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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

24 July 2012 Day 14


Tuesday July 24th 2012, 9.4 miles, Shenandoah Tenting Area. By Crocadilly - After a wonderful restful night at the sweetest smelling campsite so far we left the multitude of dragonflies behind and got on our way. For some reason regardless of how early we get up it always seems to be after ten by the time we get on the trail. This had us both annoyed this morning despite  the good sunny weather, good health and a positive Long hike planned. After some discussion we decided we perhaps needed to reset the clock and planned lunch and a shorter day with relaxation planned for the afternoon! It got me thinking about the  trail and the myriad of different ways you could approach it and how that could change your total experience of the .. Well I guess experience! For me I am determined to do as many miles as I can and I really want to reach Katahdin. It is a journey to get there and I know at times it will be tough and uncomfortable but there has to be balance and time to enjoy the experience which so far I am immensely. but without trying to sound cheesy enjoying and appreciating where you are, what you are doing and the people you meet. We have met one or two people whose challenge is to get to the finish as fast as possible. They are pulling massive mile days some doing as many as thirty plus. I couldnt do that mentally or physically. I always wonder as that would never be my ambition and( i have the utmost admiration for those that tackle this challenge in that way )what they get out of it other than the sense of achievement of finishing and finishing fast. They don't get to spend so much time with amazing new people or to sit and see the amazing vistas or visit the towns and enjoy the moments. For me already so much of what we have done is a blur and one moment stretches to another easily so imagine that happening at twice the speed?! I wouldn't be able to tell you any of the names of the people I have met or the places i have travelled through! But that is just me! So anyway we ended up doing a short day. And I ended up doing alot more thinking ... Even more than usual! We found another amazing little campsite about two pm. It was a well kept mowed open area with a couple of old buildings and was quiet and peaceful!  I throughly enjoyed lying in the soft grass in the sunshine for the afternoon! A guy set up camp shortly after we arrived - he was taking his son camping for a few days so it was great fun talking with them and hearing about everyones plans! He seemed worried about bears / it took us a while to convince him that with the boys around
no bear would come near! We eventually even convinced him that it would be okay to leave his food supplies in our vestibule (Scott has had up to 15 food bags in the tent at any one time) - mental note to self cannot continue to do that when the boys are no longer hiking with us! Later in the evening i met my first south bounder who came and set up camp. He was a great character and played the didgereedoo (sp?!!) as the sun was going down! Awesome - can't believe he carries that around with him! Now is the time that we will start to cross the south bounders which will make the experience all the more interesting! 

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

23 July 2012

Monday 23 July 2012, 12.3 miles Denny town road campsite. By Crocadilly. After a night snuggled in the tent listening to the storm passing through we got up to discover that miraculously everything had remained relatively dry! Little did we know that would not last too long! We had a great hike down from the campsite and continued on our merry way! despite putting some respectable miles in today, it was super uncomfortable weather wise - incredibly hot and humid - even Mojo and Skye seemed relatively lethargic probably much to the relief of the native chipmunks and Squirrels! You could feel storms in the air but they just didn't seem quite ready to unleash themselves! With every step I was wishing for rain it was so tough - I have never in my life sweated so much! Our water supplies could barely keep pace with the amount of liquids we were losing and we made a few stops in some beautiful countryside to replenish  our stocks and give the boys a chance to cool down - any form of puddle, pond or stream Mojo finds he immediately pops himself into looking very pleased..his saddle bags normally buoyed like little flotation devices by his side! We had a fantastic much needed super lunch at a little place by the side of a road - we each had a grilled chicken bacon and cheese salad hero! Needless to say that did not make our post lunch progress any better but it was worth it! The last few miles of the day were tough going but we were somewhat pushed along quicker by a weather warning for storms in the area! I think we were all relieve when we came across the signs that the campground we were staying at was not too far ahead! We replenished our water and headed up a short hill to this beautiful camp ground in a clearing - it smelled so fragrant and there were the biggest most beautiful dragonflies just buzzing about everywhere! Idyllic! We set up camp in record time waiting for the storm which passed through as a real non event! Unfortunately though it remained humid for quite some time which meant a less than relaxing sleep in our sweat tent as I named it! :)

Sunday, July 22, 2012

21-22 July Wonderful Weekend!

