From the Journals: DAY 76, May 10

Coach

Bake Oven Knob Shelter - Campsite: 14.3mi

Today, we said goodbye to Manager Mike. After making a short 3mi hike from the worst shelter we have stayed in, we met Manager Mike for the final time and loaded up for Delaware Water Gap. The Professor's feet are still bothering him and I am sure this rough rocky terrain didn't help him at all. It was a tough day, physically and psychologically. First, we hit a 8 mi gap without water, which started the 2nd part of the day covering exposed rocky terrain that in some parts required us to climb and scramble. We also got to detour around a super fund site. This detour also led us through trek heaven.. a 3 mile stretch where between the Professor and I, we pulled off 32 ticks. Luckily, we cameled up at the last water source. Nothing like pounding a few liters of water back to back. At night we did have a fire, which is always awesome. I am also encouraged that the Professor was talking about hitting our average tomorrow. Just a friendly reminder that rationing water really sucks. We will both have about 1 liter to go 7.5 miles tomorrow morning.

Professor

Last day of slackpacking. Kind of makes me homesick. I miss seeing Hell Hound out front with his big orange doggy pack. It was sad to see Manager Mike off with his U-Haul trailer. Believe it or not, I felt a little nervous about going out unsupported with my feet the way they are right now. Saw a government superfund site: nothing grows and the trees are long dead. Reminds me of how I imagine the setting for Cormac McCarthy's "The Road." Between Coach and I we picked off a total of 32 ticks in a 3 mile stretch. Me: 11 ticks, Coach: 21 ticks.

Lots of crazy murder on your feet rocks today. I will officially say that with the exception of the first 75 miles or so, Pennsylvania has been a very difficult part of the Trail. Almost to NJ; thank goodness (never thought I'd say that).

Hell Hound in front with orange doggy pack:

Enjoying one last treat from Manager Mike:

Update: Coach is back in the game

Coach returns to the Trail today and plans to catch up with the Professor by Sunday, May 29. Stay tuned.

Update: Coach sidelined

On May 22nd, Coach and the Professor arrived in Kent, CT. Unfortunately, today, May 23, the Professor is walking alone. Coach has twisted his ankle and needs to spend a day or two recuperating. He plans to catch up with the Professor, and nobody that knows Coach doubts that this will happen.

From the Journals: DAY 75, May 9

Coach

Hawk Mountain Rd - Bake Oven Knob Shelter: 17.4mi

ROCKS !!!

Last day of slack packing. All I know is we wouldn't be where we are without Manager Mike and Hell Hound. Thank you.

Professor

Last day/night of slack packing. It has been very interesting since Duncannon... In no particular order, my summary:

-We hit the rocks finally

-Shoes totally broke down

-Feet ruined. Knocked me off the trail a day and a half.

-New shoes, very stiff, trying to break them in over rocks with ruined feet.

This would not be possible without Manager Mike, slack packing, and Hell Hound.

-I lost my trekking poles.

-Ate at Cracker Barrel 3 times in about 24 hours

-Drank scotch

-Drank bourbon

-Drank beer

Yum.

-Doyle Hotel was fun; delicious cheesesteaks; ate a deep fried cheeseburger

-Space Cowboy, Youngin, Fosters, and Victus caught up to us on our Zero Day

-Forced to take a Zero at Port Clinton

Thank god our logistics Manager was here to help us through the "ruined feet" time.

Saying goodbye to Manager Mike and Hell Hound at mile 1,245. Only 936 miles left.

From the Journals: DAY 74, May 8

Coach
Port Clinton, PA - Hawk Mountain Rd: 14.9 mi
-More rocks
-Professor likes his new armor, but feet are really sore
-PA is not my favorite state on the Trail

From the Journals: DAY 73

Coach

Port Clinton, PA: 0mi

The Professor's feet are like they were coming into Damascus, VA. With shoes completely broken down and the upcoming terrain, we wisely decided we needed to take a Zero Day to fix this problem. Thankfully, Manager Mike is supporting us on this slack packing. If he wasn't here, we would have been in a big pinch and would have lost much more than a Zero Day. With some assistance from Lindsay, we were able to track down a store to get him some replacements. The closest retailer for the Professor's shoes was REI, 35 miles away. After 1200 miles and 3 different pairs of shoes and two brands later, I finally convinced the Professor to try on some MERRELLs. I am very interested to see if this is the solution to his feet issues. It also really helps to pull our uniforms together, since now we even have these same shoes.

