14-16 July 2012

14 July, Day 4 trail version 2.0, 7.2 miles High Point Shelter. By Papa Wolf. Started off really pretty well but am a bit concerned about Tailbones feet. She has some good quality hiking boots, but they are giving her some serious blisters and issues. She is doing incredibly well despite her feet so maybe she will be able to just "walk through it". We are keeping an eye on it as we certainly do not want her to walk hurt. We came to High Point State Park HQ in NJ which was great...free sodas for thru hikers...can't beat that. Another mile through the woods was a great lake and public beach. It was hot so no sense passing up a bath so we all headed to the lake. :)  It was a great afternoon just relaxing having some great food. another mile and we stopped for the night...good day! 15 July, Day 5 trail version 2.0, 7.1 miles Memorial Park, Unionville NY. By Papa Wolf  We tried a different tactic with Tailbones feet today and it seems to have worked. She has 6 blisters on one foot and 4 or 5 on the other. Despite that, Crocadilly and I had a hard time keeping up with her...which is great. This is suppose to be a fun adventure, not a painful one. We only did a short 7 today as we met Atlas in Unionville. He was in Maine for a week earning a bit more cash for the rest of the trip. So into this cute little town early and straight to Annabelle's pizza across the street...amazing food!! Had a bit of rain but stayed dry under the park gazebos hanging out with Cheeks, Atlas and the gang. Back to Annabelle's for dinner and a good night in the park. The plan is maybe 16 tomorrow depending on Tailbones feet and Crocadilly's shin-splint. That would be huge mileage for day 6 on the trail...so we shall see. Slow and steady so no big deal either way. 16 July, Day 6 trail version 2.0, 11.8 miles Appalachian Motel, Vernon NJ. By Tailbone. We are sitting in the Appalachian Motel watching a documentary on bears. My feet are absolutely gnarly and my blisters are causing lots of pain and annoyance. We should be camping, but unfortunately we got about 5 miles from where we were supposed to end up today before my feet decided they had enough. Tomorrow we are going into town to the department store as the boots I have are just not working for some reason. Makes me wonder how much the guy at the outdoor gear store where i bought these actually knows about backpacking. But besides the blisters, the past few days have been absolutely gorgeous. We walked over a mile long stretch of boardwalk today that was phenomenal and yesterday on the way to Unionville, we walked through some fields that were positively lovely. The flowers that are in bloom right now spotted everything purple and there was a nice breeze blowing over everything. We all came to the conclusion that Unionville would make a great trail town if there was a hostel or some place for hikers to stay besides the park- not that the park was bad. There was a great little restaurant called Annabel's that I would recommend to anyone ever driving through or walking by that small little town. Even the rain couldn't dampen our spirits after eating there. (haha! Real food!) We have officially gone over 50 miles today which is a really cool accomplishment, I think. So only around 830 miles left to go. :) yay! By Papa Wolf. Tailbone did AWESOME! But her feet are not getting better and need rest. I feel bad we walked so far...she didn't say a word. Stern stuff those Clan Pickens/Willits lasses are made of. We'll make a decision in the morning as to the next step.