June 30, 2012

Start: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

Crazy thunderstorms last night, but our new tent held up well and kept us dry!! We woke up at 6 am and left camp at 7:15 (we're getting quicker at that routine). Unfortunately, we had a mile to walk to the trail from our campsite. With bathroom stops (always nice to use flush toilets when given the chance) and the walk, we started hiking at 8:00 am. We had a nice flat section where Brian got some awesome pictures of the sun rays coming through the trees and mist. After a flat section though, there must always be a climb, so up we went. About 4 miles in we ran into Easy Nomad. He warned us about a bee hive in the middle of the trail. He had just been stung A LOT of times! Brian and I decided to bushwhack around the hive, so off trailing we went. We watched for animals, especially snakes, but the off trailing was uneventul and back on the trail we went. After a total of 7.6 miles, we sat at a spring and relaxed for a few minutes. I pumped some fresh cold water for us... So refreshing!! I could taste the difference in the water from the spicket at the campground and was happy to have filtered spring water! The Green Mountain General Store was just another 1.2 miles up the trail, so we decided to go there for lunch. We arrived at the store at 1:00 pm hungry and tired. I had a cheese, lettuce, and tomato sub and chips and Brian had a peanut butter sandwich (from his own food) and chips. Later on I had Nutter Butter Cookies and Brian had some more snacks. I guess our metabolisms are starting to speed up from all this walking! We spent 3 hours there because it was so hot and threatening thunderstorms. About 30 minutes before we left, we met thru hikers Range, Cheetah, and Honest Abe. They told us their favorite part of their hike so far was the Grayson Highlands in Virginia because of the wild ponies. They showed us pictures where the ponies seemed more like lap dogs! I can't wait to hike that part next year!!!! At 4:00 pm we started our 2.7 mile trip to the campsite. It was difficult for my knee because most of it was a descent, but overall, my knee did feel a little better. We arrived at camp at 5:15 pm. Brian made me a knee brace out of a stick, a piece of our water filter tubing, tape, and a bandana (MacGyver???). Cheetah had told us that he suffered from similar ailment at the start of his hike and the runner band type brace worked best for him. Now I have my own home made one. Thanks B!

Our campsite is an unmarked site just off the AT. It is a half mile from a campground so we can hear the country type music concert they are having.

Tomorrow, we will get into Boiling Springs, PA. We will spend the night in town because we have a mail drop of supplies to pick up at the post office at 9am on Monday. We are both looking forward to real laundry and a real shower!!

End: Unmarked Campsite 8.1miles south of Boiling Springs, PA

Peace Be The Journey
~Flicka