Today we walked to Vernon, New Jersey. We had to grab a mail drop from town so Sprout took off early to get there on time. I don't mind hiking by myself. I don't have to try to keep up to anyone else's pace. I can stop and rest and enjoy my hike, and that's exactly what I did today. I stopped for lunch and made a new dish. Ramen with the water drained, the flavor packet, tuna and mayo. It was actually pretty good. I was surprised. Chef Mag in the house!
I walked across the famous boardwalk, which was awesome. The suspension bridge was memorable. There were nice benches to sit on and be happy on the boardwalk. When I got close to the road, to walk into Vernon, there was another farm field. I was worried to walk past cows again, especially without Sprout, but I survived.
I got to the road and tried to hitchhike and about 30 cars passed me. I thought, “Darn I'm going to have to walk into Vernon.” I started to walk down the busy road and thought I’ll try one more time, and bam, I successfully got a ride hitchhiking for the first time! When I put my pack in the trunk I realized I didn't need to grab my knife off my hip belt because there were two smiling small children in the car. That made me feel a lot better and safer. The dad was taking the kids to the public pool. They were really sweet and kind and I will never forget them, however I forgot their names! Haha.
When I got to the church hostel I was so happy. It is probably the nicest place we have stayed. There was a free washer and dryer to use with detergent. They had ice cream in the freezer. There was a "hiker area" with couches and a tv. Books and DVDs galore. They sold fuel there at cost and had a huge medical box in case you needed something. The lady running it, I think her name was Eileen, was awesome. She said it's the last year for this hostel though because the church is closing in October. That made me sad. The church was nice and the people even nicer. They asked for a donation and sign said all money went towards running the hostel.
Karma and I are both experiencing some pain. My feet are bothering me and Karma's knees and feet are bothering her. We are the splendid sore sole sisters so it makes sense that we would be in pain. :) we used Epsom salt rub on our feet and acted like that cured all.
We met two gentlemen at the church who have been section hiking since 2000. They hike a day and then go and sightsee. I thought that was pretty cool. You get a totally different experience. You can still see the trail but also see things and towns around it.
We got pizza for dinner and sat with Karma and Mountain Man. I can't express how much I enjoy being around them. They make this journey so much better. I love hearing about their lives and how different things are in Switzerland. We have made lifelong friends and I couldn't be happier with my trail family. Smudgy Cheeks was at the hostel too to split up our last food drop together. I am excited to see how much faster he hikes than us :)
Last night we stayed at the pavilion in Port Clinton. It was a nice place to stay and we didn't have to pay anything. It was a big pavilion on a church property. Bag of Tricks met us there and stayed with us, he brought a tent and set it up in the pavilion too. There was also a guy who thru hiked last year named Remedy. He's a cool guy and had some great trail stories to share with us. I love meeting people that have hiked in the past, especially when they are nice and as helpful as this guy. He stayed in the pavilion too. He knew Tricks from last year on the trail. I think Tricks also enjoyed the company because a good friend of his, Baltimore Jack just passed away and I know it was really bothering Tricks. Baltimore Jack was a trail angel legend that has helped hikers for many years. It's sad to hear this news but I'm glad we could help Tricks get out of the funk that he was in.
We all had pizza and a nice fire last night. We woke up in the morning and got breakfast at 3 C's. If anyone is ever in Port Clinton you have to stop here for breakfast. They have great prices and amazing food! I got a big breakfast platter and could hardly finish my meal. After we ate Bubbles and I went to the barber shop because she missed it yesterday. I didn't mind going back because it's a great place for hikers to hang out. We took our time at the barber shop and just enjoyed the moment. Maggie got an AT symbol shaved in the back of her head, lol. The barber loved it. While we were waiting there I went down to this great little candy shop and loaded up on some candy before we hit the trail. If I lived in Port Clinton I'd definitely be going to the barber shop a lot. It was a great experience and I'm so happy we went there again.
Best Breakfast EVER!!
Graffiti on the way out of Port Clinton
I thought his was cool!
I thought the state map was a pretty cool idea
This is the AT symbol Bubbles got on the back of her head!
We picked up a resupply box from the post office and sent a couple of things home. It's a good feeling to have a resupply but it does make the next couple days difficult because of the extra weight. We're getting ready for a wet week, there's rain in the forecast for the next ten days. Spring has sprung and it looks like the rain is on its way.
When we got to the next shelter it was pretty much full so we set up our tent. Right before bed we heard a loud crash. It's a scary feeling to hear a tree fall in the woods when you're camping in a tent around a bunch of trees. It's important to check the trees above your tent before you set it up to make sure it doesn’t look dead and all the branches look healthy. It ended up being Mountain Man hanging his food bag on what looked to be a perfect tree and a great spot but the tree was rotted from the inside and the whole thing came crashing down when he pulled his bag up.... I bet he was surprised!!! We’re just glad he was ok and no one got hurt!
The David Lesser Memorial Shelter was a beautiful place to stay. We were the only people in the shelter at night (there was a hiker down the hill camping.) It was only nine miles to Harpers Ferry. We had originally planned to go into town, grab our mail drop from the ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservatory) headquarters, and be on our way to the next shelter (which is about 8 miles out). We realized that we had scheduled a zero day in Harpers Ferry so we decide to just get a hotel and stay for the night.
The Sprout on the way to Harpers Ferry (entering the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park)!
Only 0.4 more to go!! (taking a break on some steps)
Potomac River
The ATC was pretty cool. We got to take our pictures and I’m officially the 25th flip flopper this year (I’m not sure why Sprout and Smudgy Cheeks are 26 and 27 since they were at the ATC before me!!) It was also really cool because Mayhem was at the ATC. When Smudgy Cheeks showed up, and then Sprout, he knew I wasn’t far behind. He had to get going but wanted to say hi so he walked down the trail until he saw me. This was just the encouragement I needed to finish my hike!! Thanks Mayhem!!!
Smudgy Cheeks, Bubbles, Mayhem, and The Sprout
Man do I want an AT Hammock!
It felt great to reach our goal of making it to the Harpers Ferry ATC!!
The Sprout in front of the ATC Visitor Center
Hiker hunger is the real deal! For the first 10 days (except when we had Coney dogs) my appetite was not very big. After we dropped our packs at the hotel, Jeff and I walked to the pizza shop to order dinner to-go. We walked out with 2-16 inch pizzas, a foot-long Italian sub, a large order of mozzarella sticks, and an order of chicken wings! Then, I was so hungry while we were waiting for our food to be cooked I ate a bag of chips and a Coke!
The hotel had a washer and dryer so I did our laundry and we hung out there for the rest the night. Although it is really nice to take a shower, it is weird taking a shower with short hair. I went to put shampoo in my hair and had enough to clean 2 feet of hair! I LOVE having short hair and I'm thinking of going a little bit shorter.
We are going through our food drop and getting ready to pack for our continued adventure tomorrow.
I'm so happy to see spring blooming!
How old do you think this house is?
The Sprout put his hand in here on purpose. Grrrrr.
