so it was quite comical to say the least. But we had a lot of fun (Sparky got hooked though, and danced 2 other dances!) and now I can say I've contradanced in Virginia! So, there is a little paragraph in our trail guide that talks about the "Captain's" house, and that you have to take a zip-line across a creek to get there. Once you are there, you are allowed to camp in his yard, whether or not he is home. Of course, we were in! Fortunately, another person in our group had found the zip-line (she was ahead of us) and left us a note on a piece of paper and stuck in under a stick on the trail so we would know where to go (otherwise there is no way we would have found it). So the zip-line---was a pulley system, we sat on the swing and then pulled ourselves across the creek. We got to the other side, and set up our tents. The "Captain" came home awhile later, told us the door is always open, that we could use whatever we needed. He said we could sleep inside, watch TV, whatever just to close the door in the morning since he would be leaving at 5:30am. Talk about trail magic! The next morning, we all took hot showers (he even left the towels out for us!), watched a little "Prince of Bel-Air" and then headed back out to the trail...the crazy random things that happen on the AT... So the other day, we are about 4 miles from a shelter, and there are millions of dangling caterpillars all over the trail! Now, my brother and I used to love those little critters, and would keep them as pets, feeding them leaves, and giving them sticks to crawl on...for some reason though, as I was walking through swarms of them, I noticed that my attitude towards them has changed since I was 10. My trekking poles soon turned into swatters as I hiked down the trail. Now, I thought that all of the noise was simply the caterpillars eating the leaves and leaves falling on the trail, but soon was informed by another hiker that the noise was the caterpillar poo raining from the sky. EWWWWW! So, as I laid in my sleeping bag that night, I was lulled to sleep by the sound of caterpillar poo... Q: When do hikers set an alarm-clock? A: When they know that AYCE is 22.7 miles away and closes at 8 pm. Haha, so we set an alarm for the first time a few nights ago for 6:30 am. Yikes. "The Homeplace" is an AYCE restaurant in Catawba, VA that we have heard about for hundreds of miles literally, ever since we stepped foot in VA. One hiker called it "the best thing about Virginia." A group of about 8 of us got there around 7pm and devoured the food---ham, roast beef, fried chicken of course, mac and cheese, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, cherry cobbler, etc etc etc. And they just keep on bringing it. Now they must be used to thru-hikers because 1: they gave us our own room, and 2: they gave us our own waitress. Now, it gets even funnier because after eating that much food, it is not possible to hike much farther so...guess where we slept? In the gazebos right outside of the restaurant! Crazy! One of the guys in our group asked if there was camping around, and they said we could camp right there. It was perfect. Eat till we couldn't move and then roll out of the restaurant 100 meters and pass out. Well, we did rock in the rocking chairs on the porch a bit first. Enough with the stories...as for the actual hiking (haha yes, that is the first priority out here--we have passed the 700 mile mark), it has been incredible. Has been sunny for over a week! It sprinked a bit this morning but that was it. We have had incredible views, seen a few deer, and got to chat with a bunch of weekend hikers out for Memorial day weekend. Till the next town, T-Toe and Sparky

Haha, oops guess I didn't do much whittling. (It was a non-participatory activity...just watching them whittle) I was typing up a blog in the library instead the same time as Sparky was in the church on the Internet...anyways you got both perspectives...

Trail Days

We're now over the 600-mile mark and have returned to Damascus, VA for Trail Days, a yearly festival that attracts 1000s of hikers each year. We heard the second person to ever hike the AT talk this morning, and T-toe is over at the library learning how to whittle. We finally found our long-lost hiking parters Knickers and Hobbit who we'll be hiking with again once we get back on the trail. Our last stretch before we came to Damascus was from a really cool hostel called Wood's Hole, and we did the 10 miles out of there with their 14-year-old stowaway dog named Tessa. My friend Joker had to pour water into my cupped hands so that we could give the dog a drink since the water sources were fairly scarce. Our packs were waiting for us at the end of the 10-mile stretch, so T-Toe did some trail running while the rest of us just made really good time. We're getting a ride back to the trail from Hobbit's husband tomorrow, so all those mothers and girlfriends out there can rest assured that we're getting back safely. I'm off now to wait in line for an hour for a badly needed shower. Maybe I'll find free food.... Sparky

Trail Days! Back in Damascus...

