June 6 - Goading Rattlesnakes

Woo hoo!!!

Luna Moth

From PJ:

It's [the Luna Moth's] wing was torn, so it might be in trouble.

This is the third turtle I've seen. They always make me laugh because it seems like they are hiking the trail, too - just very slow.

Plus, we like to say that we are in "turtle mode" whenever we are moving slow.

I made this into the wallpaper in my phone.

***

A group of at least five helicopters just flew over me. Must be Burt Reynolds or something.

I'm only about 50 miles out of DC. Down in Georgia and North Carolina we would see a lot of military planes training.

***

I just finished a little snack. I'm pretty excited because in about 6 miles there is a pizza place so Patriot and I are gonna go there and pig out.

And tomorrow only doing about three miles into Harper's Ferry. Probably eat a bunch of food there, possibly go tubing if the weather holds up. I know there is a hurricane/tropical storm to the south of us. Beautiful weather today, though.

[Catania: When Pete and I watched this, Pete said, "I can tell PJ has been on the hike a while now - he is GOADING a rattlesnake!"]

From PJ:

Haha! I almost stepped on him. He didn't rattle until the last second. I may have used a "sentence enhancer"...as dad likes to call it.

Circle of Life

It stunk bad.

Worse than I do.

I always want to pick up the turtles and bring them with me, but we try to let nature be out here, maaaaan. {peace sign emoji, peace sign emoji, peace sign emoji}

June 5 - In VA

From PJ:

The Proclaimers can kiss my grits.

[Catania - I think that PJ is referring to this post.]

This is an old picture, but I don't think I sent it to you.

June 3 - Turtle Power

Leave Me Alone

Bear count is up to 11. The two I saw today didn't want to be photographed.

June 2 - The Byrd's Nest (or something like that)

From PJ:

[The bear from last night] never came back. I'd be in trouble if a bear attacked me in my sleeping bag. It's mummy style and takes forever for me to get out of.

Not snow - just dirt.

I'm sleeping in a shelter tonight for only the third time on the trip. Been raining steady for a while now. I'm at the Byrd's nest or something like that. No bears today...yet.

Don't feel like dealing with wet gear.

I'm more worried about the mice in a shelter than the bears.

There's a dog in here which is good for keeping away critters. Fireplace, too.

I got a ride to breakfast...

June 1 - Big Meadows Campground

From PJ:

[Those videos] are from yesterday. Saw one more big one after that. Although that could have been a squatch.

Snail

From PJ:

Only wildlife today so far.

He looks like he outgrew his home

Another Bear Sighting

This one was pretty big. We scoped each other out, and then he ran off.

Dude Crew

We are in bear country for real. Patriot and I just set up camp in a very popular area - Big Meadows Campground. Technically we are not on the campground because it costs 20 bucks, so we just set up on the other side of the road in the woods a bit. We got camp set up and were just hanging out when I saw a black bear about 10 yards away. Just casually walking towards us. He walked off when I yelled at him, but I figured he wanted to check out the dumpsters about 200 yards behind us.

There are also tons of deer around here that could care less about humans. The Shenandoahs are awesome because it is a really touristy area, so every 20 miles or so there is a wayside (restaurant) or camp store. I sold out today and did laundry and took a hot shower. It was glorious.The showers were actually really nice, I came out feeling like a new person.

Also the terrain and elevation are really easy. I was able to get in 20 miles today by 4 o'clock, then eat, shower, do laundry, charge my anker and phone before bed. 

May 31 - BEARS!!!

From PJ:

[Catania said: AHHHHH!]

I'm in VA for another week. I saw the first bear cub when I was on a side trail. He seemed a little curious about me and took a couple of steps towards me but backed off when I yelled at him. I took a few more steps and didn't even see the mom right in front of me. I was within 15 ft of both of them. 

I went to the loft Mt. Wayside to eat lunch. Burger and fries. Came back with a girl who was waiting for me because she saw the bears, too and didn't want to walk back alone. When we got back, I saw three and then four bears! They couldn't care less about me, the mom especially.

The mom was just in the stream looking for fish or bugs. There was one cub who walked towards me again, probably the first one I saw but they weren't scary at all.

One was climbing a tree, which was pretty funny.

It was awesome. Right next to the road, too. But it really wasn't that scary. They quickly accepted me as one of their own.

[Catania: Maybe it's because of your scent...when's the last time you showered? ;) ]

Its been 9 days or so. I could have showered today, but I'm not a sissyboy.

Might as well poop on the toilet.

[Catania: Rex just told me he wants you to catch the baby bear and bring it to him so he can tame it.]

I'll try to capture one for him. These cubs were pretty big, though. Probably a year. Over 100 lbs.

***

Up to seven bears for the day. Also passed 900 miles.