From the Journals: DAY 72, May 6

Coach
Round Head Campsite - Port Clinton, PA: 21.0mi
- The Professor's shoes breakdown (he's walking on paper)
- Rocks becoming an issue
- The Professor needs to get MERRELL's

Professor
Shoes broken, feet broken.

From the Journals: DAY 71

Coach
Yellow Springs Campsite - Round Head Campsite: 25.0 mi
The terrain has become a little more rocky, but still not as bad as we feared. So far so good, but I keep thinking we will eventually run into nothing but rocks. We had initially planned on getting in a couple more miles to the next campsite, but it was hard to pass one up at the end of the day when someone already collected firewood for you next to the fire circle. Yet again, we were able to bank some Zero miles.

From the Journals: DAY 70, May 4

Coach

Duncannon, PA -Yellow Springs Campsite: 24.8mi

Today, we started our 2nd round of slack packing with Manager Mike. Although it was raining when we started, it cleared up and we made good time. There were some rocks, but not what we have been fearing. We had a strong day and were able to bank some Zero Day miles. I am really not looking forward to these Pennsylvania rocks we have been hearing about. Hopefully, we can build on this momentum during the rest of the slack packing.

Professor

Used by tent today at the end of the slack packing. It was really nice.

From the Journals: DAY 69

Coach

Duncannon, PA: 0mi

-Logistics for Manager Mike slack packing us

-Food

-More food

-Pancakes (blueberry)

Professor

Thank you Manager Mike (Dad) for making this possible. And thanks Hell Hound, for your support!

From the Journals: DAY 68, May 2

Coach
Darlington Shelter - Duncannon, PA: 11.3mi
Woke up extremely hungry. Breakfast didn't really help and we were slow to get up and start moving. The only thing motivating us today was the thought of town food and a Zero Day with Manager Mike. Manager Mike met us about a mile out of town with Hell Hound. It was great to see him and lucky for us he had a PAYDAY candy bar that he gave us. We then hiked to the infamous Doyle Hotel for food and rest. It was a great town day where Mike treated us to food, beer and a double feature at the movies.

Professor
We rationed food, that sucked, we were hungry. We hiked. It was great to get to Duncannon.

Hell Hound waiting for the hikers

Drinks at the Doyle Hotel Bar- the AT is just outside the door at Mile 1,138.5.

From the Journals: DAY 67

Coach

Alec Kennedy Shelter - Darlington Shelter: 18.2mi

Got a really slow start; we are really feeling fatigued. The push to Duncannon was quickly thrown out the window. It rained all day and even though we hiked through a lot of farmland the rain/muddy conditions combined with our fatigue made slow going. Since we didn't get to Duncannon, our food supply is really low. If I didn't do the 1/2 gallon challenge, I wouldn't have had any thing to eat for dinner. Basically, my dinner consisted of a packet of chicken with all the rest of my condiments combined with a packet of oatmeal. The Professor also gave me a spoonful of peanut butter. Breakfast will not be much more. Thanks to the Professor I will get to eat a packet of poptarts. I have also come to the conclusion that I don't want to ration food ever again.

Professor

Cumberland Valley, PA. 18.2 miles of farms, towns and small homesteads. It was saturated! Mud, mud, mud. Passed by the ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional Office. They were closed so we just sat on the front porch and watched people fish. Two black labs eagerly wait by their master's side while she casts a line into the trout pond. We weighed our packs on an old scale and after much deliberation over how off it was, we decided the base weight of our packs are almost right @ 15 lbs. Started raining; feeling the results of the Maryland Challenge. We were going to do 25 miles but pulled up short because of fatigue.

From the Journals: DAY 66, April 30

Coach
Birch Run Shelter - Alec Kennedy Shelter: 25.2 mi
Got a good start on the day, which made it possible to try the 1/2 gallon ice cream challenge. The word challenge was attached, so of course I had to try it. Eating the ice cream was relatively easy. The real challenge is for your digestive system a little later down the Trail. Basically, after two months of not eating a lot of dairy, you all of a sudden shock your system with it. Either way we still got 15 miles out after the Challenge, but we can tell we haven't recovered from the Maryland Challenge. We stayed at the shelter with a nice group, who made room for us and gave us food. These type of people are my favorite. Thinking about making the big push into Duncannon, PA tomorrow.