We are back in Damascus for Trail Days! Wedsnesday night, we stayed at Woods Hole Hostel where we slept on mattresses in a loft, showered in a solar shower, and ate some delicious salad and homemade pizza. One of the owners of the hostel offered to shuttle us from Pearisburg to Damascus. 10 miles on the trail from there to Pearisburg...so it was the perfect opportunity for slack-packing! And without a pack, of course I couldn't resist running the trail! Felt so free and fast! It was definitely a treat. Made it to Damascus where we are camped out in "Tent City," an area filled with outfitters, and hundreds of tents everywhere. Definitely an interesting, cool, crazy place...drum circles and bonfires lasting till 2 am, the occassional person running around playing a trumpet saying good morning to everyone at 7, and the many booths of FREE FOOD. People sure do love feeding hikers. We had pancakes, bagels, donuts, all from former thru-hikers who came back for Trail Days. There are tons of events planned for the entire weekend. Listened to a storytelling by a "cowboy poet" the other day at the library and heading to a contra-dance tonight (Gosh, I am experiencing culture shock in the South! Don't think the Fishkill library frequently hosts cowboy poets! and have not heard a lot about contra-dance!) This morning, we listened to a talk by Gene Epsy, the second person to ever thru-hike the trail. He said that he once went a week without seeing anyone; how times have changed! Parade today as well and a hiker talent show. And we have found our long lost friends Hobbit and Knickers--excited to hike with them again! Plan on heading out again tomorrow, onwards to Maine...great to be in town for Trail Days, but will be exciting to get back out on the trail as well. (Oh yes, and they had free showers and medical clinics at the church where they took blood samples, BMI, blood pressure---we are healthy and happy). Until the next town... T-Toe and Sparky

First Quarter Down

We've been a little waterlogged on and off the past few days coming out of Damascus, but we've recovered from one day that left us with mud-filled boots. At first we were still with our friends Knickers and Hobbit, but Hobbit's husband had come out and got sick about a day out of town. T-toe and I pushed ahead, busted out a 20 yesterday, and a few days ago we woke to a herd of feral ponies while up at Hurricane Shelter.
The last shelter was close to a road so the crowd ordered over a hundred dollars in pizza. That was yesterday, and today we stopped at a museum on the trail and saw a bunch of cool relics from over 100 years ago. T-toe got her running shoes, and I'm just happy to keep the blister count under a dozen. The views are spectacular when it's not raining, and we're really starting to fly (we're a week ahead now). I just hope that my metabolism doesn't have any higher gears because I don't know if I can carry six granola bars, a cup of oatmeal, and a dinner for each day. I'm not yet wasting away; just storing energy in my soon-to-hit-the-two-inch-mark beard.

Sparky
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Damascus, VA---Trail Town, USA!

We have made it to the famous trail town of Damascus, where even the library's bulletin boards have the Appalachian Trail theme. It seems that everyone we have ever met along the trail is here this weekend, a big reunion in a sense. We stayed last night at "The Place", a bunkhouse run by the Methodist church, where you pay a suggested donation for a hot shower, and a warm, dry place to stay---just what we were after. Definitely another small town, which makes it very easy to get around... restaurants, Dollar General, post office, library, all a 5 minute walk. The past few days have been quite interesting. Some of the highlights: jumping into Watauga Lake, TN at 9:30 am for a nice chilly rinse--more like an ice-bath, but great for the muscles! Seeing some incredible waterfalls-- Laurel Fork Falls, Jones Falls. A cool looking turtle on the side of the path. And lots of beautiful sunny days! Sparky and our friend Knickers went tandem-bike riding as well! I have a new name...now that you all figured out my first one, I have a new one (It needed to be more AT oriented than PC oriented...I love acronyms!) T-Toe it is and will be. Standing for Triangle-Toe. So one day I had my boots off after we were swimming and was inspecting my feet for the millionth time, and talking about how my toes, especially my pinky toes, now look like triangles. So, our friend Hobbit (we are living in what I like to call AT Fairytale land where everyone knows everyone, there is magic all around, and people all go by crazy names) named me T-Toe. Works for me. One bummer part of the trip happened a few nights ago, when I caught a stomach bug. Nothing a little Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup, ginger ale, and apple juice couldn't cure though thanks to the Damascus Dollar General. I def was lacking in the energy department but we still managed to get in some miles. Unbelievable how supportive everyone was, offering me soup, or gum, Tums, whatever they had that they thought could help. Even found out when I got to town that one of the other guys was going to hike back up to carry my pack down for me, but they let him know that I was almost to town anyway. And then the craziest thing...when I got to town another hiker Joker who I haven't seen for atleast a week asked how I was feeling, because she had heard I was sick. Gosh, word spreads down the trail! Again, I feel like I am in Samoa, where people know what you did in town even before you get back to the village. Oh, the similarities---the small town feeling, the joys of hot showers, Gatorade, and comfy beds haha. Take care! We will post again soon! Sparky and T-Toe