Sunday 22 July, Day 12 AT v2.0, 8.1 miles, Hemlock Springs Campsite. The musings of the Wild Crocadillypig 101.8 miles in, over 800 for Papa Wolf..ooh yeah! After An absolutely fantastic weekend with Russ, Allison and two very cool kids, we are back on the trail again today! We cannot thank them all enough for their wonderful hospitality, amazing food - steaks, seared tuna, crawfish, mozzarella, Italian sausage, chicken and my absolute favourite lamb steaks (possibly the most decadent trail food ever!) and copious beers, sodas, fresh water, comfy bed and SHOWERS galore! Plus just amazing company!! A wonderful, and dry, weekend! The boys had a great time playing with Jake and Robyn too :) and I got to rest my cankles and shin splint ! Yep I had not realised but I no longer have ankles since my feet and what used to be ankles swelled up so much! Lol!! So back on the trail we went today which also marked my passing the 100 mile barrier and Scott (papa wolf/ zip) just cinching in the 800 mile mark!! It's strange hiking this part of the country - I have to admit that this area and staying in Monroe has restored my faith in the state of new York! But it is quite busy - there is the constant sound of traffic and trains and other people! Today we passed through and over Bear Mountain which, being Sunday and glorious weather, was packed with weekenders having wonderful smelling picnics (yep I am still infatuated with food!) frolicking on the lake and enjoying the scenery- it had quite the central park feel to it - you do wish for the quiet and solitude of the normal trail - it doesn't really quite feel like you are hiking a trail as you aren't in the wilderness.the other problem is the significant amount of litter and especially broken glass along the trail. It is upsetting and also worrying for puppy paws. the boys got lots of stares and rockstar treatment by the masses as they passed through with their packs! Hiking along the main roads and across bear mountain bridge was interesting - discovered mojo does not like the noise or treading on metal grates! It was quite hairy at times! Oh we are in orange county chopper country so lots of very cool bikes! We climbed the trail to Anthony's nose and are currently camped out at Hemlock Springs campsite! The pack once again feels a little heavier and having to get back my hiking feet! At least my clothes smelt nice even if it was just for a few hours - yep my nicely washed clothes after just half a day hiking smell just as bad as they did before! Oh well!!!!! :) 

21-22 July Wonderful Weekend!

Sunday 22 July, Day 12 AT v2.0, 8.1 miles, Hemlock Springs Campsite. The musings of the Wild Crocadillypig 101.8 miles in, over 800 for Papa Wolf..ooh yeah! After An absolutely fantastic weekend with Russ, Allison and two very cool kids, we are back on the trail again today! We cannot thank them all enough for their wonderful hospitality, amazing food - steaks, seared tuna, crawfish, mozzarella, Italian sausage, chicken and my absolute favourite lamb steaks (possibly the most decadent trail food ever!) and copious beers, sodas, fresh water, comfy bed and SHOWERS galore! Plus just amazing company!! A wonderful, and dry, weekend! The boys had a great time playing with Jake and Robyn too :) and I got to rest my cankles and shin splint ! Yep I had not realised but I no longer have ankles since my feet and what used to be ankles swelled up so much! Lol!! So back on the trail we went today which also marked my passing the 100 mile barrier and Scott (papa wolf/ zip) just cinching in the 800 mile mark!! It's strange hiking this part of the country - I have to admit that this area and staying in Monroe has restored my faith in the state of new York! But it is quite busy - there is the constant sound of traffic and trains and other people! Today we passed through and over Bear Mountain which, being Sunday and glorious weather, was packed with weekenders having wonderful smelling picnics (yep I am still infatuated with food!) frolicking on the lake and enjoying the scenery- it had quite the central park feel to it - you do wish for the quiet and solitude of the normal trail - it doesn't really quite feel like you are hiking a trail as you aren't in the wilderness.the other problem is the significant amount of litter and especially broken glass along the trail. It is upsetting and also worrying for puppy paws. the boys got lots of stares and rockstar treatment by the masses as they passed through with their packs! Hiking along the main roads and across bear mountain bridge was interesting - discovered mojo does not like the noise or treading on metal grates! It was quite hairy at times! Oh we are in orange county chopper country so lots of very cool bikes! We climbed the trail to Anthony's nose and are currently camped out at Hemlock Springs campsite! The pack once again feels a little heavier and having to get back my hiking feet! At least my clothes smelt nice even if it was just for a few hours - yep my nicely washed clothes after just half a day hiking smell just as bad as they did before! Oh well!!!!! :) 

