#147 and #148

We have had quite the momentous week you guys!!

First of all, we passed the mileage halfway point, which is 1092 miles (though the sign is at 1090.5). 50% of the entire trail complete!

THEN we passed the Mason Dixon line and passed into Maryland! I told my grandma about that, and she said," Well at least now you're back in God's country." I will admit, I got a little teary when I saw the sign.

And finally, today, we passed into Harper's Ferry. Harper's Ferry is a milestone on the AT because it the home of the Appalachian Trail Headquarters. They take a polaroid of you to put in a book, and give you a number. We were numbers 147 and 148 (Mark was 146) to pass through here going southbound.

Tony weighed in at 168---skinniest he has been since high school. Mark is 159. I told my mom eventually we'll all be equal if they keep this up!

We are excited to be this far down, but know that we still have a long ways to go still!

Also, notably, we ate at a Chinese buffet, and met a couple in the parking lot. They let us sleep in their backyard, take showers, wash our clothes, and watch the debate! Turns out, the husband was a elementary school principal and we got to speak to his 5th and 6th grade class! They were so inquisitive and cute!

The next day, Mark's friend Melinda picked us up and took us to her home! We got to hang out with her and Trish and take ANOTHER shower! Twice in one week! Much to our dismay, our hostesses slept in their tent in the yard, and let us sleep in a real bed! Our manners weren't happy with this, but our tired bodies were!

Hopefully Hurricane Sandy will not bring us too much drama!

Love and miss all of you!

1043/2184

As our friend Wild Bill likes to say, " my dogs are barking!" Pennsylvania has truly live up to its "rocky" hype! Medium sized, pointy rocks that you trip over (see picture below), step on, stub your toe on, make you bang your trekking poles on the ground in anger rocks.

BUT! We are happy because in the last 3 days, we have done 26,18, and 25 miles! And it only rained all day one of those days. 3 days ago, we passed the 1000 miles mark. That was the day it rained all day. Of course. We were determined to pass that milestone and hiked our longest day yet! We kept saying to each other,"1000 miles!! Can you believe it?!" "ONE THOUSAND MILES!"

Last night, we stayed at the "Doyle Hotel" in Duncannon, PA. It was very.....quaint. Let's me put it this way; it was $25/night with a community bathroom. And it reminded me of our house BEFORE it was renovated. Tony loved it.

We are about 80 or so miles from the Mason Dixon line. Our aforementioned friend Wild Bill has had to go home, as well as our friend Blind Faith. It is sadder than you think it would be when people decide to get off the trail. It reenforces just how far we have come and how far we have to go. And just how very hard it is.

900

Ok folks! We are up to 916 miles as of this morning! We have acquired a new friend, Stetson "Frogman 1.0",and we are now in Pennsylvania! Hard to believe this is our 8th state. In just over 200 miles, we will hit our halfway point!!

Mark's mom (the diva of south Georgia) a couple family friends came this week and plucked us off the trail for a couple days. It was amazing to have family time and eat steak, pizza, hamburgers, and pee in a toilet.

Last night, we ate at the Beerstein, and the gracious owner let us camp in the backyard AND this morning, he let us cook anything we wanted in the restaurant kitchen this morning. Being the domestic goddess I am, I cooled me and Tony some homefries and an omelet. This experience was a far cry from the establishment in New Jersey that kicked Mark and Stetson for "smelling too bad."

Today, we are grateful for the sunshine (which has been lacking the past week) and for good spirits and morale. PA is definitely rocky and hard on our feet, but we will survive!

Shout out to Birdlegs!

Also, congrats to the Spurlocks on the birth of their precious baby girl Bella.

have you ever even hiked before?

Since we have been on the trail, people have asked us the same questions over and over again. Here are a few of the frequently asked:

1. Are you guys camping?
Every night! Unless I am so lucky as to have a dumpy motel room.

2. When did you start/how long will it take you?
We started July 12th, and should be done around December something.....

3. You're hiking from WHERE to WHERE?
Maine to Georgia...2,184 miles (my mom has been telling people 1,200!!)

4. How do you charge your phone? (we are literally asked this almost every day) "Airplane mode" has lasted us up to 11 days before. But mostly we charge them at restaurants, gas stations, random outlets.