YEA...our all time record...21 miles!!!

Here we are at Laurel Fork Lodge. So it is about 10 miles to Hampton, TN from here, where we are getting our next maildrop, however we decided to stop for the night...who can resist frozen Tombstone pepperoni pizza and Ben and Jerry's ice cream, and a hot shower...all within 0.3 miles of the trail??? Obviously not us. Yesterday, we reached our all time high of 21 miles! And tomorrow will be 5 weeks on the trail. Everything is going well, lots of sunny days, and fun evenings hanging out with other thru-hikers. The only sad part is the status of our feet. (Savali: 1 black toenail, 1 missing toenail, 2 beautiful blood blisters; Sparky: says partly cloudy skies with chance of blisters) Today, we had a Blister 101 session on some nice log we found. Got out the moleskin, tincture of benzoine, and band-aids. And well, we still have a lot of learning to do. Only one of my band-aids stuck, everything else somehow drifted around in my sock...Sparky had a bit more luck though. So this morning, as I was getting water, a cute little toad jumped into the water, and then 2 lovely geese swam by. So peaceful and serene. And this evening, right before we got into town, we saw the sunset, a beautiful array of orange, pink, ... Oh, and we saw a huge black snake curled around a tree and Sparky saw a leech (ewwww, my favorite animal ever!) All the balds have been incredible, with panoramic views stretching for miles and miles. Sparky thinks you all care what our average mileage is so here you go: 12.5 miles a day. He is happy now that I told all of you. On to to Hampton tomorrow, and we plan on being in Damascus on Friday. Happy Spring!

Happy Spinter

We're here in Erwin, TN right now at Uncle Johnny's Hostel. We made good time from Hot Springs, though last night was really, really cold and windy. So cold, in fact, that we woke to frozen camelbac tubes and snow on the ground. The good news is that by the time we made it to Erwin about 16 miles later, it felt a lot more like Springtime. Not much more to add, except that we're both doing well and still hiking with our two friends Hobbit and Knickers. We're looking forward to a short day tomorrow (four miles). It's nice to be getting used to longer days, even if it's still not consistently warm. -Koli (or Sparky as most people call me now)

SPRING is here! (and here to stay)

We've made it to Hot Springs, NC! But first, about the Smokies. A few words to explain: Chilly, foggy, lots of windy ridge hiking, shelters with fences around them (to get away from the bears, but we never ended up seeing any)...However, despite the ok weather much of the time there, we lucked out and had incredible weather on the two most important days---the hike up to Clingmans Dome (the highest elevation on the AT) and the hike to Max Patch (a beautiful grassy covered dome where we laid out in the sun eating peanut butter filled tortillas, what could be better?) We have reached a record for mileage, a 19 mile day yesterday, and are feeling a bit sore but quite excited at the same time. We are staying in Hot Springs (I have to say stopping at all these towns reminds us of Samoa again, where we know everyone walking down the street!) tonight, we will be eating another free dinner tonight (YEA trail magic!) and will be heading out tomorrow. Going back to check on how that stinky sleeping bag is doing, hoping the sun will make it smell nice and pretty all over again...hope all is well and you all are getting a nice taste of spring!

Happy Winter!