20 July

20 July, Day 10 AT v2.0, 8.1 miles, Schectman Household. By Crocadilly-Climbing in the rain! The musings of crocadillypig And So I begin again where i left off yesterday! RAIN and lashings of it! It rained all night and we woke to a torrential downpour wishing that rather than now having to deal with a soaking tent we had stayed in the shelter! There was no way to pack up keeping everything dry but we were buoyed by the prospect of spending the evening in the warmth and comfort of Scotts friends the Schectman's! (Who he hasn't seen since 1990 so at least we would be meeting the family smelling really bad and soaking wet! ) The going was pretty tough and I think we were both mindful of the potential to  possibly hurt ourselves on such rocky terrain in such horrendous conditions so we did the only thing we could do and plugged along slowly and carefully measuring each careful footstep! I kept going by dreaming of Greek islands, sunshine, and thinking of films I love to watch in the rain! I actually enjoyed today more than yesterday and felt more sure footed! A soggy lunch was spent on top of a cooler full of trail angel water - ironic as we watched the torrents pour off everything! I was pleased we stopped for lunch for the extra energy as just a short time later we were facing the mother of all climbs up what can only be described as a rather high rock face which was near damn vertical! The sort where you definitely do not want to look down, and you certainly do not want to lose your hand or foot holds or want your pack to start pulling you backwards and off the cliff to a probable death or if you are lucky maybe just a couple of broken limbs! This time I kept my pack on - it was just too much to ask Scott to grab it and toss it upwards like he did for me yesterday! We each carried a dog pack as rightly so this was a little scary for them too and we did have to coax them up but they did it and they did it well! The feeling of elation reaching the top in the rain without so much as a slip was unbelievable! We soon were at a road where Russ could pick us up! Stopping was torture as we were soaked right through and the cold was getting to us! I have never been so grateful to meet someone new in my whole entire life! What a lovely man - I hugged him hard hahha which must have been incredibly unpleasant for him! It was then we discovered we were meant to have met him on The road where the cooler Was three miles back where we had lunch - the road  just before scaling the vertical precipice! Oh well!!  Back at the house I had the best and most welcome shower i think i have ever had in my life! Followed by clean warm fragrant smelling clothes, proper coffee, beer (yep made it about three hours!) and food! Unbelievable welcome and a gorgeous family! An incredibly pleasant evening unfolded before us and it was lovely to meet such wonderful people! And sleep in a real bed :) 

