My Trails

July 3.

OUR HIKE ENDS
When I woke up this morning, I knew that trying to hike 13 miles with my 30+ pound pack and aching feet was not going to make for a very enjoyable day.  So, we devised a plan. We would hike a mile down the trail to where it intersected a road. Nate and I would stash our backpacks in the underbrush and mark the spot on our map so as to return for them later with the car.  We would carry water and lunch stuff only.  Nate would even be able to wear his toed “camp shoes” to hike in instead of boots as he had some blisters forming on his heels too. 

Once again, the weather was hot and sunny.  The trail took us through giant boulders and rock formations, up and down hills, and across meadows and fields.  Nate and I were able to keep up and enjoy the day.  Castaway hiked with his full pack on as he has no need to “slack pack” for ONLY a 13 mile hike.  🙂  As we were climbing the one giant hill, I started singing “I don’t miss my pack…not even one little bit” and I could hear Castaway chuckling behind me.

  We arrived at Boiling Springs in time to enjoy a meal with dad before dropping him off at the bed and breakfast, retrieving our packs, and heading for home. To help me rest my feet, Nate shared in the driving on the 4 hour drive home. When I saw a sign for a rest area 2 miles ahead, I said to him “I’ll switch with you in 2miles.”. He glanced over in mock outrage and said with  a panicked voice, “In 2miles! But it will take us an hour to go that far!!” ….and it would’ve if we were still on the AT. 

July 2 BLISTERSWe broke camp early as we had planned a long day. We hiked hard and after 10 miles reached Pine Grove Furnace Park around noon.  There is a hiker challenge at the concession stand in the park. The challenge is to eat an entire 1/2 gallon of ice cream in one sitting. I’m pretty sure Castaway could have done it but since we planned on hiking 7 more miles he settled for 2 cheeseburgers, an ice cream cone, and a bowl of ice cream. Castaway grabbed some pastries and snacks for the road too.However, we did get to see two other thru hikers, Banjo and Two-Thirds take the ice cream challenge.  They did it, but later told us they took a three hour nap before they could continue hiking.  When we left the park to continue on, Backpacker and Jack had arrived and were ordering their half gallons too. Unfortunately, I have developed a pretty severe blister problem, 7 blisters in all.  I taped them today and pushed thru until about the 16th mile when I could barely walk because of the pain.  I did “surgery” once we reached camp tonight and they are all drained and bandaged now. The plan is to try to hike out tomorrow but if I can’t take it, we will come up with an alternate plan. I have to say, Nate’s been an amazing hiker.  I’m enjoying the time with him on the trail and he’s been really helpful now that I’m “injured”. He polished off two hamburgers pretty easily at the concession stand and I think a few more days on the trail and he could match Castaway’s appetite.  Nate has a trail name now. It’s Seeds. Castaway named him on account of the sunflower seeds he’s been eating on the trail….after Nate rejected his initial idea of Sunflower for his name. Haha. Aunt Donna…we did 15 miles on day one, 13 miles on day two, 17 miles today, and have 13 miles left for tomorrow. Karen Meehan

July 1 It was a beautiful day today, 94 degrees and pure sun. Most of the trail has been shaded so it was tolerable. I’ve found my hiking legs so I’m not quite as sore every wear. Gram, we decided that since you’ve  read Bryson’s book, you are now an honorary soggy shoe hiker! Welcome to the club. :)When we arrived at the shelter we found Backpacker and Jack. We spent an enjoyable evening listening to Backpacker and Castaway (dad) taking turns playing backpacker’s guitar and singing songs. Later on three more hikers joined the group. Lots of laughing and joking around finished out the evening. Looking forward to a good nights sleep tonight. 

June 30th

The day started out great. We got to catch up with all dads stories as we peppered him with questions about the AT experience. The first 10 miles of hiking were hot but manageable. Feeling cocky,  we decided to push on to the next shelter 5 additional miles away.  Ahead on the trailed loomed a steep uphill climb. We started up. I didn’t disgrace myself by outwardly crying but lets just say there was a lot of built in rest time for Nate and dad.  The last 5 miles felt like 15.  I don’t believe I hike any slower than I did in the Sierras but it was a total role reversal. Dad bouncing ahead up the hill and me trudging up the hill worrying as my respiration rate closed in on 45 breaths/minute.  We made it to the shelter but every muscle in my body hurts.  Ouch!!

To add insult to injury, when we got to the shelter, there was a group of boy scouts talking with another thru hiker, Sam I Am. They were asking him about hiking and training. The the one boy said “Man I’m tired.  It was a rough day! We hiked 15 miles today.”  Another scout chided him, “Quit whining!! You sound like a 40 year old woman!!”   Ouch!!

June 29th – Pen Mar Park, PA
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”  FDR

I agree with that quote but I’d also like to give honorable mention to bears, snakes, and disappearing food bags.  The one thought that has me most nervous about our 55+ mile adventure  is this…that I will be the Katz to Dad and Nate’s Bryson.  I’m about to head into the wilderness with my uber hiking machine of a father and a super fit 17 year old.  I’m hoping that at some point during the hike they won’t look back (way back) and find me trudging along, wilted from the heat, with my backpack empty because I pitched everything in order to lighten my load.  🙂

Despite the risk of being the weakest link, I’m truly looking forward to spending time on the AT with my dad and my son. One of the best things about backpacking is the time you get to spend together free from distractions of every day life…well, other than trying to stay alive out in the wilderness. Haha. I’m also looking forward to meeting some of the folks who have become like family to my dad over the past few weeks.

Tomorrow morning Nate and I will meet dad on the trail to join in his quest to follow the white blazes. 

 **footnote- Katz and Bryson reference is from “A walk in the woods” by Bill Bryson. If you’ve ever spent time in the woods with my dad…you’d know he can quote it by heart.  :)Karen Meehan