My Appalachian Trail adventure

[corksil]

wait I just read that again, who is guardian?

The plot thickens.

[ally99]

Originally Posted by corksil

Am I reading this correctly?

If the dog is cold, and you are cold, cuddle for warmth. Common sense. You don't have to tell anyone or blog about it, just do what must be done.

Staying alive is an art, not a symphony. Someone/something might be playing out of key, but the music still must be made. When the music stops, we all die.

Mush on, trooper.

Reading it twice, you didn't see that she snuggled between us? Duh, of course we were cuddling...necessity or not, there was beauty in that night. So

I blog about what I want. You certainly don't have to read it.

[alex.s]

Link to original page on YouTube.

[ally99]

Well, that was, um, neat.

[ally99]

Holy hell, working 3 jobs makes time FLY BY! I'm just over a month away from starting my journey! I'll be starting in West Virginia and will hike north, hopefully to Maine. I'll have to find a ride from Maine back to West Va and from there I'll hike south and walk myself home to Ga. Hypothetically. We shall see.
Updated my trail journal today: www.trailjournal.com/twistwrist

[ally99]

One month from today, I'll be hitting the trail to somewhere.

[ally99]

Holy hell y'all, I'm 16 days from living in the woods for 6-7 months. Woah! Bring it!

[ally99]

Hey all!
One week from today, my adventure begins.
I'll do my best to check in on Ninjette from time to time, but it won't happen as frequently as it has in the past.
This is and always will be my FAVORITE forum of cool folks! I've met many of you multiple times in person, and I'm lucky as hell to have tight friends from all over the country thanks to @Alex and his beautiful creation here.

Expect a VERY detailed trip report with lots of pictures upon my return in 6-8 months.

Check in on this thread and keep up with me via my trail journal at: www.trailjournal.com/twistwrist if you're interested.

Safe journeys to all of you. Keep the rubber side down. Trust me, feels better that way.

[csmith12]

Good luck, have fun and take plenty of pics too! Don't forget that friends come in all shapes, sizes and genus.

Loose yourself in the forest, find your true self in nature and you will come back a better person. - csmith12

[Alex]

Have a blast, Ally!

[DEFY]

Enjoy Ally, remember squirrel is pretty tasty @akima

[ally99]

Originally Posted by DEFY

Enjoy Ally, remember squirrel is pretty tasty @akima

I would never kill a squirrel.

[allanoue]

I am so green with jealousy. Just to be so unplugged for so long. Good luck and have fun.

[akima]

Originally Posted by ally99

I would never kill a squirrel.

S'ok. If you don't eat us we'll just end up eating pavement at some point from our indecisiveness when it comes to crossing roads.

Hmm, go now?
Better not, not enough time.
Nah, there probably is enough time.
Thought about it too long, definitely can't go now.
F*CK IT, I'M GOING

~ half way across the road ~

OH GAWD THIS IS GONNA BE CLOSE
Better turn back.

~ and the rest is history ~

Have a great trip Ally.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by ally99

Hey all!
One week from today, my adventure begins.

You are as brave as cool and impressive !!!

Safe journey to you as well

[ally99]

Originally Posted by Motofool

You are as brave as cool and impressive !!!

Safe journey to you as well

I'm totally none of the above, but thanks.

[ally99]

Updated my trail journal tonight. Link in signature.

Leaving tomorrow. Later y'all!

[Jono]

You are awesome! Enjoy the journey and be safe!

[ally99]

Hey all! Life is amazing! Started the trail around 9am Friday and last night made it to the town I didn't think I'd see til Tuesday or Wednesday. I've hiked 42 miles in 3 days. Not too shabby of a start. I feel amazing! I've met up with hikers I've met earlier this year and met several new friends as well. I'm taking a zero day today to let my feet rest, reorganize myself, and wait out the severe storm system coming this way. I'm staying at a hiker B&B with two other hikers. $25 gets you a room, a delicious home cooked breakfast, a foot massager thingy, and a ride to and from the trail.

It has been an epic 3 days. The trail itself and the people associated with it are extraordinary! A few pictures below. (Dammit. Can't get them to upload here for some reason. Oh well. They're all on Facebook. )

Hope to update my trail journal today too. Cheers!

[ally99]

Very slow uploads, but here are a few pics.

[LittleRedNinjette]

Beautiful pictures!

*goes off to read thread*

[ally99]

Celebrating 100 miles on trail today! Celebrating with a of course.

I started a my hike a mile south of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia a week ago today. I've slept in trail shelters, hiker hostels, in my tiny tent at campsites and even stealth camping out in the woods alone. I've listened to owls and coyotes sing me to sleep in the woods, dealt with gnats unceasingly dive-bombing my eyes, felt muscles and feet protesting the next downward step (because down hurts worse than up...did y'all know that?), and blisters covering the backs of my sweaty feet that no Band-aid can adhere to.

I've woken up at 5am with the birds and the sun every day, on the trail bright and early. I've belted out tunes from Gary Puckett to Radiohead to Pearl Jam from the top of a mountain. I've cried a bit, laughed a lot, smiled, hummed, thought, and proven myself TO myself in ways I have needed to for a while. I've listened to the woods in the waking morning, felt its brutal heat in the afternoons, taken its punishing steep and rocky steps. I've met people, wonderful people, who stand out from the rest of the society due to their benevolence and willingness to go out of their way to help a weary hiker. Friends, recurring and new, are ubiquitous on the trail. My family and friends back home have filled my life with warmth and support that astounds me.