19 July, Day 9

19 July, Day 9 AT v2.0, 11.8 miles, Wildcat Shelter. By Crocadilly. There is a fine line between love & hate..that certainly is the relationship I have had with New York since I moved here. The countryside is undoubtedly beautiful but there are aspects I have struggled with so as we crossed the border into NY today it was with some trepidation and a slight feeling I was about to face my very own kryptonite! After the storm of yesterday I had a rather disjointed first night sleep in a shelter. The shelter itself was fabulous and we were the only people besides Funnybone there! We said an early goodbye to him as he left on his journey and we took the morning to actually enjoy each others company - the first time we have been alone since I left for the UK in february! We drank coffee and chatted in the early AM sunshine, a welcome sight after the rain yesterday, and two cups each later it was 10am and time to get going! It is not the most pleasant experience donning soggy boots and my fresh dry socks were soon saturated!  It is surprising how comfy my shoes are and I am happy to report my pack gives me no trouble and I am bouncing along now..when deep in thought forget often I am carrying it! We ate up the first few miles with no problem and started off hiking with a former NJ native lady and her two kids..They were soaking up the experience and loving watching the dogs and just full of questions - a great start to the day! We had lunch on some fab rock formations at the NJ/NY border. I don't know whether it was the trepidation of reaching NY or the fact that we were told previously it is rocky hard terrain but I started to struggle and at some points was really not enjoying myself! I think I overdosed on peanut butter products at lunch coupled with a bad nights sleep made for an unsettled crocadillypig! I fell over no less than three times - the first time was quite funny and I ended on my back like an upturned turtle unable to right myself much to our amusement! By the third time which happened on some high open rocks (so glad it was dry as they were treacherous as it was) I was in tears and not happy with NY! Poor NY! The terrain was much tougher than I had experienced and very rocky and I was struggling although keeping in mind it was alot easier going than earlier sections and was a sign of things to come in the future! But I was just not happy for the very first time and I didn't like feeling like this! Ironically I was fine scaling a sheer rock face which involved climbing a ladder - no mean feat when Coping with two dogs and four packs! Skye got to the top and proceeded to jump down again so scaled it twice! They did awesome though and we were all happy to reach the top! We Stopped off for ice-cream - I felt so unwell I could only manage a small waffle cone whilst papa wolf devoured a whole tub! Spirits lifted especially when Pops and others rolled in too! We all headed to a great campsite and chatted before retiring to bed which was most welcome! Just in time because then the rains came!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

18 July 2012

18 July, By Crocadilly Day 8 Back on the trail! 5miles hiked and currently camped out at Wawayanda Shelter riding out a storm at 1600 hrs! Cannot believe we have been on the trail a week already! I feel so at home out here it's like I have been here for months! We have had a rather chilled last few days which has been great but I am ready to leave town and i think my stomach is too! Too much good food and fizzy drinks! I am surprised I haven't suffered from caffeine withdrawal since I have only had one cup of slightly rancid coffee since we left and that was yesterday - I normally chug a good few cups a day! We have got some instant coffee now so look forward to some of that! I am considering going dry on the alcohol front  for the whole time we are out here as I don't miss it at all or the tv for that matter - I never do! but I bet I change my mind when we hit Scotts friends place at the weekend! So we said goodbye to Tailbone this morning which was sad but am looking forward to having her back on the trail with good feet! It was lovely to see Marti again and also good to get a ride to the trail head so we didn't have to negotiate the death road with the dogs again - it's about a two mile hike back along a major road with barely any shoulder and the kinds of blind corners that people like to cut!  I wanted to push for a 18mile day today - was debating over it especially as the first mile and a half was straight up a massive mountain...  we have until Friday to get to our next stop which is only 28 or so miles away. Today the first shelter is at five miles and the next one is a further 13 mile ahead after that and we only started gone 11am and there is certainly no point pushing my shin for no reason!! So I wrestled with what we should do the whole mile and a half up the mountain.Made it to the top in good time which I was pleased about!  I listened to music for the first time - I normally have the soft drone of an insect to keep me company and my own thoughts Which I like but felt like I needed an extra push up the hill!  Things were going amazingly- I was In a great stride and considering pushing on when a mighty storm passed through soaking us to the core and deafening us with it's thunderous claps which all felt a little bit too close for comfort! Both lightning and thunder at points were incredibly close and frightened me half to death!! The boys were a little spooked but did amazingly well and actually after a while seemed to settle with it all! To say the weather made me move fast is an understatement and the next few miles flew by in a blur of rain and leaves as we practically ran down the paths! I am not sure why i bothered running as by this point everything was soaked to the core! It was great fun though! We made it to shelter where we are still camped out.Tomorrow will be a thirteen mile day on fairly flat terrain! The boys are slowly drying off and after a peanut butter and honey sandwich I managed to peel the wet layers off and am now hunkered down on my bed! We are sharing the shelter with a lovely gentleman by the name of funny bone - he is great and an orthopedic surgeon so how handy is that! Enjoying spending time with him and he is yet another new face on the trail! Again i have been told to be careful with the shin so will take his advice on board. I love being out in storms like this! Despite being ridiculously close to the storm and wet through hiking in the rain is fun! I must admit to hanging onto grim death the cork part of my hiking poles and thinking about the rubber soles of my shoes should I get struck by lightening! I was also thinking about all the time I spent washing the clothes I am wearing yesterday and how I carefully dried them in the sun! What a pointless task that was lol! Should have just left my self to stink! Hahaha! The rain is welcome as it is breaking this hot  patch we have been hiking thru and the news from new York is that a lot of the water sources (not that there seems to be that many to begin with) are all but dry and earlier hikers are reliant on trail fairies for water. So let it rain and let the streams start to run! Thirty pack was at the shelter when we arrived and was just about to leave when out of nowhere the biggest clap of thunder I have ever heard erupted and everything went bright white for a second! Glad he hadn't left yet as he probably would now be resembling a rather overcooked kebab! He did finally manage to leave and there have been no horrid smells of burnt hiker so we assume he got back on the trail okay and met up with everyone else who was ahead of us! No idea where anyone else might be but imagine most must be quite wet by now!  So it's me, two very wet smelly dogs, Papa wolf and Funny Bone hanging out at the shelter as I type. It's so dark and humid I feel ready for bed - time to crack open the trail coffee I guess!! 

