First Day Hike

Me: I think we go this way Mom: How do you know? 

For the past few years, my mom and I have made sure to go out for a hike on New Year's Day.  There's a New Year's superstition that says whatever you're doing on New Year's Day, you will do the whole year through.  I want to hike the year through, so that's what we do.  We opted for a hike on the Appalachian Trail heading south from Pine Grove Furnace.
The trail on this stretch isn't too bad.  The start has a gentle incline that works your muscles pretty good without causing too much pain.  I am of course basing that on my own personal injury and issues.  Inclines kill me, or rather, they have me begging to be put out of my misery, especially when I have some weight in my pack.  But this section of the AT wasn't too bad and gave me a work out without needing too many breaks.

Right near Tom's Run, we came across a blue blazed trail called Sunset Rocks.  We decided to take a detour and check out the trail.  It was nearly sunset, and we thought perhaps we might manage to see a spectacular one.  As we headed up the trail, we passed a group of young men, perhaps in their early 20's, coming back down the trail.  They warned us to be careful because the trail gets steep.  We thanked them and we all went on our way.  I mentioned to my mom that my idea of steep and their idea of steep probably aren't the same since they had on skateboarding shoes.  We just figured they saw two women and thought we might be delicate.  Then we came to the steep part.

The photo doesn't do the incline justice.

Steep doesn't even do it justice.  It's around 1,000 feet of elevation gain in about a quarter of a mile.  Parts of the trail require the use of your hands.  I had to stop a lot on the way up, and I considered turning back more than once.  But I was determined to get up the hill.  Especially when I spied two guys below me on the trail (not carrying any packs or extra weight I might add).  They were also stopping often along the way, and not because we were in their way.  We stopped and moved to the side to let them pass, but they were resting (Ha!).  So we continued up and eventually made it to the top of the ridge.  The view was gorgeous, but I was too tired to take a photo, plus there were a lot of trees in the way.  After making taking some time to catch our breath, we started making our way back down.  I was concerned about the descent because the trail still had some snow and ice on it, but we managed to get down quickly without too many problems.  My "Badass" was acting up a little, and my knees were screaming.  By the end I was exhausted, but very pleased with myself.  Prior to getting my injury treated, I would not have been able to make that hike up that incline.  There's no way.  It was worse than anything we had encountered on the Appalachian Trail so far, and the inclines I have done previously sent me off the trail early.  It was a complete victory for me: I made it up a huge elevation gain without too much pain, and at the end when I stopped, so did the pain.  On our overnight trip, the pain never let up and only intensified which is why I had to end my hike.  If the pain lets up when I stop and allows me to sleep at night and rest, I think I can manage.
I wouldn't mind doing this blue blazed trail again.  The trail actually takes you through the former WWII POW camp in Michaux.  I knew the POW camp was there, but didn't realize this was the trail that went by it.  I checked out info on the camp for possible inclusion in my book about paranormal happenings on the AT, but this POW camp wasn't a bad one.  The prisoners were treated well, and they were often plied with liquor to get them to reveal enemy secrets.
All in all, it was a great hike and one I'd recommend checking out.

Backpacking Trip: The Final Push

The 4th and final day of the hike turned out to be gorgeous.  My cousin and I got up and got ready to head out to meet up with my mom and husband.  My aunt decided to join us, so we made our way to Harper's Ferry.
In the meantime, my mom and husband prepared to make their way to Harper's Ferry.  Their breakfast that morning was just some oatmeal (my breakfast was waffles and eggs).  From the looks of their photos, this section of the height is gorgeous.  Both said they were pretty tired on this section.  My mom thinks a lot of their fatigue was because they didn't have a bigger breakfast and what they had didn't offer protein for their muscles.
The views from Weverton Cliffs were spectacular, but the trail down was killer.  After descending Weverton Cliffs, the trail goes under an overpass and follows the C&O Canal footpath.  My mom thought the area under the overpass was creepy, and the footpath seemed  never ending.  This was mostly because they were both tired and ready to be done.  My mom also said that they could see the church steeple in Harper's Ferry so they thought they were close, but in reality they still had miles left to hike.

