THE EIGHT STATE UPDATE

Eight states. That's 628.2 miles. It's hard to believe we've made it this far, and it's flown by. Here's a quick and dirty run down of the trip so far:

West Virginia

We only hiked about a mile and a half of West Virginia before we crossed into Maryland, so there isn't much to report. It was flat and very scenic while we were in it, and Harpers Ferry, where the Appalachian Trail Conservancy is headquartered, is a quaint little town full of kind people. The trail is evident in the town’s culture here, and we'll return here once we flip back to hike the southern portion of the trail.

Favorites

Nine Bear - Scenic and full of trail culture; a perfect place to start the hike.

Add Coffee - Finally getting my photo taken at the iconic ATC front porch!

Least Favorites

Nine Bear - Too short!

Add Coffee - The hill up the ATC

Maryland

Maryland was where we began to work for our “trail legs”. The steep ups and downs made our packs feel 20 lbs heavier, and several boulder fields challenged our balance and feet placement. However, we began to meet other thru-hikers here who came with encouraging words and similar backgrounds. The words “just graduated” and “life-dream” are thrown around a lot at the campfire, and friends were made with names such as “Hawk”, “Sacagawea”, and “Yeti”. There were lots of opportunities for free showers as well, which is always a plus. Maryland was good.

Favorites

Nine Bear - Sitting around a campfire with other thru-hikers for the first time

Add Coffee - The view from Raven Rock (pictured above)

Least Favorites

Nine Bear - There weren't very many good views - mostly valleys and farmland. Give me mountains.

Add Coffee - The climb up to Raven Rock

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania was bad. For everyone. Ask any thru-hiker, and they'll tell you PA was the worst part of the trail. No offense to those out there from Pennsylvania - in truth, southern Pennsylvania is full of charming farmland with fields and easy walking - but Caitlin’s feet began to swell in this section, causing painful blisters and a slow pace. The northern section of PA is full of extremely rocky terrain, which makes it hard to enjoy the woods for the need to stare at the ground at all times in order to avoid twisting an ankle. Further, the views in PA are few and far between, much like the distances between water sources – our furthest was a 16 mile water carry, which is no fun in summer heat when you have mountains to climb. To top it off, when we attempted to take breaks and stay in town, we were disappointed with accommodations, and in our final days in Pennsylvania Nine Bear had some clothing stolen from a laundromat. This left a bad taste in our mouths. But we cannot dwell too much, as we also experienced generosity and kindness in many places when we needed it most – by receiving kind words and rides from local friends of the trail, or opening mail from loved ones with encouraging thoughts, gift cards, and yummy treats (thank you Maddy and Nine Bear's Mom!). We made several friends in Pennsylvania, some that we still see frequently while others we only shared a campsite with once or twice.

Favorites

Nine Bear - I had my first bear sighting!

Add Coffee - The awesome people at Fleet Feet Mechanicsburg

Least Favorites

Nine Bear - The rocks beat my feet to a pulp, causing me to hobble around camp at the end of every day.

Add Coffee - Almost everything else

New Jersey

New Jersey was the state of bears (see previous blog post), but it was also the most beautiful state we had passed through at the time. Our first night, we came to a beautiful ridgeline-campsite at sunset after a light rain - a perfect finale to leaving PA. NJ had many lakes and several nice boardwalks which make for easy hiking, and we experienced a lot of trail magic in the form of water and soda left by roads and cookies left in the bearbox at camp.

Favorites

Nine Bear - Watching red and gold fireworks glitter over the valley on the 4th of July

Add Coffee - The end of Pennsylvania rocks

Least Favorites

Nine Bear - Nine bears in eight hours was excessive, but hey - I got a trail name out of it.

Add Coffee - Long water-less stretches

New York

New York starts off with a bang as you climb up and down several extremely steep mountains, but it is absolutely a pleasure. It has great trail that winds through open forest where one can see a hundred yards into the woods on either side or is routed around breathtaking lakes with still waters. Unfortunately we missed the NYC skyline due to a rainy day, but we have not been spared other excellent views and extremely kind people. We have greatly enjoyed the state and the friends we have hiked through it with (shout out to Yosamite and Patches for sharing a couple night hikes with us), and we were sad to see it go.

Favorites

Nine Bear - The open-forest floor allows for interesting walking and great wildlife sightings - such as a 10 point buck.

Add Coffee - The AT takes you through a great park and trailside zoo at Bear Mountain.

Least Favorites

Nine Bear - This section was HOT.

Add Coffee - I second that comment.

Connecticut

The trail through Connecticut is short but sweet. Nine Bear's brother Chris was able to join us for a three night section in CT, which was a fantastic treat. Nine Bear saw another bear here!

Favorites

Nine Bear - Brother Chris hitting the trail with us and all the swimming holes.

Add Coffee - We finally got some mountainous views - see above.

Least Favorites

Nine Bear - Mosquitos were insane.

Add Coffee - The actual buzzing of mosquitos while you try to sleep and they try to eat you alive.

Massachusetts

Mass was the best state yet. We enjoyed some family time and were treated with expansive views - of where we came from and where we were headed. The trail communities had great facilities for hikers and the trail was well maintained. A special treat was staying at Upper Goose Pond Cabin, where the caretaker makes pancakes in the morning and you can take the canoe out on the lake. We hiked our first 22 mile day in Massachusetts!

Favorites

Nine Bear - The views. They're improving everyday, and we climbed over 3000 feet in this state!

Add Coffee - Hiking my first 20+ mile day was a big accomplishment.

Least Favorites

Nine Bear - The bugs were pretty annoying.

Add Coffee - I got my first taste of plantar fascitis, and it's no fun. It's improving, though,

Vermont

We still have a lot to learn about Vermont, as we have about 90 miles of the state left to hike. So far it is a beautiful state filled with evergreen trees - it's really living up to the "Green Mountain State". We have experienced our first couple days of hiking in rainy weather, but have survived with smiles as we climb firetowers for views such as the one above on Glastenbury Mountain. The evenings are getting colder, and the New Hampshire mountains are getting closer. Favorites later to come!

A big thanks to our family, friends, and blog followers for their continued support as we traverse on this adventure. Stay tuned for "A Day in the Life" post, and an update on the New Hampshire mountains. Please contact us with any questions, concerns, or kind words. Happy Trails!