Discussion Board

That would be an excellent way to explain the superhuman miles I’ll be doing this week –perhaps we can make it an option for whoever makes the next virtual trip. I'm planning to soak in a hot tub for about six months after I reach San Francisco. I’m recruiting volunteers for the next trek. Anyone? I know we have some aspiring travel writers on this board. A strong grip on reality is not required.
Garbanzo

Location: Hancock, Maryland

I had to wait until the post office opened yesterday before I could get out of Harper’s Ferry. I got my first care package from home. Homemade McDougall cookies. Yea! I wasn’t the only hiker waiting for a resupply package. I ran into Mealy Mouth (trail name – don’t ask) who I had chatted with on line about socks. He doesn’t wear socks on the trail. But nothing I’ve ever seen him write on the topic ever convinced me that was a good idea.

Apparently there were two groups of hikers staying at the hostel last night. I spent a wonderful evening talking about trail gear and insect invasions with Cherry Bomb, I’m Coming, & Nails (trail names) at the hiker hostel. We all turned in to bed around 9pm. Then around 11:30 another group of hikers hit the hostel. They had been out drinking in town all evening. They proceeded to set up a noisy monopoly game & order pizza and generally have a frat boy type party. I learned the next morning that the three young male culprits had created quite a reputation this season and that lots of other hikers had speeded up or slowed down to avoid spending a night in same campsite with them on the Appalachian trail.

After leaving the post office I walked for an hour with Cherry Bomb, but she’s only doing 10-12 miles per day and thanks to all of you I have to haul ass so I left her with a McDougall cranberry oatmeal cookie and zoomed on down the trail. I will say that walking the American Discovery Trail is a lot lonelier then walking the Application trail. 99% of the time I enjoy the solitude but I've also liked the company of other smelly backpackers for the past couple of days.

Other hikers staying at the Harper’s Ferry hostel

I spent last night at The 1828 Trail Inn . I’ve been promised fresh honeydew melons for breakfast and I’m hoping to chat up some of the bikers I know are staying here. I’m rested, showered with freshly laundered clothes and ready to hit the trail.
Garbanzo

I'm so sorry I just read your thread. I'm apologizing because I've been exercising and could have been adding to your miles. I'll be posting from here on out. I'm really inspired by your trip. Wowee....I exercise about 360 minutes a week, so I'll post next week to add to the miles. I wish you well and hopefully you get some much needed rest at the inn!

Today I walked 12 miles and sweated hopefully a pound away because it was sunny 90 degree weather. I ate my lunch at the Marina park and watched sail boats go by. Then about the last 2 miles all I could think of was some cold raspberry tea. All most home I got honked at because a driver thought I should walk fast across the street when the signal still had 15 seconds to go and I was in the middle of the street. I made it with 9 to spare.

Location: Monongahela National Forest, Tea Creek Campground, West Virginia

The most interesting part of my hike yesterday was walking through the Paw Paw tunnel on the C & O towpath. The tunnel is 3,118 feet long and you can just barely see the light at the other end. It's kind of spooky, especially in the middle where it's dark. And cold. And wet. There is a steep hiking trail around the tunnel if you don't like dark and wet and creepy places.


West Entrance to Paw Paw Tunnel on the C & O Towpath


Inside the Paw Paw Tunnel

I ended the day hiking U.S. Forest Service Road FR 75, which climbs steeply onto the Allegheny Front in Monongahela National Forest. At 3,500 to 4,000 feet, this segment is the highest elevation that the ADT will reach east of the Rockies. Let me tell you I can feel it in my calves. After reaching my campsite, I struck up a conversation with a retired couple in an RV. They invited me to dinner which I used as my opportunity to spread the good word about the McDougall program. They were vegetarian and appeared very interested in the benefits of giving up dairy and oils. The wife had a couple of yams in the RV which she nuked for me and she tossed together a salad and we enjoyed a wonderful meal as we listened to a couple of noisy chipmunks fussing in the trees just outside.


East Fork of the Cherry River in Monongahela National Forest

The pictures are beautiful. I'm so glad you had a nice evening with the couple

We had a prefect day hiking from Woods Lake up 2 1/2 miles to Round top lake which took us 2hrs. then down to Winnemucca Lake, 1 mile, back to Woods Lake. It made a 6 mile loop and it was just beautiful.We hiked about 4 hours with lunch at highest lake. We could see Tahoe and some other lakes. Hiking is a great work out and the air is so much cleaner in the mountains.

My workout routine has been pretty poor the past 4 days. My roomates yellow lab had to be put to sleep yesterday. She has had cancer in her throat for the past 2 years. She was slowly going downhill over that time and it really acelerated starting last Wednesday. She was unable to eat or drink or even swallow much this weekend. She has been living with me for the past 5 years.

Michael

Location: Parkersburg, West Virginia

I spent most of the day walking the North Bend Rail Trail. There were lots of other walkers and bikers on the trail and everyone was very friendly, smiling and saying hello. During my morning break I had a long conversation with a gentleman who described walking Spain’s Camino De Santiago, something I would love to do.

The North Bend Rail Trail has 10 tunnels and 37 trestles. A lot of the tunnels were very dark. Instead of a flashlight I carry a Princeton Tec Quad Headlamp (3.4 ounces with batteries). Much better than a flashlight when trying to set up a tent in the dark. So I walked through the tunnels with my headlamp on. I tried to walk slowly and enjoy the experience even though my body was screaming at me to hurry up and get out of the those dank creepy caves and back into the sunlight and fresh air.






