GETTING STARTED

194.7 miles in 17 days

It has been a fun and busy trip already, and we've been delayed in catching up on the blog. Everyday feels very new, and we are continuing to get accustomed to trail life and learning new things - like Pennsylvania is just one big rock field - but here's a rundown of the last two weeks:

Carter's dad dropped us off to board a night bus on June 6th with his childhood friend Reid, who is also attempting a thru hike. After a long ride with very little sleep, we were let off at Union Station in DC, where we walked into a cafe and a barista recognized us as thru-hikers. The gentleman, Nano, gave us our first "trail magic" by gifting us tasty granola and trail mix. Our bags were already bulging with too much food, but we couldn't decline the kindness. This marked the first of several very nice acts we've received in the past few weeks.

We walked around the national mall for a bit, snapping photos, until we boarded a train that would take us to Harper's Ferry.

After a brief ride through beautiful countryside, we arrived in the quaint town of Harper's Ferry, and we ended our evening talking and laughing by the bridge that would take us into Maryland the following day.

On June 8th, we left Harper's Ferry around noon after sleeping in and enjoying an excellent birthday omelette cooked by our kind AirBnB host.

Since then we've been enjoying relatively gentle, if rocky, terrain and low elevation in Maryland and Pennsylvania as we get into hiking shape. Maryland, while only 41 miles of the AT, had excellent facilities- a backpacker only shower house and nice shelters. The trail passes also through the sites of several small Civil War battles and to the original Washington monument, a much smaller tower but with a scenic view.

Our legs are starting to get more comfortable with our daily mileage, though Caitlin's feet have been putting up a fight. As we entered Pennsylvania, her blisters turned into uncomfortable sores and cuts and became a source of frustration and anxiety. Pain turned to concern about infection, and tedious steps turned to a limp by the time we reached Boiling Springs, PA. For a number of reasons, we took our first non-hiking day to rest in town, a "zero day" in trail lingo.

We ordered some new, larger shoes to be delivered to Duncannon, PA and hiked the 26 miles over the next two days, only to arrive and discover that the next size up in the same shoes were still not large enough. This was a discouraging moment for us both- we couldn't even overnight something else and mail the ill fitting shoes back as the next day was a Sunday.

But trail magic seems to find you when you need it most: we searched for local outfitters and were coming up with nothing closer than six more days of hiking until Caitlin found a Fleet Feet store in Mechanicsburg, a 30 minute drive away. This would have to be an expensive and difficult shuttle to get, if we could even get someone to drive us. She called the store anyway just to make sure they would have the right shoes if we made the trip, and the owner Fred offered to come pick us up and drive us back. This incredible generosity at such a crucial time actually brought tears to her eyes. (Unfortunately, she was sitting at a dinner table with eight other hikers at the time so there is a really good chance that several of them will be calling her "Cry Baby" for the rest of the trip. We've since decided that she only gets emotional on days when we skip coffee in the morning- "Add Coffee" is likely to stick!) So the next afternoon, Caitlin had new shoes, and we both had helpful insoles to counter Pennsylvania's rocky trail. Her blisters have been improving daily and we are back to normal mileage already.

Eleven days into our thru hike we stayed at the infamous Doyle hotel. I won't go into the room and board experience (wouldn't recommend it), but there we received a mail package of glorious proportions from Madison and Shawn, friends of Caitlin's. This package was a birthday present for Caitlin and contained incredibly tasty vittles for six days, including homemade orange bread and espresso Rice Krispies, hummus quesadillas, chicken curry, spaghetti with dried tomatoes from Maddy's local farmer's market in Palo Alto and a very nutritious chili. To top it off, the meals included desserts for every night (even a backcountry birthday cake), all with labels, instructions, and nutrition information. Maddy and Shawn, where you found time to do all of this I will never know, but my stomach is eternally grateful for such generous friends. The other thru hikers stared onto our feasts in wild jealously, and for it we say a big thank you!

All this kindness couldn't come at a better time. As we hike further, the physical challenge diminishes somewhat, and we find the rhythm of our routine more each day. The earliest days are filled with more angst, pain, and frustration, but the goodness of friends as well as strangers has made our transition to trail life so much easier.