The End of the Beginning

1,300 Miles

On October 23, we hiked the last miles of Appalachian Trail that we will hike this year. I sincerely apologize for the long delay in wrapping things up. It's taken me quite some time to process all of the thoughts that come with the end of a journey like this. We considered breaking this section into two days, but ultimately decided we wanted to go down fighting, as it were. The entire hike today was actually close to 17 miles, making it among the longest hikes we took on. And go down fighting we did. It was bitterly cold when we set out around 8:00 AM. It was actually the first time I broke out my heavy down coat. I suppose that's to be expected at the end of October in Pennsylvania. We climbed 1,000+ feet up our last mountain in the Delaware Water Gap state park, and many wonders awaited us. It was almost as if the Trail knew we were leaving, and decided to show us the best it had to offer, all in one day. The first major sight we came across was Sunfish Pond, a glacial pond that is actually on the National Register of Natural Landmarks. The water here is so acidic that only a few extremely hearty species of fish, such as the Sun Perch, can survive in it. Hence the name.

Sunfish Pond

We had a hot beverage and a snack by the pond, which was a great break since it was still very cold out, even at 10:00 AM. When we packed away our coffee mugs and got moving again, we didn't have to go far to find our next natural landmark. This one, however, wasn't created by a glacier.

Cairn Garden at Sunfish Pond. Hikers have stacked these rocks over who knows how many years. It was like walking through an art gallery.

We walked past the pond and through more State Forest, and finally reached an open area on the long ridgeline the Trail follows. We had passed several other hikers, and when we reached the clearing, it wasn't difficult at all to see why the section we were on was popular with the locals.

Fall Views in New Jersey

We didn't linger at the clearing, instead choosing to press on and find a suitable spot to have our last lunch. Just as my belly started grumbling to be fed, a wonderful rock presented itself. This being our "Last Lunch," we had packed our JetBoil canister and some extra water so we could have a hot lunch.

One last Ramen. With a side of view.

Last Lunch

The Trail wasn't finished filling our last day with interesting sights, however. A few miles past our lunch rock, we encountered an abandoned fire tower. We saw lots of these in Georgia and Tennessee, but hadn't seen one in hundreds of miles. They look like something out of a horror movie, but provide an opportunity to really get a bird's eye view of the Trail. With the leaves changing colors, it was an opportunity we could not miss, 60 rickety steps to the top or not.

Fire Tower

View at the top, worth conquering a fear of heights.

Past the fire tower, we came across a group of hikers assembled by a large pond, sporting chest-high waders and wielding shovels and pickaxes. We also heard the sound of rushing water nearby. As it turns out, this group of workers was there to drain the pond. Beavers had built a dam over the natural drainage area of the pond, and the pond was therefore in danger of rising over the Trail. If we had arrived two hours earlier, we would have missed an amazing sight.

Glacial Pond, clogged by pesky beavers.

A waterfall that didn't exist two hours before this video was taken.

After we spent a few minutes admiring the man-made waterfall at the pond, we realized we only had two miles to go to end our hike. Trail Angel Mamma and Trail Dog walked up the Trail from the parking area to meet us, and we all hiked the last mile together, just as it should have been. We all started this together 5 months ago, and we all finished it together.

One last stop for the Trail Family

I sat on the rock you see in the picture above for a long time. Getting into the Jeep in the parking lot was hard. Tears were shed in a mixture of sadness at the prospect of leaving the Trail behind and pride at having come this far. Overall, this was a moment to be celebrated, not mourned, and celebrate we did, with lamb chops and cocktails at a nearby restaurant. As part of my effort to approach this journey with a clear mind and clean spirit, I have not had a drop of alcohol since graduation. I must say, my mojito tasted excellent.

Celebrating.

I have a hard time calling this the end of my journey. We hiked 60% of the Trail. I've come too far to give up on it now. Someday, whether in be in 5 months or 50 years, I will finish this. For the past 162 days, I have poured everything that I have into this trip. It was hard. It tested every physical and mental limit that I had. But I did it. I would like to say that I discovered something life altering in the process. But the epiphany is that there is no epiphany. Just a girl, her Daddy and her Trail Angel exploring the blessing that is our world. Nothing on Earth could make me trade the past 5 months for anything. I did things I never thought myself capable of. I spent 24 hours a day with my father, something that has never happened in my nearly 23 years of life. I rediscovered my mother, not just as the woman who gave birth to me, but as a friend. I thank them for leaving their own busy lives behind to help me achieve my dreams. I thank all of those who have been keeping up with this blog for your continued thoughts and prayers. I thank God for my health and my mind, and for this amazing, miraculous world for me to journey in. This is not the end. This is only another beginning.

Until Next Time. Happy Trails.