Professor
After dark a group of 11 showed up at the shelter... fun...
Officially now we are over halfway finished. It feels good to have the majority behind you instead of in front from now on. Today turned epic, we felt fatigued later this afternoon. 25+ miles. Coach did a practice run of the half gallon challenge, I think it screwed up his digestive tract, he hasn't ben the same since. (Editor's Note: This turned out to be the real half gallon challenge; Professor did not participate thinking it only a practice run, but based on Coach's digestive problems througout the rest of the day, he is glad of the mistake).

PATC trail section over. Got temporarily lost... twice... Shelter full, cool people though, very interested in our trip. Gave us food.

From the Journals: DAY 65

Coach
Tumbling Rock Shelter - Birch Run Shelter: 19.6 mi
Took an easier day; it was much needed. We saw the nicest shelter on the Trail at Quarry Gap Shelter. It looked like an old cottage in the woods. A guy called the Innkeeper maintained it very well. Apparently, there is a friendly competition among PATC shelter maintainers for the nicest shelter. The Innkeeper is hands down the winner. We, of course, took no pictures.

Professor
Easy feeling day today. Easy terrain, easy mileage, 19.6 miles. Met the "Innkeeper" planting flowers in flower pots around his shelter (trail maintenance volunteer). The shelter was beautiful, like a quaint open aired English Inn with a garden. It even had chess. Coach and I sopped for lunch and had a nice conversation with the Innkeeper.

Caught up with a couple of thru-hikers. I feel like today was another good recovery day from the 41.3 miler. Figured out that if we have 7 Zero Days we only have to maintain a 19.6 daily average. Good news!

Staying with "Chainsaw" tonight; he got his name from his heavy, heavy snoring.

From the Journals: DAY 64, April 28

Coach
Campsite in PA - Tumbling Rock Shelter: 7.7 mi
As we very slowly started moving this morning, two older gentlemen came down the trail to do some maintenance. They had just put in the Mason/Dixon line sign. Apparently, they held leadership positions with the Potomic Applachian Trail Club (PATC). These guys do great work. They started asking about our thru-hike and when they found out we were resupplying today, they offered to meet us at the road and gave us a ride into town. Then, they bought us lunch and dropped us back off. After the craziness of the past 30 hours, I can't begin to describe what a difference these guys made in our day. After our resupply, we only hiked 6 miles and decided to rest, since we didn't get much sleep.

Professor
I opened my eyes. Tarp in place, sleeping bag... not too wet, mostly just damp, ants don't seem too interested in me right now... maybe because of the ant graveyard /battlefield above my head. I shut my eyes tightly. Rain patters overhead. I can feel a mist when it gets heavier. Things seem to be not quite so intense at the moment, early gray dawn. Eyes open again. Sun, it's now 10am.

I have dry mouth from dehydration and and from the two airplane bottle size Jack Daniels that Coach had stowed away for us in celebration and for medical reasons after completion of the Maryland Challenge.

Only walked 8 miles today. One of the shortest days of the whole Trail. It feels great to sit and enjoy what a nice shelter has to offer! Tumbling Run Shelter - lacquered wood, clothes line, pavilion, picnic tables.

From the Journals: DAY 63

Coach

Harpers Ferry, WV - Campsite 1/2 mile inside PA: 41.3mi

Start time: 0515 (4/27)

Stop time: 0134 (4/28)

