day 59 - 05/08

after a totally sweet night at russ and wendy's house, i moved on sadly saying goodbye to russ and the best trail magic so far, and possibly ever. i felt very fatigued today with whatever is going on in my intestines, so i only went 14.8mi and it seemed very long. the pic below is from pulpit rock. i made it to eckville bunkhouse shelter, which is owned by the local club and is totally enclosed, which was great because it was very cold and rainy by the time i stopped at 15:00. btw, today is officially day 12 of some sort of rain during the day or night. i am ready for some sun! a school group showed up here at the bunkhouse from a school for kids with learning disabilities much like the one i used to help run, so it was really fun interacting with the kids. ld kids have such unique perspectives - i love seeing the world differently thru their eyes. such a gift! 14.8mi from port clinton, pa to eckville shelter. 1226.5 total.

day 58 - 05/07

so sorry to everyone for the delay in posts. it was a combo of erasing all of my already written posts on my phone by accident and just feeling so ill lately. btw, when i report this stuff that isn't exactly pleasant, it is not complaining at all and i hope it doesn't come off that way. i signed up for a life changing experience and all it has to offer, including all experiences, the pleasant with the not-so-pleasant. i actually love it all. including where i am updating my blog right now. i still can't believe it and am truly humbled by their generosity and graciousness. explanation . . . i went to the post office in port clinton, pa today to pick up a package of goodies from my bff, and after chatting with the postman, russ, for a while he offered me a bed, shower, dinner, and laundry at his house for the night. best trail magic ever. his wife made this amazing meal of chicken, scalloped potatoes, snow peas, corn, apple sauce, and blueberry muffins and then apple turnovers and vanilla ice cream for dessert. the shower felt amazing, the conversation was so easy, and i even got to watch one of my favorite tv shows, game of thrones. unbelievable! i am truly humbled by the generosity of russ and wendy and by how completely welcomed i felt in their home. so many experiences on the trail have shown me the inherent goodness and love in people and that the exceptional cases of non-goodness and non-love so often shown on the evening news are just that - exceptions! oh, and i passed mile 1200 today. 18.5mi from hertline campground to port clinton, pa. 1211.7 total.

day 57 - 05/06

pennsylvania is flat . . . and rocky . . . despite my fatigue i pushed thru 23.2mi from rausch gap to hertline campsite. 1193.2 total.

day 56 - 05/05

so i am feeling not so good. very foggy in the mind and just drained. i am starting to wonder if this is giardia, a water born bacteria that infects the intestines causing nausea, check, diarrhea (the fookies), check, fatigue, check, mental fogginess, check, and possible dehydration, not yet. the problem is that i have filtered every drop of water i have ever had on the trail, so this would mean my filter has failed in some way. the other problem is that there is no treatment. like salmonella, it just has to run its course. so, hopefully this will clear, and soon. i decided to make it an easier day and went only 17.9mi from peters mt shelter to rausch gap campsite. 1170.0 total.

day 55 - 05/04

so the difficulty of today's hike because of whatever this bug is i have was overshadowed by the awesome encounter in the video above. i'll let everyone watch so as not to spoil it. sorry about the incorrect date reference, not once, but twice. it can't be march 4th cuz i didn't even start the trail until march 11th! may 4th, 2012. lol. enjoy . . . 22.6mi from darlington to peters mt shelter. 1152.1 total.

day 54 - 05/03

awesome hike today and the town of boiling spring, pa is so idyllic. if anyone is close by and has the time, you should definitely check it out. still feeling nauseous and i officially have the fookies (hopefully people can figure out what that means without a graphic description). hopefully just a passing bug. 18.2mi from alec kennedy to darlington shelter. 1129.5 total.

day 53 - 05/02

i woke up today and ate breakfast with a deer - see the pic below. it was so great. i was nice and quiet for a while until she got used to me and then just went about my business and she just hung out eating the greens of some daffodils that had already passed. i am officially past the half way point as of today. the funny thing is that the sign still had the mileage from last year, 1090.5, but they moved it, attempting to put it in the correct place, but it was till wrong. lol! the total mileage this year is 2184.2, making the halfway point 1092.1. i passed the tom's run shelter at mile 1092.3 and realized i had already passed the halfway point and then came upon the sign in the picture below another .2mi from the shelter. oh well, at least it was in the vicinity. i also made it to pine furnace village and the home of the half gallon ice cream challenge where thru hikers eat a half gallon of ice cream in one sitting to comemerate their half way point. unfortunately, the general store was closed, which was fine with me because i had been feeling nauseous all day. probably better that i didn't eat the ice cream and then possibly eat it for a second time on the way up. lol. oh, and i passed mile 1100 today. 32.6mi from quarry gap to alec kennedy shelter. 1111.3 total.

day 52 - 05/01

pennsylvania! i am officially north of the mason-dixon line. i somehow feel more at home, whatever that means. pa is confirmed as both fairly flat and very rocky in patches. i made it to rocky mt shelter to discover it to be very old and not so nice, so i pushed on to quarry gap shelter, which is the frickin bomb! the caretaker here takes so much pride in maintaining this shelter it is just awesome. i look forward to a great night's sleep. 25.4mi from raven rock to quarry gap shelter. 1078.7 total.

day 51 - 04/30

yup, it's confirmed . . . maryland is officially a southern state. lol. i had to stop in the town of smithsburg, md for a resupply today and other than the glaringly obvious signs such as the numerous confederate flags being flown, there was a lot of grits and sweet tea being served. so officially a southern state, in case anyone was wondering as i always have. the pic below is of a lady slipper orchid. they are fairly rare and increasingly endangered in north america and there it was just sitting on the side of the trail. very beautiful. i made it to another new shelter which is also top notch so koodos to md for the awesomest shelters so far on the trail. 20.6mi from rocky run to raven rock shelter. 1053.3 total.

day 50 - 04/29

i set off from harper's ferry today and crossed into my 6th state going nobo on the trail - maryland! such a beautiful hike along the potomac and then a great climb up onto the ridgeline. i did kind of an easy day cuz i wanted to stop at one of the newest shelters on the trail, rocky run shelter. it was so nice and new, with clean polished floor boards and best of all, no mice. maryland is proving to be a very easy state to hike with just a few rocky sections. on to another new shelter tomorrow and then on to pennsylvania. note - you will see a slight adjustment in the total mileage. while in harper's ferry i bought the newly published 2012 guide for the trail and found out that somewhere back in nc i apparantly did an extra 2.3 miles without knowing it, so the total is the 15.4 i did today as well as the 2.3 that have thus far been unaccounted for. 15.4mi from harper's ferry to rocky run shelter. 1032.7 total.