My husband with my cousin and I photobombing in the background

My cousin, aunt and I were patiently waiting for their arrival.  We were watching the stairs that lead up to the footbridge over the river.  Finally I noticed a familiar form slowly pulling himself up the steps.  We made our way down the bridge to meet them.  They were so tired, they didn't even notice the shenanigans going on just past my husband's shoulder.  We all walked back across the bridge and met up with my dad and son who came to take us all home.  We weren't able to find any parking available, so we said our good byes to my aunt and cousin and headed out to find food. 
I don't think I've ever seen two people enjoy food more.  There's just something about eating a burger when you've been eating your meals out of a Ziploc bag after adding boiling water to them.  I'm hoping to get back and finish the parts of the Maryland section that I missed.  Luckily it's only a two day trip, so I won't miss any time from work plus I'm hoping my 10 year old goes as well.  He recently received his own Osprey backpack so he can start joining us for trips.

Backpacking Trip: Day 2

View from Annapolis Rocks

The second day of our trip dawned on an overcast morning.  The rain from the night was long gone, and the sky had a promise of sun.  Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my disposition.  I did not sleep during the night.  Between the privy runs in torrential downpours, the changing of wet clothes, the worry about getting my new down sleeping bag wet, the worry my tent would leak and the ever increasing pain in my butt, it's a wonder I didn't wake up mutated into a shorter version of Godzilla ready to destroy Tokyo grumpier than I was.  We ate breakfast and packed up camp and got ready to head down the trail.  I was personally trying hard not to cry and failing.  It really was not a good morning.  I didn't care about the view, all I wanted to do was get moving.  I knew that my aunt had planned to meet us at our stop for the night at Dahlgren Campground.  All morning, I struggled mentally about whether or not I should make the choice to end my hike.  The pain was pretty bad, especially on any inclines, and I knew I had some inclines coming in the next couple of days.  I kept thinking that if I ended my trip, I would be failing, and then I was fighting back the tears again, which made it difficult to breathe while carrying 30 pounds with a bad ass.  I tried to keep quiet and push on.  As we hiked south, we began meeting up with day hikers heading north to Annapolis Rocks.  Annapolis Rocks is a popular destination for the view, hiking and rock climbing.  These people carried nothing except small hydration packs or day packs and some were wearing nothing more than flip flops.  I hated each and every one of them on sight.  The happier they were, the more I plotted their demise resented them.

My cousin, myself and my husband

Finally, we made it to the Interstate 70 overpass.  This was my husband's thrill of the trip.  As a kid (and adult) he passed under that bridge on trips to visit his grandparents, and he always wanted to walk across it.  My cousin and I did our best to muster pleasant faces for the photos that we weren't thrilled about having to take.

Once we crossed over the bridge, we meandered around people's backyards before deciding to take a break and have a snack.  We met a few people out for a day hike who were headed the same direction we were.  One was a Hispanic man in a bright yellow shirt (he's important later).  After resting and eating some snacks, we got up and headed back on the trail.  Our plan was to hike the roughly 3 miles to the Washington Monument (the original one in Boonsboro, MD not the one in DC) and eat our lunch there.
It was a grueling 3 miles because 1. It was the longest 3 miles I've ever hiked and 2. There was a never ending mountain hill.  As we climbed the mountain hill, I had to stop every couple of feet to rest and stretch my butt.  It was about this time that my mom began feeding me lifesavers.  My cousin swore several times that we were "almost there" and several times she came near death when each time we were nowhere near almost there and more mountain hill lay in front of us. Then I spotted something bright yellow making its way down the hill.  It was the Hispanic man we had met earlier.  He took one look at me and said "Jew are berry close, berry close" in his accented English.  I think I said "God bless you" 4 or 5 times to him as I realized that I wasn't in the 4th level of hell  going to be hiking this mountain hill forever.  I now refer to that man as my "Little Ray of Mexican Sunshine".

We did finally make it to the top.  There we met 2 men headed north on a hike and we stopped to chat with them.  I asked how far it was to the Dahlgren campground.  One said less than a mile and his partner said, "No it isn't, remember you can't trust information from other hikers on the trail"  Turned out it was more like 2 miles.  I thought about all the horrific stories we heard about upcoming terrain from The Wannabes and Eeyore and realized the guy was right, you can't trust the information.  They assured us that the hike wasn't too bad and that we wouldn't have any trouble getting there after we ate. 

We got to the monument and sat on the bench for lunch.  The Monument was still closed for repairs.  Prior to our trip, the monument was struck by lightning and damaged.  There were 2 women in it at the time, and one was seriously hurt.  That afternoon it was a sunny, though windy, day.  There were 2 men there bird watching.  I assumed they were watching peregrine falcons, but I was too tired to bother to go ask them.
The vultures were there. Circling.
Normally I would be interested in walking around and looking at the view, but all I wanted to do was die not move.  My mom walked around and took pictures, thankfully.
