5. How far do you walk every day?
Anywhere from 15-20 miles is usually the goal. Plans change frequently though.

6. Do you have a GPS?
Only time we use the GPS on our phones is to find a McDonald's in town. On the trail, the white blazes painted on the trees are our guide.

7. Have you lost weight?
Tony has lost about 25 pounds and looks like he did when I met him at age 15. I have barely lost 5 and look pretty much unchanged.

8. What do you eat?
Breakfast--poptarts, honeybuns, twinkies
Snack--peanuts, honeybuns, snickers, dried fruit
Lunch-- tuna wrap, peanut butter (or hope and pray there is a deli in walking distance)
Dinner--ramen noodles, luxurious freeze dried meals, pasta sides, honeybuns

9. Do you ever get tired of each other?
Yes.

10. How do you take a bath?
We have gone days and days without taking a bath or washing clothes, but usually we find a laundromat, hotel, hostel, or someone takes us into their home.

11. Have you ever even hiked before??
We did a few day hikes, but nothing long distance like this. But honestly, it's not that complicated and sometimes having no expectations serves you well.

12. Are you by yourself?
We started out alone but have met some lifelong friends.

13. Why did you want to do the trail?
We wanted to escape the every day if only temporarily. The thought of following society's norms drove us out here. We wanted to get to know ourselves and each other better. We wanted a great adventure.

And a great adventure it has been so far.

806/2184 complete. Making our way...

THE BIG APPLE(ACHIAN) TRAIL DETOUR

at 707 (32%~) miles complete, we got off the trail and headed up to the big apple. route: hitch-hiked from an obscure trail. to a small town. got dropped off. hitch-hiked again to a train station (said train was missed by 5 minutes). waited two hours for a train. got on a train and rode 2 hours into NYC! 

today, we took a ferry to the statue of liberty and ellis island. 

we are waiting on our local new yorker friend james (single and looking) to turn back into 'bearboots' and come back on the trail with us

incredible view from the ferry. it is so HUGE!

now back to the trail: we are officially into our 5th state (connecticut). we should be in new york (trail wise) by this weekend! 

OH MY GOODNESS. i almost forgot! we met THE Warren Doyle on the trail. he's a somewhat famous  infamous figure on the AT.

http://www.backpacker.com/august-2011-warren-down-appalachian-trail/destinations/15824

hope y'all are having a great week! we would love to hear from you!

return to Maine and other adventures

ryan and lizzie, our friends from Nashville got married in Maine and we got to go! Sam, the brides brother, just happened to be working close by (in car miles) and picked us up! we stayed in a huge beach house in York, Maine and even got to wear normal clothes (borrowed of course)! and be around normal people! sam and his wife Danielle were amazing and we were so grateful to be able to attend this beautiful coastal wedding!

what else, what else? oh man, I was hiking by myself one day so tony could pick up our package from our generous aunt Betsy and I saw a creature literally barreling towards me on the trail. it was a HUMUNGOUS porcupine!! it didn't see me at first so I dove into the bushes beside the trail to go around him. he saw me and stared me down until i was successfully on the trail on the other side of him. man. I was not in the mood to have quills whacked into my leg by a mad porcupine.

AND I have a crazy rash from a fuzzy caterpillar. don't trust those things.

we have gotten 2 rides in a row
from toyota priuses.

we have done 660 miles. lots of people have been skipping parts of the trail by riding in cars/buses what have you but so far we have been on the straight and narrow.

it rained on us all morning and now we are at a comfort inn. (a real hotel!!!!!!!)

by the way we are in Massachusetts!

life in pictures

my favorites...

 pictured above is my original rain jacket which was promptly lost

 my new, cuter rain jacket+our tent in 4 inches of rain. at 0600am.

 our last real beauty of a mountain+katniss braid+sideways sign view 

   a perfect example of the mountains we traversed in Maine and NH

a real life trail to walk on. (i tripped and fell this day......??)

why i have lost 0 lbs on the trail.that and good ole mountain dew

         we are now at 538 miles. still only the beginning...

" i'm from the small town of athens, alabama so i just can't grasp the magnitude of what y'all two are doing"---Juanita Brock