Sprout Day 29 (Monday, April 25, 2016)

We broke a group and personal record with an 18 mile day! It sure feels good laying in my sleeping bag writing about this now that it's over.  I have such a huge sense of accomplishment right now. I am so proud of the Three Amigos tonight. We worked together as a team and were there for each other. When we are a team we are a strong team! Good job Bubbles and Smudgy you guys killed it today!

Well I guess tick season is here because I just felt one crawling up my arm! I had another one on me earlier today.  I'm glad we got our hair cut.  The good thing is you can feel them crawling on you right away if you’re paying attention.  Once they bite you I think their saliva releases a chemical that numbs the area so you can't feel them digging in. I hate ticks! Bubbles is freaked out right now but there's really nothing we can do. We will wake up and do a thorough check in the morning.

Center Point Knob

Explorers

Sign explaining that the Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club maintains the next 17 miles of the trail

You could see so many fish

This is a man made lake (Children's Lake) in Boiling Springs

Most of our hike for the day was through farmland. We had to cross a fenced in area with a few horses in it. The trail went right through the pasture with the horses. There were steps that went right over the fence and boom you were right in the middle of the horses it was pretty cool. Later on we came across another fence with the same looking steps going over. This spot had a bunch of cows fenced in. Some of the cows were right on the trail looking at us, probably wondering what we were doing! We kept walking on and a couple of the cows wouldn't move I had to give them a little yell and they took off!

Bubbles being cute

You can kind of tell why Jeff's trail name is Smudgy Cheeks!

Smudgy Cheeks going up and over a fence

Farms

It is peaceful out here

The horses were very close to us

Bubbles on steps

The cows were on the trail with us!

As we were walking down the road a truck passed us and gave us a thumbs up out the window. It felt good! Every day that I'm out backpacking I feel more and more like I'm doing the right thing.  I feel like I'm supposed to be walking the Appalachian Trail right now. I've met some amazing people and have seen amazing views and we're still in the beginning of our hike.  It just feels good to be here and it feels even better to know that I'm experiencing all of this with my wife and brother in law. The AT brings people together. Every thru hiker shares one common goal, to get to the finish line, to complete the trail.

A random car out by the trail

This must have been someone's old farm

Day:  29

Miles hiked:  18.2

Total Miles hiked on the trail:  274

Bears:   0

Butterfly:  8

Chipmunk:  2

Cows: 24

Crawfish:  1

Deer:  20

Horses: 12

Really Big Dog:  1

Mouse:  1

Nest of bugs:  1

Skunk:  1

Snail:  1

Snake:  1

Squirrels:  11

Trout:  2

Turkeys:  4

Turtles:  107

Vulture:  6

Woodpecker:  1

Bubbles Day 29 (Monday, April 25th)

Trail Warriors!

We didn’t leave the family until after 4:00 p.m. yesterday so we hiked into camp together after dark.  We quickly set up our tents, made dinner, and bam - lights out!  I was OUT and slept better than I did in the hotel too!  Man I love sleeping outside. There is just something about it.

Today was our biggest day so far! 18.2 miles on the trail.  Most of it was through farmland, which should have been a breeze! Flat land with barely any elevation change for 13 miles!!! Considering we have been on the trail for close to four weeks, we thought yayyyyy! However, I got new boots when my dad and sister came to visit us this weekend.  I should have been skipping down the trail with flowers in my hair, singing songs. However, the lowa Renegades (boots) aren't working.  My feet were in so much pain after the first two miles I had to put my crocs on.  Hiking in crocs with a 40 pound pack (I'm working on lowering that sucker, I have to determine what I really need!) is dangerous.  I had to hike slow and watch every step.  It was tedious, but I didn't care because my feet felt much better without those stupid boots on.  I swear, I want to dump a gallon of gasoline on the things and watch them burn.  Obviously in a controlled environment! (Side note: The wildfires in the Shenandoah are so sad to hear. I have a serious love for SNP and I am sending love to everyone affected by the fires.) Back to the devil boots. Sprout carried them for 13 miles. He wouldn't let me carry them.  He is always so selfless.  He always puts others before himself, ALWAYS. Even though his pack is heavier than my pack and Smudgy Cheek's pack he insisted on carrying them.  I swear I fall more in love with that man every day.  It truly makes me believe that everything happens for a reason. We were destined to meet and fall in love.  All day I thought about how lucky I am to have a husband like Sprout. I couldn't imagine a better hiking partner.

See my boats on the back of Sprouts bag?

Sprout resting his feet in a stream

We stopped at the Mid-Atlantic ATC to sit down. We hung out with a lovely thru hiker from 2015 who was finishing up a section she had to skip last year.  Shout out to Slow-Mo! You are amazing and we really enjoyed chatting with you! And thanks again for the turkey wrap. It was delicious and my first trail magic. Go figure it would be from another hiker!  Wish we would have been heading in the same direction. I could have hung out with her for days.

The boys drinking some energy for our long day!

There was a fun activity at the ATC. There was an artist trading cards station! The station had cardstock and colored pencils. As long as you drew a card and left it, you could take a card along with you. I picked out one that looked like a crazy dog. The artist's e-mail was on the card so I sent her an e-mail telling her that I am carrying her card on the trail. She text me back with a picture of her dog. No words, just the crazy picture below!

If you zoom in you can see the Moose I drew

The picture I got back...

I was so excited when the trail took us through a horse field. I was so close that I could touch the little guy (he was huge, not little). I wanted to hug him, but I refrained. I love animals. It made me think of Papaw (Sprout's grandpa) which naturally made me think of my Nanny (my absolute favorite, and Sprout's grandma) shout out to Nanny and Papaw. Thanks for being the most amazing grandparents in the world.

Look at how close this horse is to me!

Also, we saw cows today.  And they were right in the way of the path! I was a little intimidated but Sprout handled it like a champ.  He sounded like a farmer or something getting those cows out of our way. Moooooooo. I shouldn't have been afraid but I'm a city girl. I didn't know that they are scared of us and run when you raise your voice.

They are so close to us

The trail today was through and through amazing. The animals. The scenery. We walked past a nice stream for a while and there were fields of blue flowers which are beautiful. It made me think how blessed and happy I am.

We got to camp late and I was super happy to have made it. Lights out!!!

Over the Pennsylvania Turnpike

Old family cemetery

Grave that says Margaret

Another Margaret

More graves

Trail through the woods

Lunch!