After lunch and a rest, we headed out.  At this point, I had made the decision that I needed to end the hike.  My cousin had also come to this decision as she was dealing with some pain as well.  My husband is the one who really pushed that I needed to stop.  So the choice was made, my cousin and I would be heading to her house for the remainder of the trip while my mom and husband continued on.  As we made our way down the trail, we discovered that there was more to the Washington Monument State Park than we realized.  Down the hill from the monument, there are pavilions, picnic areas, a museum and bathrooms.  Had we known, we might have eaten our lunch comfortably at a picnic table. 
As we hiked on, we that we would all have dinner at the Olde South Mountain Inn which was where we were meeting my aunt.  The thought of a hot meal that didn't require me to boil water and a soft bed I didn't have to blow up gave me a little extra energy (not to mention all the extra sugar from the lifesaver candies my mom was handing me). We reached the parking lot of the restaurant and my cousin and I sat on the curb and waited while my mom and husband went to set up their camp at the Dahlgren Backpacking campsite.  When my aunt pulled in, my cousin and I were all smiles and waving.  My aunt commented that we made it past MD 77 which was further than she thought we would make it (like I said, she's hilarious).
When my mom and husband made it back, we all headed into the restaurant.  We weren't exactly dressed for the occasion, though luckily, none of us stunk too bad.  There was a wedding rehearsal dinner going on, and we were all a little self conscious about our clothes.  The staff at the Inn were very nice and treated us just like any other customer who might be in better attire.  Our meals were awesome as was the dessert.  Starting back on day 1 about an hour into the hike, we were all dreaming about food.  I guess when you're hiking through the woods with little to no signs of civilization carrying everything you need to survive on your back, food becomes an obsession.  My mom, cousin and husband started talking about Key Lime pie and continued talking about it right up until we were seated at the table in the Inn. And wouldn't you know it, the South Mountain Inn had Key Lime pie.  I had the chocolate Godiva cake and it was awesome.  This turned out to be a surprise gem in our trip.  We had a great time, ate great food and had a great waiter.  The only odd treatment we received was some hoity toity blonde woman who turned her nose up at us as we walked out (I swear we didn't stink).  For those planning hikes along the trail here, note that the menu is pricey (though so worth it).  After dinner, we said our goodbyes and my cousin and I headed to her place for showers and clean clothes.  It was up there in my top 5 showers (hard to beat the shower I had after living in a field for several days at the UFO Ranch in Washington or the one I had after a weekend of Scout Camporee and nothing but Port-a-Pottys)

Day 3 coming up!

Pine Grove Furnace

This past weekend, myself, my husband and my cousin  drove out to Pine Grove Furnace State Park to hike a section of the Appalachian Trail out and back.  We're getting close to our departure date for our trip, so we're trying to get ready.  Some of us are testing out how injuries are healing to see how we do and some of us are working on fine tuning our packs to get the weight and fit just right.
The weather was a little iffy at first.  Winds had been gusting to 60 MPH the night before and while they had died down some it was still quite blustery out.  And it was cold.  It gave me a chance to try out the $5.00 base layers I purchased on clearance at Walmart.  I'm happy to report that a top base layer, a long sleeve moisture wicking top and my Columbia Omni-Heat jacket were sufficient to keep me warm.  In fact, I had to unzip halfway through because I was sweating. On the bottom, I only had on a pair of fleece lined leggings (also a Walmart clearance steal) and I was good to go.  Should the weather be chilly, that will be the clothing I plan to wear.  Clothing is my one issue at this point.  The weather is so up and down (it was almost 80* 2 days before this), I won't be able to really make a choice until closer to the time we leave.
Our goal was to hike a mile or two, eat lunch then turn around and head back to the cars.  We ended up hiking 2.9 miles before stopping.  In total, we hiked just shy of 6 miles (5.8) in 3 hours and 30 minutes which includes the time we spent eating lunch.  All three of us were pleased with our pace, especially since the start was a steady incline.  I had to stop and take a few breaks on the way up and still we made decent time.  I was carrying about 19 pounds in my pack, and I was pleased with how well I did.  Those of us who are nursing injuries also did well and were encouraged that we didn't have any significant issues. 
All that is left for me to do is to start packing and deciding what goes and what stays based on need and weight.  I want to try to keep the pack around 20 pounds as much as possible.  I'm hoping for warmer temps because that means lighter clothing.
It was a really great hike full of positives- beautiful day, no problem with injuries and a faster hiking time than expected.