All my Love - Nano

Quote of the Day (paraphrased):

The old that is strong does not wither

Deep roots are not reached by the frost

All that is gold does not glitter

Not all those who wander are lost

Farewell Rocksylvania

Nano crosses the Delaware into New Jersey

Eight more miles under our boots today, and an important 8 miles at that, since they were the last 8 miles of the AT in Pennsylvania. It was your standard rocky and flat PA trail, but there were several nice views scattered over the eight miles, which made it very enjoyable. We got a little bit of a late start because we relocated base camp. It's a bit surreal, because it's actually the last time we will relocate before we leave the AT for the season. I think I've been avoiding talking about this, because I'm actually quite sad that my 5 months of trail time is almost up. But, the winter weather is closing in upon us, and real world responsibilities, unfortunately, beckon us off the Trail. So not only were these the last 8 miles of PA, but they were some of the last miles of my adventure this season. More on my feelings about this to come. I tried not to think too much about it this afternoon and just enjoy the scenery.

PA Waterfall

A view of two states

We lolligagged a bit during our hike. Partly, I think, because it was quite cold and the chill slowed us down, and partly because we were trying to savor the day. It was gorgeous out, and you could see for miles at the vistas. We made it off of the PA ridgetop and across the Delaware River into New Jersey in about five hours. I'm not sure how I feel about New Jersey yet. The first thing we saw and walked on when we got into the state was a huge interstate. And it smelled like gasoline. Not exactly picturesque. But I'll give it a chance. The food here is good so far, at least. I had a tasty cheesesteak and hot fudge milkshake for dinner. PA was very beautiful, so I'm a little sad to leave it behind. But there are other states to be tackled.

Bye Bye, PA

Winter is in the Air

More PA Rockpiles

This morning, it was raining. We slept in a little longer than usual to wait out the rain, which was gone by 9:00 a.m. or so. One thing the rain managed to do, however, was make the cool days we've been having recently downright cold. I had plenty of layers to wear, though, and I'd much rather be cold than hot while I'm out hiking. It's amazing how fast the seasons are changing here. Just last week, it seemed like we were right in the middle of fall, and there was barely a crispness in the air. Now, all of the leaves that were just changing colors a few days ago are on the ground, and the air is far more than crisp.

The seasons, they are a changin'...

Most of the hike was our standard PA fare - flat and a little rocky - with a few steep scrambles over rocky outcrops thrown in for good measure. We weren't quite as efficient today as we were yesterday. I'm not sure if starting a couple of hours later made me lethargic, or if the terrain was a tad rockier and tougher to navigate, but I just wasn't moving quite as fast as usual. We hiked just over 8 miles in about 5 hours. We finished hiking around 4:00 p.m., got cleaned up, and drove back west a bit to go to dinner and a movie about Billy Joel and Sea Stadium. Mr. Smith joined us for his final goodbye, because now we're too far north to make visits convenient. With winter at our backs, we march on!

Something pretty always seems to find us out here.

The Flash

Superheros on the AT

Yesterday, we took a day off. As much as we have enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. Smith's AT Shelter for the past week, it was time to relocate. It was also time for Trail Sister to go back to college. So we enjoyed sleeping in a little later than usual, had a nice breakfast at a local bagel shop, and took Trail Sister to the Airport. Then we vacated Mr. Smith's deluxe accommodations and relocated base camp a little further north. We were sad to leave, but he did come out to go for a Sonic run and visit our new base camp. That essentially took all day, so it was a good thing we didn't plan to hike. Today, we hiked a little over 8 miles. We were really efficient today, and did the whole hike in just over 4 hours. The trail was flat and wooded, like most of PA, so relatively uneventful. We made things interesting though, by taking special precautions for hunting season. The clothes I chose to wear today were rather drab, which isn't ideal if you want hunters to avoid mistaking you for a deer. So, I strapped The Flash to my backpack. He was a toy that I rescued out of one of those claw machines. I got him on the first try. So he must be lucky, right? With that logic, and the additional fact that he is very brightly colored, easy to spot, and hard to mistake for a deer, I decided he should come along as my own personal trail superhero. He enjoyed himself thoroughly.

Nano and The Flash enjoying the Trail

We finished our hike for the day in the early afternoon, had a big lunch at a greasy spoon diner (the best kind), and spent the rest of the day being completely lazy. It was nice to have an afternoon to do absolutely nothing but rest. I think I needed it, since I was unusually tired. One thing is for sure, I am not afraid to drift off for an impromptu nap. I've got excellent guardians.

The Flash and Trail Dog keep watch.

