we be movin on up...

Greetings from a great town with a rocky past, literally. Palmertown , PA, and its surrounding area is a Superfund site. As the last pic on this post shows; the rocky climb up from the town and Lehigh Gap, and the deforested ridge above are due to zinc smelting from 1898 - 1980. Revegetation efforts began in 1983 and look to be somewhat working. Though its not just this area thats rocky, but pretty much the last 3 days of walking. Some giant,yet slanted rocks to hop across here(easier without a 35 lb pack on), other fist-sized, tooth shaped rocks there. After a while it can be taxing both physically and mentally, with sore feet and frustration. We did know this of course beforehand, and otherwise, we have actually loved Pennsylvannia, the 7th state on the trail. but first we had to walk through Maryland, and look what happened....

...whats up with your home state Jen?!

Haha, this was at the Washington Monument. built in the ol' Presidents name but used by both the Confeds and Union armies as a lookout tower in the Civil war. You can see the battlefield of Antietam from the top.

The funny thing is that we actually went the wrong way to get this pic and couldn't find the trail for a good 10 minutes!

happy 4th of July! Trail Magic - The American beer for an American day.

Pine Grove Furnace State park, and the store thats home to the Half Gallon Challange - eat a half gallon of ice cream to celebrate the halfway point of the trail. Thats right, we had just passed mile mark 1,088, but we didn't celebrate with a grossly large propotion of dairy as we would be sitting on a privy for the next week or so (we are both lactose intolerant). the record for a whole gallon was a ridiculous 49 minutes, some fellow hikers took over an hour for just half!

AT midpoint!

Yes, thats me...
...and sundance hanging out with all the other kids at the waterpark in Boiling Springs, PA. We got lucky, all we wanted was to pay for a shower, but it was free swim day, July 5th if your in the area.

Guess which one is the thru-hiker?

We met up with Brahma Bull ( the guy with the cheeky grin) and the lovely Sweet Potato for our dip in the pool and a nights sleep at the playhouse...

Home sweet home...

...and music to boot! Patricia (playing the irish drum) and Mark (guitar) let hikers stay in the playhouse or tent in their yard in boiling Springs. We were lucky enough to hear them practice their Celtic music with friends and family. Really cool to hear live music, plus we got desert and tea...smashing!

A bit of road walking in the Cumberland valley, 17 miles of the the flattest terrain on the trail. I think we pulled a 21 miler that day!

We try not to talk to each other if we don't have to, haha. Some days, or even climbs, music can really help the legs move. I put some books on tape on the ipod and thus far with the Spanish course "yo hablo espanol un poco"


Stayed at the infamous Doyle Hotel in Duncannon, PA, a run-down old town (probably from the halt in mining) on the Susquehanna river. Usually at a hotel stop we empty the packs out, air out as much as we can, get clothes ready for the laundromat, clean the pots, and go through our food to see whats needed for resupply. It's amazing how much stuff we have when its thrown all over a room!

Ah yes, back to the Doyle. Here is the side of the shower. Need we say more! The place definately had character and the owners were super nice. It was a 4 story old hotel, with the ground floor being a bar with pool table. I guess they are trying to fix it up but its a lot of work. It was cheap for a room, which is probably why people live there! A good enough place to stay for hiker trash you could say. Cheap rooms, cheap beer, all under the same roof.

Had to take this pic as it had rained on us the last couple of days.

One of the few swimming holes we've come across thus far, and one of our new favorites - Hertlein Campsite. A man made pond from a 30 ft cement-block dam. It backs up 2 creeks and was very cold, but perfect after a sweaty, humid day of hiking.

I didn't know what was going on here either at first, but then it all made sense, and we asked ourselves why we were looking and taking pictures. nature at its finest! (pretty sure their box turtles)

Posing at "the knife edge", gotta love the names on the trail, must say thats what it felt like on our feet!

Another walk in the park.

Upon entering Port Clinton, PA we discovered the twilight zone, where plastic animals are plentiful.

It's the season for blueberry picking, didn't mind slowing down along this stretch.

Yes, this is the actual trail. Kevin loves PA.


And here we are on the way into Palmerton, PA. Staying the day to shower, do laundy and refuel for the big climb ahead, supposedly the toughest section until New Hampshire, we'll see...

A long update from a looong state!

It's starting to feel like we've come a long way now. Completing VA is a real accomplishment alone. We've had some great trail magic and some nice breaks with family and friends. Hiking through Shenandoah seemed a little odd without our packs, we even found ourselves running at times. It was great to have Kevin's family there! It was like a week of trail magic. When they left us, we put back on our heavy packs, and had 60 miles to go until Harpers Ferry. We did find time to stop in Front Royal, VA for a day to resupply, but mostly to watch the quarterfinals of the Euro Soccer tournament. Obviously we are not on a strict schedule, which means we are meeting new hikers that have been behind us and seeing old friends that are catching up. Its exciting to be making our way up north, ready to see new scenery, and have a little more solitude as the hikers are thinning out. Didn't have a chance to add pictures from our stay in Harpers Ferry and Baltimore, so we'll do that next time. But thanks to Michael, Erinn, Abe, Kay, Marianne, Emily, Beth, Linda, Paul, Joel, and Kari, Chloe and Alex for having us stay!