17 July 2012

17 July, Day 7 trail version 2.0, 0 miles Appalachian Motel, NJ.  By Crocadilly. We stayed in Vernon last night to give Tailbones feet a chance to recuperate. Unfortunately it looks like the feet are pretty toasted  and so contingency plans have been laid to  get her off the trail so she can rest up.Marti, Papa Wolfs mom will come and pick her up in the morning and she will rest up in NY and return to the trail in tip top condition. I am sad to see Her go but it is just for a short time and for the best. she really has done amazingly well considering the pain she has been experiencing. So today was a zero day  and we will be in town one more night! We have a room at the Appalachian motel on the outskirts. It is comfortable and professes to be dog friendly. Scott and I had to walk the dogs to the motel along a main road which was scary so that was a bad start and then were told the cost was twenty bucks a dog a night - WHAT? No return of money either! We were told this was for cleaning but they don't deep clean every night you are there and most rooms were smoking rooms - our room stank of stale smoke but of course smokers dont have to pay extra do they?!!! So I got on my soap box twice today! We went off to do our laundry so were walking around town like hobos with bags of incredibly stinky clothes - now Vernon is a very spread out town - more spread out than most towns and in the end we gave up looking for the laundromat!!! Soap box point number two! I always wonder why when these towns Are built why they are made so pedestrian unfriendly? Even when shops are close together you take your life into your hands trying to cross roads or obstacles to get to them!! Grrrr! But I do have to admit that Vernon is a super nice town and the people we came across were incredibly friendly! I had my first coffee  in a week which was actually a little disappointing! Had a fab breakfast in a great little place called the mixing bowl which squatch had previously recommended - great food and atmosphere! I prided myself on ordering a whole breakfast without our waitress having to ask me any questions about toast or eggs lol! Any Brit or other foreigner will understand the gauntlet of ordering an american breakfast!  My brain always amazes me how evil it can be - on the trail my mind is often occupied with thoughts of what i would like to eat when all these joyous items aren't available to me! So I plan in minute detail what I am going to order to eat in the next town! I have been looking forward to this breakfast for six days! My brain always does this when I am out in the field or away from civilisation hahaha! I am used to the evilness of my mind when it comes to food now and it really makes you appreciate the good stuff when you get it! We managed to hook up with thirty pack and the rest of the wolf pack gang and I finally met Gumby! So great to see these guys as haven't seen them since they left our house after the July 4th party!!  We also did a little resupply and then hit the motel again - I washed through some clothes as didn't want to completely repulse my wonderful mother in law with my incredible stench!Fabulous takeaway and in the evening we were joined by thirty pack And another group of north bounders who I have heard so much about but yet to meet. Pops, Yukon, Squatch, Boomer and Daffy duck! Its great to meet these amazing characters that I have heard Scott talk about so much and get to spend some quality time with them! You get to hear some great stories along the trail!  Pops said some great things which I have taken on board - the trail will always provide you with what you need and the journey may not be what you expected but it is your journey and you don't necessarily have to have done the whole trail! Very very wise and lovely guy! 