Serious Rockclimbing

More Crawling than Climbing

Today we hiked a little over 12 miles, and it took us much longer than we expected. It took us an hour to cover the first mile of this section, because it involved crawling up a mountain of boulders on my hands and knees, which definitely made for slow going. The mountain was once the site of a zinc mine, so the whole mountainside has been deforested, and has yet to recover from years of heavy industry. But climbing the open rockfaces was definitely a change of pace from the usual PA forests. It also made for a pretty great panoramic view once we finally pulled ourselves to the top.

Mountain-woman

The zinc mines that were once here have really left their mark on the landscape, and you can still see the effects for miles along the AT. The Trail has actually been relocated in this area so that it can be reclaimed by nature. But that is a long, slow process. For now, there is very little that looks like nature in the area. Instead, it looks like something out of a post-apocalyptic horror movie.

Wastelands of the AT

We plodded along the trail one step at a time, picking our way over the boulders and rock shards and around the dead trees. We didn't make it to the pick-up point until very late afternoon today, even though we started pretty early in the morning. It was just a tough hike today. But, we capped off the evening with a very nice dinner in the local downtown. I had lambchops and a pear tart for dessert. It's always nice to mix things up out on the trail, as far as scenery and terrain is concerned. Even if all the rock climbing has definitely left me sore.

Happy Hiker

Short days, Big fun

Another addition to our hiking crew for the day

Today, we only hiked 5 miles. Since Trail Sister is here, we wanted to spend some time exploring and finding fun things to see and good things to eat. So we opted for a short day. But, we had an extra treat today, because since Mr. Smith has a day off from his secret agent duties on Sundays, he was able to come with us on this little section of trail.

Enjoying the view

PA foliage is better when viewed with friends

After our 5 mile jaunt, we got cleaned up and went to go enjoy the area. There are lots of really fun, historic and interesting neighborhoods here, so there was lots to see. We wandered around the old downtown area and window shopped, and got some really incredible pasta at a local Italian restaurant. That, complete with watching Sunday night football, made it a really nice day. I'm still really glad that the whole Trail Team could be here for a few days, and extra glad that I had some extra company on the hike today, even if it was a short one.

Exploring one of the oldest AT shelters in PA

New Company

Another on-time delivery by Mr. Smith's AT Taxi

Over the past two days, we hiked about 20 miles. It's been much, much colder since the rain, which means I essentially stay bundled up in as many layers as I can, including snow-skiing gloves. Maybe I'm a wimp in the cold, but I'm a much happier hiker when I don't feel the subtle effects of mild hypothermia setting in. Yesterday, we hiked about 12 miles. The terrain was the Pennsylvania standard - flat and rocky through the woods with the occasional rock with a nice fall view to have a snack on.

Pit Stop

We went at a little slower pace than usual because of the rocks, but finished in time to rendezvous with a long lost trail helper.

Trail Sister arrives in PA

Trail Sister is on fall break from college, and decided to spend it up here on the trail with us. The more the merrier. Having the whole family back on the trail gave us a perfect excuse to plan a big picnic for the next day. Today, it was another very cold October morning, and we hiked a little over 8 miles. We saw and hiked behind a group of about 30 boyscouts for the first couple of miles. There were scouts of all ages and sizes, but every single one of them was excited to be on the trail. One of them, who looked about 10 years old, enthusiastically asked me "Are you going to go walk on the Knife Edge?!?!" Unaware of such an obstacle on the Trail, I responded with optimism. It was completely obvious when we reached the huge rock formation known as "The Knife Edge."

Living Life on the Edge

There were other interesting things to be seen along the trail today. We met the rest of the family and Mr. Smith at a very popular day hiking spot on the Trail, known to locals as simply "The Knob." As soon as you climb the rockpiles to the top of The Knob, it's not hard to see why it's such a popular spot.

The famous Knob view.

Trail Angel Mamma packed an amazing picnic lunch and Mr. Smith's AT Taxi brought the whole gang out for a picnic. We took our time eating and enjoying the view, since we only had to hike 3 miles after lunch. We also got to go to a Halloween Parade tonight, which reminded me a lot of parades in my hometown, and was a great time. Overall, it was a beautiful and fun day, which I was excited that the whole "Trail Crew" got to participate in.

Trail Crew

Exploring, Rain or Shine

Slowly but Surely...

Yesterday we hiked about 7 miles out of Port Clinton. We got a late start because we went exploring around the area for a bit. We found an excellent little PA Dutch Diner to have some brunch at, and had fun looking at all of the Halloween decorations that seem to have sprung up overnight. Pennsylvanians seem to take Halloween very, very seriously. They don't stop at a sign in the yard and a few pumpkins on the porch. We're talking whole houses covered in fake blood and spiderwebs. Very, very impressive.

Giant Inflatable Monsters will eat you!!!

