Country Roads, Take me Home...

...to the place where I belong - West Virginia

Today we hit three really huge milestones. The first was that we finished the "Roller Coaster." I'm not sure I ever care to go on a 13 mile roller coaster ever again. But the effort was completely worth it, because not long after we cleared the Coaster, we also cleared another state. We finished all 550+ miles of trail in Virginia, and are now officially in West Virginia, the land of John Denver musical fame. Virginia has nearly a fourth of the AT in it, and finishing that state felt amazing. The rest of the states seem like small, manageable chunks compared to Virginia.

Welcome to West Virginia!

The other big milestone we hit today was the 1000 mile mark. It's taken us four months to get here, longer than most other thru-hikers, but considering the logistics of trying to apply to medical school and conquer the AT at the same time, I'm not ashamed. I've felt good about this adventure for the entire time I've been out here, but I think today was the first time I really felt like I had accomplished something significant. I don't know if there are many people out there who can say they've walked 1,000 miles in a row. On purpose.

Quadruple Digits!!!

After the 1000 mile mark, we hiked about 7 more miles to our rendezvous point. But not before encountering something very interesting - a woman hiking topless. It's a shame there isn't photographic evidence of this, but if I had that I suppose my blog might get flagged as indecent. But truthfully, we happened upon a lady, probably in her mid 60s, who felt so liberated by the AT she apparently felt the need to free herself from her shirt. International Hike Naked Day has long passed, and in her defense I don't think she heard or saw us coming, so perhaps she didn't intentionally expose herself. But by the time we happened upon her and her hiking companion, it was too late. What can I say, after 1000 miles, it's about time we saw someone out there in some state of undress. I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. At any rate, we reached the rendezvous with Trail Angel Mamma very happy today. Good things have happened out here on this adventure, and I still have 1,000 more miles to go.

1000 Miles plus a small tree detour...

Quote of the Day: "Unattended children will be fed espresso and given a free puppy." - Sign on a local store window

Mileage Update:

Miles from Springer - 1,008

Miles from Katahdin - 1,170