Miles hiked: 41.3

Liters of H2O: 17

Jack Daniels: 2oz

Calories consumed: Over 7,000

People who thought we were insane: 6

# of perfect shelters we left to camp in a thunderstorm with our ultralight 6x10 tarp: 1

We started the challenge by waking up at 4am. I was already concerned since we slept very poorly thanks to two equally sleep disturbing facts. First, the room in the Inn was so hot it felt like a South American sweatbox. We had the window open and cranking the A/C with little effect. Second, we found out that Harpers Ferry is still a rail hub for the area. We hit the bridge crossing the Potomac River into Maryland at 5:15am. It was dark and we began what turned into one heck of an experience. Per are strategy session, we made sure to eat something every 1.5 to 2 hours and made sure we were constantly drinking water to stay hydrated. The morning went well and we even got to spend a little time at the War Correspondents Memorial. There was a slightly awkward moment at lunch, which the Professor will no doubt describe. Like normal, we made sure to hike half the day before eating. It was a weird feeling knowing that after lunch we still had 20 miles to hike. Our next major stop came 10 miles later at a shelter, where we met one of the people who thought we were insane. He basically told us we were insane after we told him he didn't need to move any of his stuff because we were moving on. It was at this point that we switched over to our soft insoles. As we neared the next shelter, we felt rain and we thought that the thunderstorm that was threatening all day was going to unleash on us. So at mile 36 for the day we had to hike uphill for a mile to get to the shelter before the rain. This time Mother Nature blessed us and held out for the 22 minutes it took for us to pound out the mile at a 2.9 mph after a long day. At the shelter, we ate dinner, rubbed our feet, and said goodbye to people #4, #5 and #6 who thought we were insane. The rain still hadn't let loose as we left what at that point was the nearest shelter we had seen to complete the 5.6 miles left in the Maryland Challenge. The time was 10:40pm. I forgot to mention that before we left the shelter the people told us how difficult the terrain ahead of us was. Of course, it didn't matter and we pushed on to the border, the mason/dixon line. About a mile from the shelter, we hit that rough terrain, but after a mile of rocks and boulders it flattened out. When we finally reached our campsite, we were surprised to find a sign at the creek, where we planned to refill water. Apparently, the local water treatment plant decided that last week would be a good time to spill 500,000 gallons of half treated waste water into the creek. The sign said to avoid exposure so we wisely decided to skip drinking it. Unfortunately, this turn of events meant we had a liter of water each to last until we got into town tomorrow. The good news is that in our fatigue induced delirium we did manage to set up our best tarp shelter of the hike. Of course, this was fortunate, since the thunderstorm that had been threatening all day and night finally made good Thanks to the wind and the fact that we need a 8x10 tarp instead of the 6x10 that we have, we had to put on our rain gear and wait out the storm. It started about 3am and let up enough around 6am that we could put up our rain gear and pull out our sleeping bags. We finally got up around 10am. We didn't sleep very well since we were both curled up in the fetal position. However, with Jack Daniels' help we rode out the thunderstorm in the tarp.

Professor

MARYLAND CHALLENGE. Refer to Coach's journal. We are hiking through the suburbs. We are hiking through people's backyards now.

From the Journals: DAY 62, April 26

Coach

David Lesser Memorial Shelter - Harpers Ferry, WV: 10mi

We made an easy hike into Harpers Ferry where we registered as Northbound thru-hikers at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC). At this point, the Professor and I are #18 and #19 for the 2011 Northbound Thru-Hiker season. Probably had the best cheeseburger of the hike in Harpers Ferry. It was $9.99, came with fries and will be the litmus test for all other cheeseburgers. We took it easy in preparation for tomorrow's Maryland Challenge. Harpers Ferry is a very historic town and I would like to come back when I could spend more time checking things out.

Professor

Hiked into Harpers Ferry, officially #'s 18 and 19. Stayed at the Town's Inn. A lot of Civil War history. So close to Washington.

From the Journals: DAY 61

Coach

Rod Hollow Shelter - David Lesser Memorial Shelter: 19.7 mi

The Roller Coaster, 13.5 miles of tightly packed ascents and descents combined with the SUN made for a tough day. Put on finishing touches for the presentation to convince the Professor to do the MARYLAND CHALLENGE (hiking the entire state of Maryland in one day- 41mi) Reached the 1000 mark today.

Professor

The Sun God punishes

Roller Coaster

Asleep on rock

1,000 mile sign

From the Journals: DAY 60

Coach

US 522 - Rod Hollow Shelter: 23.5 mi

Lindsay slackpacked us. Very happy with my boonie hat purchase. Still tired mainly because of the SUN! My old adversary, the SUN, is back and in full effect.

OLD CHUB beer is awesome and might have become my newest favorite, it's dark and exceptionally tasty (Note: OLD CHUB is 8% alcohol).

Professor

Slackpacking was a total dream. Lindsay was at every trailhead and road crossing. Something amazing to look forward to! I can't wait to have her back.

Old Chub! is my new favorite trail beer:
1. 8% so you don't need many (less weight)

2. Aluminum cans- so you can crush and put in trash bag (can even says Pack it in, Pack it out!)

3. Random quotes on can are funny ("It's like Sputnik").

From the Journals: DAY 59, April 23

Coach
Front Royal, VA: 0mi
Lindsay is awesome.
Shenandoah National Park Report: 107.5 miles hiked, 4 days (26.9 mi/day), 1 Zero Day banked.
Professor
Zero with my beautiful Trail Angel!

From Coach's Camera