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.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Day 3 - CrocaDilly's thoughts

13 July, Day 3 trail version 2.0, 12.4 miles, Mashipacong Shelter. Crocadillypig What a day! Thoroughly thoroughly enjoyed myself and really pushed myself to the limit! In the morning we sort of hiked altogether and were looking forward to a swim in a lake which eluded us so we carried on regardless! I have never smelled so bad or been so dirty and i was gutted to have missed the lake especially as we could see it from the trail and hear peals of laughter but I am truly at home on this adventure! I have 34 lbs on my back and that's all I need right now in terms of worldly possessions and  for the most part thats all the weight mentally and physically i am feeling! I feel great and life is good. Life is measured in half hour increments as that is roughly what we take to hike a mile give or take - am hoping to quickly shave off the time - I like to give myself small goals and I am wearing a watch! The terrain is quite rocky and tough going but plugging along - in times where I find I am hiking by myself I like to croc hop - jump from rock to rock as fast as I can without touching the floor camp carona pirate style for those who know what that is! I also have a new game of how many times can I stub my right toe which is now quite painful and whose toenail is probably not long for this world lol! We had a little interlude in a small trail town as the trail hit the main road. We were going to go to a place called joes to go but he told papa wolf rather unpleasantly three times that he would not provide water for the furry boys so we took our business en mass to a lovely little tavern down the road called gyps.diet coke has never tasted so good and we had a lovely view of a lake too so we hung out there for half an hour or so. Then off we set again! Just as we set off papa wolf and I bumped into a former thru hiker called snores who gave us some trail magic! Pepsi and mountain dew! Two sodas within two hrs awesome! Second stage of the day I was by myself and determined to beat the half an hour mile and with five miles ish to go I had a time set to beat - I did and enjoyed every second! Lots of croc jumping and pretty scenery and some awesome rock formations! I did 25 mins to a mile and was super pleased! My shin will probably tell you otherwise but we will push on through together! I am loving it! I hoovered down my dinner and was so excited and happy could not go to sleep so read some news and listened to the rain - such a fab noise on the tent! It has to be one of my all time favourite noises since childhood ! Oh how could I miss my first encounter with a rattle snake! We are hiking along a trail with a bunch of boys from a summer camp behind us who were among the troops at the camp last night when mojo decided it would be a good idea to severely annoy a rattle snake! All I could hear was the rattle and him looking perplexed at it - papa wolf and I screamed at him to come back which he did but the snake was not happy! Throwing stones and sticks did not help so we were forced to circumnavigate said snake. I tried not to think of the irony of leaving the trail to step through vegetation which probably contained a multitude of critters - needless to say I moved fast especially as I had a bunch of fifteen boys behind me and didn't want to look like a total loser! There was some significant croc jumping though whilst holding onto one of the dogs!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Day 1-2 Ver 2.0 :)