May 28 - Living Like Kings

From PJ:

Patriot's friends from home are hiking with us, so we had marinated chicken and roasted potatoes last night. Today I left before everyone and already hit trail magic this morning. Now someone just told me there is trail magic half a mile ahead. Tonight we will have steaks for dinner. Living like kings out here.

And only hiking 16 miles today!

Taking a break at Cedar Cliffs. Mile 846.5

We did a 3,000 ft climb yesterday and that was a challenge. Took a while with a lot of people.

***

Only one snake today.

One of the craziest things about hiking so much is your calorie intake becomes very important. I've been trying to eat 500 calories for breakfast and lunch (each) which can be tough when you're carrying food for a week or more. Also been drinking over a gallon of water most days. Today was awesome, but an aberration. Trail magic definitely thins out the further north you go. Usually very hard not to run a calorie deficit.

It's weird how routine everything has become. I can't say I sleep great out here, but I do enjoy just laying down after hiking all day. I can lay in the grass with bugs crawling on me and still be comfortable.

***

Tomorrow we hit the Shenandoah's. The trail is supposed to be relatively easy through there. A good thing about the touristy areas is that the trails are usually a little easier. Still some climbing, but the terrain is usually much easier than normal.

Also there are little stores and restaurants right off the trail there.

We're really exicted to be getting into the 900s and of course 1000. Every 100 mile marker is a big mental boost, but 1,000 will be huge. Also should be out of Virginia in a little over a week.

Still taking it easy this weekend, but on Tuesday will pick up the miles. 20 mile days will be relatively easy in the Shenandoahs.

West VA and Maryland will be really quick. Some people try to do 4 states in a day. Camp at the edge of VA and hike to the southern edge of PA - 40 miles or so. Not me, though. I plan on stopping in at Harper's Ferry. I'm not gonna stay at the hostel tomorrow. I got a ride in town to resupply, but will come right back out.

I'm excited [about seeing family in PA], too. Still haven't taken a true zero day. A couple short ones, but it will be nice to rest. And eat!

I might go a hundred or so miles into PA before I meet with mom, hopefuly Clyde Miller will do a little section of the AT with me. He'd love it!

There are a good amount of dogs out here which is fun. The day we had the hound dogs it was pretty cool to have hiking companions. I think that Clyde would be fine hiking on the AT, but I'm not sure about camping. He's a foo-foo.

May 27 - Rattler

From PJ:

I just saw a massive rattler. Probably 4x the girth of the one I saw the other day. I have a picture, but the signal isn't strong enough. This one had more of a typical rattler pattern and a loud rattle. Lucily, I was behind a bunch of people who let me know it was there.

Gotta look close to see him

May 26 - Battletoads

battle toads

From PJ:

99.2 miles in five days. I'm pooped.

Easy weekend coming up. Probably gonna stay at a hostel on Sunday in Waynesboro. I need to resupply. All these miles have me eating a lot of food.

[Catania told PJ that she hoped he had a chic-fil-a in Waynesboro.]

No chic-fil-a there, but there is just about everything else. I plan on hitting the Ming Garden all you can eat buffet. I may put them out of business.

May 25 - Punch Bowl Mountain

From PJ:

Sad, but this was one tough kid. I'm at the top of Punch Bowl Mountain. I'm sweating buckets.

Just had a standoff with a Rattlesnake.

Got a photo and video, but signal isn't strong enough to send right now.

I didn't even realize it was a rattler til after I moved it with my trekking pole.

I got by.

He was sunbathing. He was black, so I thought it was another rat snake, but when I flipped him I could see more of a typical rattler pattern. Then he rattled his tail, and I ran like a little schoolgirl.

rattlesnake

800 Miles

The snake doesn't look like a rattlesnake, but in the video, you can hear the rattle.

I also saw some cool frogs/taods today. I should be able to send out some pics in the morning. Yeah, I didn't know rattlesnakes could be black, but I googled it to be sure, and saw some photos.

This one looked like a young one, which are more dangerous than adults. They don't know how to control the amount of venom they release, so they end up letting it all out.

This snake acted differently than other snakes I've encountered, too. Usually, the rat snakes slither away as you approach them. This one coiled up after I poked it, and it wouldn't move.

The video is pretty funny, too. The camerawork sucks, but you can hear the rattle and then me freaking out.

Finished up today at mile 807. Had to do a couple extra miles because there was nowhere to camp.

Oh - also I twisted my ankle today. Not too bad. I put a brace on it. It's a little swollen and bruised, but nothing major. One more big day tomorrow, and then some 12-15 mile days this weekend. Patriot's friends from home are coming and bringing a bunch of real food for us so that will be fun.

I'm actually really proud of how my ankles are holding up. If that happened last year before I started training for this hike, I definitely would have at least sprained if not broken it...