So did you know that April SNOW brings cold feet and numb fingers? Okay, we really are enjoying ourselves, however I have to say that my least favorite part of today and yesterday was the 5 minute rush from my sleeping bag to getting all my gear packed up, and hiking on the trail. But once I was going, I was a happy camper! So Monday night, we rolled into a shelter and the snow was beginning...went to sleep, and awoke to a wintery day. Hiked 9 miles through some sections defintely a foot deep! (with the drifts) and then camped in a shelter (a 12 person shelter which quickly became a 19 person shelter as we smooshed together like sardines to stay warm). Today however, in about 10 hours, it magically went from winter to spring as we hiked down the mountain into Fontana Dam, where the flowers were starting to come through the dirt and the sun was shining! Craziness. Here we are, in the Fontana Lodge, warming up and drying out our clothes after another free meal of hot dogs, pineapple, and chips and nacho cheese (we are huge fans of TRAIL MAGIC as they call it), and will be headed into the Smokies in the next few days. Hoping for lots of sunny days...

Out of Georgia...and into North Carolina!!!

Yea! We have completed a state and have passed the 100 mile mark. We are happy and feel accomplished! Right now, we are at a "hiker bash" in Franklin, NC---yummy food (pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, baked beans, all the good stuff..) and entertainment. Staying tonight with another thru-hiker we met on the trail, and another night tomorrow for more food and fun, and back hiking Sunday...craziest moment so far...little mice running on top of my sleeping bag at night hehehe.

Pack woes

Things are still good out here in AT land. Last night we stayed at Blue Mountain Shelter, and though the sunrise was spectacular, it was one cold night. Sally was in the shelter and I slept in my hammock since the shelter was packed. Did almost 14 miles today to get close to the road to Hayawasee because we have to go get sally a new pack tomorrow (hers is starting to develop holes). We're well and making many new friends from all walks of life. Just hope my knee stops hurting!
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Safe

Sorry if this posted a bunch of times, but we are safe at Neel's Gap. Lots of cold, wet weather. Staying at a hostel tonight. Sally and I are good. Friendly people and lots of ups and downs. This is our first milestone: not quiting even though we had two drenched, dank, rainy, overcast, foggy days. Hope to post in 10 days.

-Koli
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Midnight Train To Georgia

I'm sitting here on the last leg of my trip to Atlanta, and it struck me that I was indeed on a midnight train to Georgia. I have nobody to share this with, being out of cell range, but at least I have a song stuck in my head to go to sleep by.
Since starting on the train, I went through Chicago where I must have had "answer man" written on my forehead because six people asked me for help figuring out where to go before we boarded. The next day, a crying two-year-old later, a leather-o-cardboard sandwich later, and three hours of sleep later, I made it to Charlottesville, VA where I took a six hour pit stop that went by much faster than I expected. It's bed time, and I'm hoping this post by email works. Only three days till we start!
-Koli
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From NY to Georgia to Maine

The boxes are packed, I'm ready to go... Well, the preparation stage is about over. After many days coming home to a house filled of a spagetti sauce/ chicken/ beans/ pineapple scent (that dehydrator works well!), many trips to EMS, and many phone calls to the post office as to what exactly can be shipped priority mail, I am ready to go! I was very lucky to have a small taste of what the trip will be like as well, as my Dad and I enjoyed a nice weekend out in the wonderful weather, hiking, eating oatmeal and some favorite dehydrated meals, and testing out the stove and water purifier. There is nothing quite like the refreshing water straight from a babbling brook. My gracious chauffeur has decided to drive me down to Georgia, so we will be taking a nice road trip and then hanging out with my cousin there, before beginning the trail adventures. I am excited to see many of you as we make our way from Georgia to Maine, especially all of you in good 'ole Dutchess County. Don't forget the pizza!

Our Journey Has Almost Started

Thank you, everybody, for taking the time to check out our new blog.  I don't know how often we'll post, but when we have the time and access to the Internet, we'll try to post at least information about where we are and when.  I will have my phone with me, but pretend like I don't have it.  It will be off most of the time, and reception is very sparse on the trail. At the bottom, you'll find a list of links.  The first one is to our tentative daily plan which shows where we'll be, milages, and mailing addresses for our drop boxes.

   So, here we go, on our 2000+ mile journey, starting on the morning of Tuesday, March 24th. I leave by train from Kansas City for Atlanta on the 19th, where I'll stay with cousins.  Thanks Darrin, Kristen, and Lauren! Only six more months to go....

-Koli