11 July, Day 1 trail version 2.0, 5.9 miles, Campsite. By CrocaDilly...first day on the trail for crocadilly and tail bone and first day back for papa wolf. We are hiking with cheeks and of course the boys! We eased into the trail with a steady six mile day starting at 3:44pm having been dropped off by papa wolfs mom at the Mohican outdoor center Nj. The first day for me was exhilarating taking those first few trepidatious steps waiting to see if something burns pulls or doesn't feel quite right but it was good and a relatively comfy start. The pack felt a wee bit heavy but we made good pAce enjoyed some gorgeous scenery saw our first fire tower and encountered some thunder and light rain. We set up camp easily enjoyed some home Made zucchini bread and Mac n cheese over the camp fire which was waiting for us thanks to the lovely cheeks! Her first solo camp fire yay! Have really enjoyed the first day and hiking with my boys! Mojo of course had to swim in a sWamp whilst wearing his pack it now smells really bad! Also gt a taste of trail magic! Someone had left sodas and water at a road so that was splendid - don't think getting trail magic within your first three miles is the norm though. Off to bed well past hiker midnight which is 9pm its half past ten! Happy  days :) By TailBone...Day 1 in the wilderness! Crikey! Hiked 6 miles from the Mohican Outdoor Center to the top of a mountain in New Jersey. The only specific location I could even attempt to give you is that we are somewhere past a fire tower and some power lines. When you see the smoke of a distant fire, feel free to howl and you will get most definitely get a response. If Crocadilly, me, and Papa Wolf were to represent a body, Crocadilly would be the head, followed by a long torso with me acting as the lower lumbar (apt since my trail name is Tailbone) and Papa Wolf acting as the legs. I was slow going to say the least, but when we traipsed into camp, I had a grand sense of accomplishment. Cheeks had a fire going which was great and even though it is really early in the regular world, we are all pretty tired, so it's about 9pm and I am laying in my tent writing this by headlamp (not a new fashion statement, I can assure you), about to fall asleep. Oh the times, they are a-changin'. Attempting to sleep without my beloved mountain of pillows will be great fun, I'm sure. To be real honest, it will probably be better for my back (haha!). Day 2 tomorrow-- wahooooo!   12 July, Day 2 trail version 2.0, 8.4 miles, Brink Road Shelter. From TailBone...reveling in the hills and valleys. It was harder today as I have developed blisters and am chafing. Holla! We had great views crossing Rattlesnake Mountain and although the trail is still pretty rocky, it's not unpleasant. Questioned myself on what the heck I was doing out here but upon entering the shelter site where we are staying tonight, again that sense of accomplishment felt awesome. We're hiking 12 miles tomorrow, which I'm a little nervous about since before yesterday, I don't remember ever even hiking more than 3 miles. But it will be a new experience and I'm also really excited about it. Better rest up-- I'm tired! (Btw it's not even 7:30! This is nuts!) 

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

BACK ON THE AT!!! tomorrow. :)

Hello Everyone,


I AM BACK on the trail as of Wed 11 July…WOOHOO!!!  For those that did not know, I was forced to come home on 1 June because some cowards broke into my house in New York. Infuriated, frustrated, and disappointed do not even come close to how it felt to have to leave the trail, end my goal of being called a "Thru-Hiker", and let down the charities I am raising money for. It has been a very long June 2012, but we have caught one of the low life's who was a part of it.  He has been charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor, so with luck he will spend 3-15 years in prison.


Now that this situation is well and truly in the hands of the Court and the wonderful State Troopers and Investigators who have been working the case, they have all encouraged me to get back on the trail. They have all said that this personal challenge and these two charities are far too important to let the actions of a few dirt bags destroy the rest of the adventure…and that they will call me if they need anything. I cannot thank them enough for all their support.


The best news is that Vicki is back from the UK, so she and my niece Mattie will be joining me and Mojo and Skye. Due to a festive 4th of July week with the "Wolf Pack", they have been given the trail names "Crocadillypig" (Vicki) and "TailBone" (Mattie). :)  Excellent names indeed. As I will not be able to complete a "Thru-Hike" this year, we have decided to "jump forward" and meet up with the "Wolf Pack"…the group I had been hiking with most of the trail. We will start near Delaware Water Gap on the New Jersey, Pennsylvania border. That leaves us only 900ish miles to go which keeps us on our scheduled of finishing mid to late September.


Thank you so much to all who continue to support our trip and who have donated to these wonderful charities. If all goes well, I will have walked 1600ish miles (73% of the trail) and Vicki and Mattie will have walked nearly 900 miles (40% of the trail. We will continue to update the every time we have phone service so you can follow along if interested.

We are still doing the "amount per pound" challenge as well. To date we have 6 folks who are participating. If interested, send us an e-mail. Remember, Mark will MATCH the TOTAL AMOUNT raised for this challenge, essentially doubling your donation. This is such a generous idea and we cannot thank Mark enough for this wonderful gesture.


I cannot express how happy I am to be able to get back on the trail, especially with Vicki and Mattie.  Thanks again for all your wonderful support!


All our Best,


Scott, Zip, and Trail Name - Papa Wolf.
Vicki - New Trail Name - Crocadillypig
Mattie - New Trail Name - TailBone