Wild: The Review

Last night I finished reading Cheryl Strayed's book Wild.  Before I go into any details, know that I think everyone should read this book.  And by everyone, I mean even people who have no plans or desire to go on any kind of hike or back packing trip. 

The basic plot of the book is that Cheryl's mother dies, the family drifts apart and Cheryl begins making a series of seriously bad choices that leads to her divorce.  At what is her lowest point, she makes the decision to hike the Pacific Crest Trail solo.  The book chronicles her journey.  As stories go, I thought it was a good one.  It was well written and I had trouble putting it down.  But it goes beyond the specific story.  I think most people can relate to that feeling where you wonder how the heck you got where you are.  By that I mean, most people have an idea of how their life will go.  You have goals, you have dreams, you have he basic outline of what's going to happen.  And then while you're trying to build your life off those outlines, things happen that take you down completely different roads than what you expected.  Kind of like those old Choose Your Own Adventure books that were big in the 80's.  You come to a point in the story where you have to pick which way you're going to go.  Sometimes you choose a good way, and sometimes you choose a not so good way.  Some choose ways that are far harder than others, but either way, most have sat and wondered "How did I get to this point in my life?" or "Why is this happening to me?"  I've been there.  I've been there more times than I'd like to admit.  And oddly enough, most of those times brought up thoughts about the AT.  From the time in my early twenties when I first got the idea, to all the subsequent times I kept thinking about how I should do it.  They all coincide with moments where I felt lost or that things were just not going the way I thought they would.  So, while my choices in life were not as bad as some of the author's, I found myself relating in a big way.  And I'm more excited than ever to get started because like this book demonstrates, "it's not the destination but the journey that counts".

How This Trip Came to Be

The idea for this Appalachian Trail adventure isn't a recent one.  It started many years ago when my brother got a documentary from the library about AT Thru Hikers.  I can't remember the title of the film, but I remember watching it with my brother and by the end of the film, we were both ready to pack our packs and hit the trail.  Unfortunately, I was a 20-something divorced mom who was incapable of taking off in the woods for 6 months and my brother was still in high school (though I don't think being in high school was keeping him from going off hiking for 6 months).  

 

 

 

So, because there were things that I couldn't just up and leave, the idea of a back packing trip went on the back burner.  The years passed, I got remarried, had another kid and got divorced again.  Somewhere along the way I thought of the Appalachian Trail and came up with the idea of doing a section hike through Maryland. I researched it a little, knew it was about 40 miles (40.9 to be precise) and thought I should do it.  But it never happened.  I got remarried again (third time's the charm) and moved into my husband's apartment.  This meant clearing out some things that I just didn't need anymore.  One afternoon in late summer as I was going through some papers I had, I came across a post-it note with a list of things I wanted to do before I was 30.  At first I was amused, but the amusement quickly turned into depression because the only thing I had managed to accomplish on the list was learning to play the guitar.  And while I did learn to play it, I hated it and couldn't play it now to save my life.  And I was getting ready to turn 39 and I hadn't done anything.  So somewhere in the back of my brain, a voice kept whispering about that AT hike through Maryland. Each day I'd think about it longer until I eventually started thinking I should do it and plan it for October of 2015 and hike the 40 miles for my 40th birthday.  Even though a plan had started to take shape, I wasn't actually planning it as a certainty.  It was still just this idea of something I had always wanted to do, only now it had a title: "40 for my 40th".  That all changed, though, because of a small little stove.

I watched a vlog on the Cold Antler Farm Blog about Black Out Bags.  It's just some common sense preparedness for storms- things you might want if you lose power.  And one of those things was a small Esbit stove to make a warm drink on or even heat up some soup.  I decided I wanted one- just in case.  So when my husband and I along with my parents went to visit a BassPro store, I showed my husband the little $10 stove and mentioned I wanted it.  I suggested it might be a nice Christmas stocking stuffer.  When he wanted to know why I needed it, I told him about the black out bag idea and how it would be good to have- just in case.  And then, suddenly, I was telling him about the back packing trip I had been thinking about for so long- long before he and I had met. I went on about how I was depressed about not accomplishing anything on my list, how we could do the 40 miles in celebration of turning 40 (he turns 40 too) and how preparing for it would help us both lose weight and be healthier.  Instead of telling me I was crazy, he remembered me talking about wanting to do the same trip when we first met and suddenly, he was on board.  Then he told my mom, and then she was on board.  There in the store we settled on a date in October.  My brother joined the group and my cousin (who turns 41) and my sister.  

And that's how the "40 for my 40th" 4 day back packing trip came to be.