The Sections

2008 part 2: In the planning stages.. possibly the 100 miles of wilderness in Maine
2008 part 1: Rt 94 NJ-- NY 17A = 15 Miles
2007-Rt 325 PA- Rt 447= Mileage 16.4
2006- New York CT Boarder- PA 41= Mileage 44.9
2005- Holly Springs - Duncannon PA = Mileage 51.5
2004 Mt Holly Springs-Waynesboro VA= Mileage 250.7

Calculation of Miles:

2175.0 miles total
- 363.5 as of 2007
________________
1811.5 Miles to Go

39 years left to go....


Average 47 miles a year..

Friends Along the way..

We met such wonderful people along the way. BP was a thru hiker on our CT leg of the Trail.

He also left us with these words.

"It was quite the joy to spend the afternoon with all of you"

After 23 Miles..

The freedom and opportunity to have a chance to continue this adventure. It is amazing to see these girls become women to see them practice their gifts, love, change the world, one at a time. They change the old, the young, the poor and the elite. Yet in the midst of changing the world and loving others they know the importance of loving each other. At the end we are blessed by the sacred gift of each other that we desire to be faithful to this gift.

A Reason To Sing

We always found a reason to sing. Not many days passed without a praise song, a rap, Dar Williams, or anything else we could remember some of the words to. This picture does not only catch the singing but also our dance moves.

July 29th--Black Rock Hut-- Calf Mountian Shelter (13 miles)

The last full day of hiking. It will be a long hike but rewarding. This trip has now become 95% mental and 5% physical as the days get more difficult. We sat and apologized for not being more encouraging to each other. That was a breakthrough after the misery of this days hike. The small hill that we expected turned into one gradual mountain that never descended. By midway we were ready to quit as we sat on a stonewall overlook and ate lunch. It's the last push and I never dreamed it would be harder.
We reached shelter with hopes of solitude but found two women and a dog. After a brief conversation as we rested we were amazed at how enlightening this women's life was. A 40 year old science teacher who traveled the world more than once. She taught in Japan, trekked n Nepal 3 times, lived in Africa and worked with the peace core. She found Trax her dog when she began hiking sections of the AT. She will take 4 summers to complete the entire trail. Summer's story was compelling and ignited the desire to explore the hope in this world. It was a enjoyable ending to our last night on the trail. Other peoples' stories enhance our trail journey and leave an impression on us, shaping our lives forever.

July 21st- Day of Rest -Top of Mountian Overlook-- Elkwallow Picnic Area- 5 Miles

We rose early to take in the beautiful overlook. Elizabeth couldn't sleep and found herself up early reading and resting on the rocks as the sun rose. Grace slept in for once, because she thought a bear would attack her the night before and therefore didn't sleep well. We ate breakfast and hiked five miles to the wayside. We stopped at the cabin, but thought we could find a better place further along so we continued on the journey.

As we walked on the wayside everyone stared at us as if we were some unusual creatures. All the picnic tables were occupied so we had to wait in the grass for a while. We washed our pans and clothes in the sink, all the while receiving funny looks. People finally began to warm up to us and asked us what we were doing and where we were coming from. We made many phone calls and planned out our next 1/2 so we could make sure we stopped at almost all the waysides -- and the music at Big Meadows. It got us excited and we energized for the days to come...

-We met Goat who was very fond of Grace. He has almost completed the trail (He did a flip flop over 2 years) and he took a beer and left.
-No Snakes

We waited till the place was closed and everyone left, including the English teacher and engineer on their motorcycles. Once everyone left we were just finishing up dinner with no destination and and nowhere to sleep. Grace walked along the AT and Anne and Elizabeth explored the picnic area.

With no hope on the AT, we sat on the ground to ponder our mission:

Mission #1 Hang bear-bags in the perfect tree (note: in the middle of the trail)
Mission #2 Prepare for bed, stash bags behind log and wait till all the cars are gone.
Mission #3 When dusk falls, sneak up quietly to find a spot to sleep
Mission #4 Make it without being seen (this failed as we stayed behind a tree and were mistaken for bears. Later the couple confessed )
Mission #5 Set up and sleep and don't get eaten by a bear or have the park ranger find us in a non-camping area.

We woke up at 5:30, grabbed our stuff and ate breakfast by the bear-bags. Mission accomplished!
(Car's drove around late at night without their lights on, and a unidentifiable creature was heard by our sleeping area at night)

Flora and Fauna: raccoon