It was just past sundown when I arrived at the Parkersburg Red Roof Inn. After securing a room I walked another ½ mile to Kroger’s Supermarket. I picked up a loaf of oil free sprouted rye bread, 2 cans of fat free refried beans, a package of cut lettuce, a couple of tomatoes, & a jar of bread & butter pickles. I made myself a stack of sandwiches for diner. Then I polished off the loaf for breakfast along with a couple of bananas I grabbed from the continental breakfast bar. I rinsed out my clothes in the bathroom sink and hung them up to dry overnight. Plus I got a shower to get some of the hiker stink off my person.

So far I’m holding up well. I’ve had a couple of hot spots on my feet which I patched up with a little duct tape. I am struggling with an odd thing about my pack. For some reason everything seems to shift to the left. I’ve adjusted the straps and changed the way things are packed again and again. But it still seems like the left side is always heavier then the right. Now I’m starting to wonder if it’s something about the way that I’m walking. Oh well, if I figure out the solution to the mystery, I’ll let you know.
Garbanzo

Losing Linda, Your hike sounds wonderful. You are so right about mountain air. Good for the body and soul.

Chumly, I’m so sorry to hear of your loss. I lost my dear little fur baby last year. He made me smile every day he was with me and I still miss him.
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Well, I did my little five minute walk in a new place yesterday. In Long Beach, not far from where I live is a ½ mile boardwalk along the ocean. I haven’t walked on it in over a year, partly because it starts with a gradual incline that takes the boardwalk about 10 feet above the parking area and I wasn’t sure about my ability to navigate it. But climb up I did and I walked to the first scenic overlook and sat on the benches in the sunshine watching the waves and people playing with their dogs on the beach while my partner Mary did a much longer walk down the boardwalk and back. It’s shaping up to be another lovely day on the Washington coast so we may be heading back there again this morning.
Letha

Garbanzo, it was so great to meet you and I've enjoyed reading about your further travels so much. I know I have been terribly remiss in not posting the recipes from our dinner -- I'll get there, though! I love the photos, and I'm glad you got to hook up with some other hikers as you crossed the Appalachian trail.

Letha, your trip to the boardwalk sounds (and looks) just wonderful. I love the beach and haven't been for a long time. I was hoping to do some beach walking in San Francisco but the week was so full it just didn't happen.

I'm afraid I won't have many miles/minutes to report this week, but my fellow exercisers will more than make up for it, I'm sure!

Thanks Letha. It's great to see you be able to get out and get some exercise. It looks like a beautiful walk. Your journey is very inspirational. It makes me want to step up my own routine. I've only lost 10 lbs. this year and it's really aggravating me. I am thinking of seeing a psychologist. I just seem to be stuck in so many ways and have tried getting out over and over again on my own. It's not working and I have made progress in the past by asking for help when I was stuck. I hope to get over this hump soon. I am getting really sick of it.

Michael

I think all I want to do and need is to go on a long hike. It is like the answer to all my problems. When I hear how hard someone is having the first thing I want to say take a hike. ( I just read this and it was funny but I do not mean to just leave). Hiking is a even better than a walk because you usually are out away from the city and in nature. The air is sweeter and there's gentle calming sounds. I can think more positive and can not think too much about stuff. Mostly I think where my feet are going and my how beautiful this is. A gentle breeze, clear sky, babbling stream and the movement of my body making it's way up and down the trail heals my soul and mind. I love the mountain picnic which was earned as I sit near a clear blue lake. Even a simple meal taste better there. I get tired and my ankle hurts but still worth doing. So take a hike everyone, take a hike for real.

Hi, I just discovered this thread thanks to Letha, and love it! I hope your hike is great.

I'll contribute 20 minutes to your miles for yesterday's walk. Hopefully more today.

Thanks for thinking of this super-creative way to motivate all of us to move more while you walk across America!

Location: Burr Oak Cove Campground, Wayne National Forest, Ohio

Reminder: Please post your exercise minutes/miles tomorrow, Thursday. Thanks.

Yesterday I entered into my 4th state on the trip so far. I’ve passed through Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and now I’m in Ohio. I went for a swim in Vesuvius Lake just before fixing my dinner last night. I don’t have a swim suit, or even shorts, and there were too many people around for skinny dipping so I just jumped in with my hiking clothes on and then let them dry on my body as I set up camp.


The campsite had a restroom so after dinner I took my sink bath, put on my night clothes, rinsed my hiking clothes out in the sink and hung them on a small shrub outside my tent to dry overnight.

For hiking, I’m wearing some technical apparel from Marmot. Both my shirt & pants are made with Polartec® Power Dry®. Polartec® Power Dry® fabrics are designed to keep your skin dry when you sweat. They also dry very quickly if they get wet in the rain or if you wash them out by hand and hang them up.




At night, I’ve got a pair of fleece pants and a sweatshirt that I sleep in. I seldom get cold if I’m moving, but in the evening I often feel chilled and so my night clothes are warm and snuggly. I only have the two outfits and for safety the night clothes are kept dry, so that if I ever get overly chilled walking in the cold rain/wind/snow I can set up my tent, put on dry clothes and get under my sleeping quilt to warm up.
Garbanzo