Or maybe there's just so much scar tissue that it holds my ankle in place.

May 24 - Jon's Hollow Shelter

Alien Monitoring Station

The guillotine 

From PJ:

So today will be the first full day it won't rain in a month. Pretty awesome.

I've been watching this thing by Ken Burns about America's National Parks. It's really cool. It's free on Amazon Prime.

[Catania told PJ about some of her own hiking plans]

That sounds like a good hike. I always like when we go through evergreens. It's like a whole different trail.

Well, I just finished lunch. I'm at Highcock Knob (I didn't name it). Will finish tonight at John's Hollow Shelter. Another 20 mile plus day.

***

This is gonna sound like a commercial, but I bought an Anker eternal battery charger off Amazon, and this thing is awesome. It was only $21 and it will fully charge my phone 5 times. It's small, too, and it only weighs 8 oz. It's great for hiking, but I will definitely use it when I'm done, too.

It will charge anything with a USB port, too. I charge my iPod as well.

It's much better than the solar charger I bought. I ended up sending that home. Even when it was sunny, that thing didn't work as advertised. Also the battery pack that came with it would barely charge my phone once.

The Anker is cool, too because it chargers quicker than a regular outlet. It takes less than 45 minutes to charge my phone once.

I should be on their commercial.

There were some kids jumping off this bridge. It was tempting, but I kept hiking. 

That is the James River.

Spiderwort

We did 21.7 miles, and I was done by 4:45. We cookin' with gas now.

That's why I like hiking with Patriot. He's a little younger, so he pushes the pace. I usually can't keep up with him but we always end up at the same spot.

He's got some friends coming this weekend, so we'll tone down the miles a little bit for three days.

Next week we hit the Shenandoah's, and it's basically flat from there to New Hampshire.

[Patriot] got the nickname because his gear just happened to be red, white, and blue. He didn't plan it that way.

And yes - I'm still Earnhardt. I did have Talladega Nights on my phone, but I decided to delete it to make space.

***

The best part about the AT is that there are no rules. Well, therea re just no lame bosses or anyone to enforce them.

***

It's funny. Out here even a crappy restaurant sounds really good. Even when I ate at Wendy's, it tasted really good. Although Wendy's was always better than BK and especially McDonald's.

I will not eat at either of those even if it was the only option.

I put Chic-Fil-A in a separate (non-fast-food) category...

May 12 - 599 Miles

Mile 590

[From Catania - I texted PJ about an article I saw online - where a hiker was attacked by a bear at Great Smoky Mountain National Park]

From PJ:

I got water from that shelter [where the bear attack happened] and was told there was a bear there 15 minutes later. People were throwing rocks at it and it wouldn't go away.

A lot of people have seen bears, but I'm still waiting. I'm a mile 599 right now and I had to stop because it was raining too hard.

I'll hit [600] early tomorrow. I'm only going to do 11 miles or so. I'll stop at Trent's Grocery at mile 608 where I can do laundry, shower, and resupply.

[I'm feeling] Relatively fresh I guess. I mean everything hurts, but I'm still able to do some decent miles. Got 20 in today.

Also - Dad will be proud to know that I ate a hot dog with relish and mustard for the first time in my life yesterday.

Mostly my feet hurt. Ankles, shins, knees. My back only hurts in the morning from sleeping on the ground. Everything aches, but it's kind of how I expected. I wouldn't call it a good hurt but it's nothing structurally wrong. I basically feel like I've walked 600 miles up and down mountains with 40-50 pounds on my back.

Plus, for the last 2 weeks, everything has been wet.

I still haven't had any really blisters. My feet were pretty calloused to begin with.

May 11 - Rat Snakes

These rat snakes are everywhere.

May 9 - Atkins, Virginia

Trail Magic

Old-school school...

From PJ:

People from a local church drop stuff off here: soda, snacks, and a lot of other stuff. I got tissues, wipes, and chapstick.

I'm in Atkins, VA and just another awesome burger.

I'm officially 25% completed on the AT.

May 8 - Marion Virginia

From PJ:

I'm in Marion, Virginia today. It was pretty easy hiking. We did 19 miles in Less to Partnership Shelter, and some local dudes gave us a ride into town.

We had these dogs with us most of the day. They hiked about 30 miles away from home. We just gave them back to their owners. They were just pups. 6 months old. Spot and Gus.

I saw about 30 horses yesterday.

They are kind of wild. The ATC looks after them, but they just roam free in the Grayson Highlands and poop everywhere. They help maintain the bald.

I even saw one do his dominations on another. I was already videotaping, and he just started dominating...

I am at a real mom and pop joint right now. I mean, literally. The husband cooks the food and the wife waits on tables. There is no staff.