After we cross the 900 mile mark, we come across a group of hikers who through hiked in '99. Since then they have come back every year to celebrate and feed current hikers. Good timing for us! So good, that we arrived on a Friday and left on Sunday. (Above, a keg is being rolled in.)

Ever heard of "hippie horshoes"? Neither had we, but it quickly became our favorite activity. Who knew a rope with two golfballs tied to it could be so fun!

Time for a ride to the waterfall.

This is how we shower in the great outdoors!

Kath washing her hair.

Keeping good company with K-bomb and the Breeze.

Where can you find a place to relax and walk around in robes as your laundry dries? The Dutch Haus B&B in Montebello, VA. Wonderful!

More relaxing on the porch, chatting with fellow hikers.

Beautiful sunsets are hard to catch on film, we got lucky this night, right before a

thunderstorm hit.

Alison and Nick came all the way from Seattle to visit! They greeted us with ice pops and fresh fruit! Just the beginning of our pampering.

Mendocino hopped in this picture along Skyline Drive entering Shenandoah National Park.

Hiking the trail lined with mountain laurel was quite pleasant to the eye!





Woah! Time for that hair to go.



Whew, thats better.




This program on Birds of Prey was amazing. Above is a Barred owl, who's call is "Who cooks for you", which we've heard a lot since being on the trail.




This small Screech owl is 14 years old.


The Bodle family atop BlackRock.

At last we see Bears! A mama bear and two cubs were taking a stroll right off the road. They had no concern of all the people taking pictures. The mama bear turned over rocks looking for insects as the cubs played and climbed trees. Adorable!

Seems to be strange wildlife in this park.

View more pics from my sister here:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/pictures?ap=&a=67b0de21b3475487458a&pg=0

Thanks to Ali, Nick and Georgie for visiting! We had a blast!

I would walk a thousand miles, and I will walk a thousand more.

Good riddance to Virginia, beautiful state, but we've seen enough. Hello, West Virginia!

The AT Blackburn Center, hostel and hospitality for hikers. We slept on the porch and were treated with sweet potato pie!



And we made it to Harpers Ferry, WV. Home of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and the unofficial halfway mark of the trail at 1,011 miles. Pictured here is the convergence of the Shenandoah and Potomac River. Here we are meeting up with Elizabeth's family and then travelling on to Baltimore to see Michael, Erinn, and Abe. Also, Chris is rejoining the trail here. Much happening!

Dear Virginia

Ah, Glasgow a fine town with reliable internet service! We are making our way through the longest state on the trail. We were told, "Virginia is flat", but i'm not sure how that rumor got started. Less than a hundred miles from Shenandoah National Park where we get to meet up with Kevin's family and hopefully "slackpack" as they call it for a few days! Can't wait to get there!

If you look close you can see kevin, twice.

Some trail names are a mystery, with "Torch" it's pretty clear.
The REI Shark Skin Jacket is modeled above compliments of Hoot, Half Elvis, and the Breeze.
This guy seemed to be lost on the trail.

Yes, Kevin and I still practice our Tree hugging. This oak is the largest on the southern portion of the AT (the largest being in NY)

We encountered many donkeys on our path this day, we may have gotten a little close though cause they tried to eat our hands.

Woo-hoo! 700 miles!


The most scenic view on the AT they say, McAfee's Knob.

I've been waiting for this spot! Apparently, this area was used to film "Last of the Mohicans" and Daniel Day Lewis stood on the same knob. pretty cool.

Crossing the James River along the longest foot bridge on the AT.


Kevin's really building some muscle out here.

Look closely, we are in Glasgow, VA. Where men ride their lawn mowers down the street while barbarian women ride dinosaurs on the lawn.

Virginia is for hikers

We're having technical difficulties uploading pictures, so we will update those when we can, for now we will fill in with words!

Last week we celebrated in Damascus, VA for the annual Trail Days festival. A small town that you can walk from end to end, was filled with hikers parading down the street. Local townspeople watched from the sidewalks armed with water guns, water balloons, and buckets of water ready to soak all the hikers in sight. We managed to make it through fairly dry though! Outdoor vendors were there giving away goodies. And although kevin lost the cake eating contest, he did manage to defeat everyone in the sleeping bag sac race! He won me a new sleeping bag! After taking four days off for the festival, it was time to get back on the trail.
Since Damascus, we've made it to mile 624. Officially passing the quarter mark on the trail at mile 540. The test will be to make it through the 500+ miles in Virginia alone, which some people call the "Virginia Blues". However we have many things to look forward to in Virginia to keep us motivated. We are meeting Kevin's family in Shenandoah National park, which has some pretty famous views. And right after we will be entering Harpers Ferry, WV where we will meet up with some of my family!
Unfortunately we can't display our pictures from the last few weeks, but we are doing great. We will try and update again soon!