It was another beautiful fall day, so even though there were no exciting vistas or other hikers out, we enjoyed the day and finished our 7 miles in just a few hours. Today, however, was not such a beautiful day. It was MUCH colder, there was a 100% chance of rain in the forecast, and it was already cloudy when we left for the trail at 7:30 am. We did have a most excellent chauffeur though.

Mr. Smith - Banker, Secret Agent, and Trail Taxi Extraordinaire

We hiked about 9 total miles today, and the first few were quite hard. Big rocks to climb over and a steep ascent. But the rain held off and the view at the top was worth it.

Leaves from Above

After we got to the top of the mountain, we were greeted by what can only be described as an interstate by AT hiker standards. It was a smooth, flat gravel road that had clearly been used for some kind of forest maintenance at one time, but was now relegated to transporting hikers. The rain set in about the time we hit the "interstate," but it was such nice walking I almost didn't care.

Leaves from Below

At the end of the 9 miles, I was a little cold and a tad damp, but nothing a nice heated car and a cup of coffee at a local diner didn't fix. The rain got progressively harder throughout the day, so it was a very good thing we got up and did our hike for the day earlier than usual. Timing is everything.

A few soggy steps closer to Maine...

New Trail Angel

1,200 Miles!!!

Today we had a pretty long day. We hiked a little over 14 miles. It helped that we boondocked in a parking lot right next to the trail, so we didn't have far to go to start our day. We also had virtually no elevation change until the last mile of the hike. So it was another very flat, very rocky kind of day. I'm noticing a trend here on the trails of PA with that.

The pretty views with fall colors are also a trend in PA.

It was noticeably colder today. I even hiked most of the hike in my coat. It's not so bad when you're in the sun, but when you get in the shade or stop moving at all, it's downright chilly. Also, if you've been wondering about the shirts I've sported recently - the ones that look like they got into a fight with a highlighter and lost - there's a reason for those. It's hunting season in PA. And I don't want to be mistaken for something wild and edible. Hence the flourescent shirts. We evaded the hunters and it wasn't hard to ignore the chills when there were pretty views and treasures to be found.

And by treasures I mean turnips. Someone planted a whole field of them on the trail for the deer. Lucky deer.

We walked down off of the ridgetop after 13 miles into the valley and the tiny town of Port Clinton, Pennsylvania. The town only has 2 streets in it. But it does have a railroad yard that is still in use. I've never seen a working rail yard before, even if it is only used for freight and not people.

Nano and Trail Dog at the Rail Yard

After we finished our long hike, my knees were sore from negotiating all the jagged rocks in the trail, so I was happy to go have a treat at a local chocolate shop (chocolate covered apricots...yummy) and relocate base camp. I am very fortunate to have a good college friend in this vicinity. We were on the debate team together as undergrads, and with him having a real job and a real life in Yankee country, I don't see nearly enough of him. Fortunately however, we were able to impose upon his hospitality today. His day job is in the banking business, but I'm convinced this is a front for serious covert secret agent operations. So, in the interests of protecting his anonymity, we will simply call him...Mr. Smith. Anyway, Mr. Smith graciously offered his driveway as a temporary base camp location. This pit stop comes complete with a local's guide to Eastern PA, homemade food, and showers we neither have to pay for, nor wear flip flops in. Heaven.

Mr. Smith's AT Shelter - The best in PA

Disneyworld for Outdoors Nerds

New Colors

10 more miles hiked today, all of which were unusually rocky but also very flat, so I suppose the difficulty level evened out. The fall colors are getting prettier every day. It's like walking through a watercolor painting. Really, really beautiful. Today's hike was rather uneventful for the most part. We stayed on a ridgetop the entire hike, and didn't see any critters and very few other hikers. We did meet a Southbounder named "Low Step" who actually sat down and talked to us for about 15 minutes. He said we were the first people he'd seen in two days. I think he was starved for company. We hiked the 10 miles fairly efficiently, and made it to the gravel parking lot where we boondocked with plenty of time left to explore. That's where the real highlight of the day came.

Disneyworld

Cabela's is essentially a superstore of an outdoor outfitter. The building was as big as a mall. They had dog kennels and horse corrals in the parking lot for their customers. It's that kind of place. They have everything anyone who wants to set foot outside for longer than an hour needs to survive. Everything. They even have a restaurant and a frozen zoo.

And by frozen, I mean shot dead and stuffed.

Look! A bear!

I probably could've spent days wandering around in there. The huge display of taxidermed animals and the heads on the wall were really impressive. They had everything from raccoons to water buffalo to lions. We had dinner in the restaurant there. I had an elk burger. If you've never had elk, you should. It will be the tastiest, leanest, juiciest steak you ever had. We resisted the urge to start spending money there and made it back to base camp with our dignity intact. It was still lots of fun to go look though.

Trail Dog thought so too.