Forgiveness Walks

June 28, 2016
“We haven’t stayed at a trail shelter yet on this walk, but this would be a good one,” I said to John, as we heard the approaching thunder. We had been waiting at the fancy-dancy 501 Shelter at the junction of the AT and PA 501 for the last few hours, heeding the thunderstorm watch.

So far, we have bypassed all the shelters since our walk began on June 3rd. Here are my reasons:
   *I’m not a social sleeper!
   *They can be dirty and mouse-ridden!
   *People leave things in them.
   *They remind me of work as a ridgerunner when I cleaned them out.
   *I love sleeping in my own tarp space out in the quiet woods. read more

June 28, 2016
“We brought those avocados,” Holly says, as she drives to the Red Lion for a reunion lunch in Pine Grove, PA. “It only took nine years to deliver!” We all laugh.

In 2007, when John and I were doing our thruhike of the Appalachian Trail, my friend, Diane, from Atlanta, had said, “When you get to Bethel, PA, call my step mom, Holly. She wants to meet you!”

I called her from Port Clinton, two days north of PA 501, the road to Bethel. Well, the next morning, a few miles out from Port Clinton, we found out that the next few water sources were dry, leaving us an 18-mile waterless stretch. We weren’t prepared for that! read more

June 22, 2016
A big question arose from my visit to the Appalachian Trail Museum in Pine Grove Furnace. Where is Mildred Norman Ryder, the first woman to walk the entire  Appalachian Trail? Yep. Another woman did it before the famous Grandma Gatewood.

When I first learned of Mildred, it was while reading Peace Pilgrim, a biography of the woman who walked across the U.S. numerous times advocating for peace.

I was stunned to read that she had her vision of what to do with her life while walking the Appalachian Trail! “What?!” I thought. “She walked the trail in 1952?! Why, Grandma Gatewood’s famed thruhike was in 1956?!” read more

• June 22, 2016
  So, we’re walking in Pennsylvania, on the Appalachian Trail, right? 230 miles of woods, ridges, rivers….and popularly known for its rocks.

And you know me, right? If I’m supposed to be experiencing rocks, rocks, and more rocks, I will notice the preponderance of smooth, soil padded rocks, right? Right!
Here you go!

And this..

And yes, there are some awesome, beautiful rock formations here in Pennsylvania, like this:

And this:

OK. So there are rocks in some places and not in others. If I walk carefully, stepping on the soil and not on the rocks, the dance of the trail unfolds one moment at a time.

I understand that the rocks in northern PA really ARE treacherous and ubiquitous! I’ll keep you posted! read more

June 21, 2016

It’s a landmark day! It’s our 19th day on the trail, halfway through our days in this section. And, we passed our half way mark in mileage too! That happened at mile 1077.5 from Springer Mtn, GA, 215.5 miles for us from Rockfish Gap where we started on June 3.

A fledgling blue jay, flapping his way to freedom, reminds us to keep going as well! Half way!

In addition, it’s June 21, first day of summer (AND today is popular as Hike Naked Day).

Not only did this day feature all these noteworthy qualities, we also passed the half way point on this year’s Appalachian Trail. I say “this year” because the trail changes length just about every year as trail updating is done. Most rerouting makes the trail gentler in slope, thus longer in length.  This year’s half way point is at mile 1094.5 read more

June 23, 2016
Click “Read in browser” for pictures!

No camping for 17 miles! It’s the traverse across Cumberland Valley, PA that includes the town of Boiling Springs. The trail skirts farms and crosses a dozen roads, including the PA Turnpike, US 11, and I-81. Most hikers hoof it across the 17-mile stretch of easy walking all in one day. We did that as well in 2007 when we walked south. This time, we’re doing the stretch over two days, with a hotel stop in the middle.

The corridor of the trail is owned by the Park Service as what is known as Appalachian Trail Lands. In the Cumberland Valley, signs tell us this, along with the information that these lands are being farmed to preserve the historical and pastoral quality of the area. read more