I'm having the time of my life! I could not be richer.

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by ally99

Celebrating 100 miles on trail today! Celebrating with a of course.

I started a my hike a mile south of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia a week ago today. I've slept in trail shelters, hiker hostels, in my tiny tent at campsites and even stealth camping out in the woods alone. I've listened to owls and coyotes sing me to sleep in the woods, dealt with gnats unceasingly dive-bombing my eyes, felt muscles and feet protesting the next downward step (because down hurts worse than up...did y'all know that?), and blisters covering the backs of my sweaty feet that no Band-aid can adhere to.

I've woken up at 5am with the birds and the sun every day, on the trail bright and early. I've belted out tunes from Gary Puckett to Radiohead to Pearl Jam from the top of a mountain. I've cried a bit, laughed a lot, smiled, hummed, thought, and proven myself TO myself in ways I have needed to for a while. I've listened to the woods in the waking morning, felt its brutal heat in the afternoons, taken its punishing steep and rocky steps. I've met people, wonderful people, who stand out from the rest of the society due to their benevolence and willingness to go out of their way to help a weary hiker. Friends, recurring and new, are ubiquitous on the trail. My family and friends back home have filled my life with warmth and support that astounds me.

I'm having the time of my life! I could not be richer.

I envy you. I wanted to have a beer tonight but had to settle for Rum and Coke.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by ally99

Updated my trail journal tonight. Link in signature.

Updated your sig so the link is embedded.

[ally99]

Thanks, @Alex! In Wind Gap, PA today waiting out the monsoon. Will finish PA Monday and cross into New Jersey! New York isn't far behind! Yeah!!

[ally99]

Fresh/wild bluberries!

[CC Cowboy]

It's an amazing feet, and stinky too!

[JohnnyBravo]

Best story I've heard in a while!

[LittleRedNinjette]

great pics!

[Renegade]

Looks and sounds like you're having fun!

[ally99]

300 mile journal

Over three weeks have passed since I began my hike of the Appalachian Trail...300 miles and four states hiked with 30-40 pounds on my back. This hundred mile section brought constant undulations and widely varying terrain. Brutally enthralling with unrelenting miles of tens of thousands of unavoidable rocks, all pointed upwards, their sharp points like daggers from the Earth just tearing into a hiker's exhausted feet, simultaneously dodging unavoidable poison ivy which apparently is native to this area; gray, cold, relentless days of rain; soaking, slopping shoes slipping and sliding over impossibly slick rocks and stomping through the deep mud and streams that cover the trail after a hard rain; agonizing shin pain with every step (oops...may have irritated that medial tibia a bit). I have experienced being dive-bombed by an angry, screeching hawk on a long bridge leading out of town with no escape. I have fallen and broken a trekking pole on the tractionless wet rocks that give Pennsylvania the nickname, "The Shoe Destroyer". Wildlife has ranged from a timber rattlesnake a few feet away, a 5-foot long rat snake blocking the width of the trail, a mama turkey crossing the path with her 6 babies following her like little ducklings, deer gazing as I pass at a close distance, multiple daily bear sightings by fellow hikers and innumerable butterflies dancing in my path. Myriad breathtaking ridge line views on sunny 78 degree days that have found me gazing down into towns, countryside, and watching the homes, the traffic, the world exist below. Limitless wild blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries line the trail and flowers as pretty as a painting can bring smiles when least expected. At times, the trail leads into a scene that looks like walking into a postcard. At others, I trustingly follow the white blazes through twisting, tangled trees that give the forest an eerie, haunted feel where a fairy tale evil witch might reside.

Friends have been made, hiker bonds have been formed, and I found part of what we call our trail family. We mostly hike alone but plan our evening stops at the same shelter, campsite, or town. We split the cost of rooms when we take zero mile days in towns. Earth and Columbo have been big parts of this hundred miles! From campfires to ghost stories, to lullabies and zero days painting the towns, it's been a whirlwind of experiences, both on and off trail. Abundant laughter and goofy memories seem to be theme of this hundred miles.

Out here, pure joy is found in many things we take for granted back home: a cold bath in a mountain spring after a sweaty, humid hike; a bird singing a good morning tune and seeming to follow you down the trail with her sweet song; two hour naps under the clouds on a day when the body has no more to give; a ride into town from passersby who take pity on the bedraggled hikers trudging along the road; the taste of a hot, cheesy slice of pizza; finding oneself in a shelter surrounded by friends while the thunder booms and the rain pours from the sky; trail magic three days in a row ranging from coolers in the woods loaded with various goodies to stumbling upon fun people grilling hamburgers and hot dogs at random road stops.
All this experienced in less than a week. All this in only 100 miles of a trail in the woods. I can't wait to see what the next hundred miles bring!!

[ally99]

Apparently I forgot to post my 200 mile journal too, so here it is from about a week ago:

200 mile journal entry

Every hundred miles, my goal is to journal a summary to share with you all. I'm zeroing at 191 miles today. Close enough.

This week, filled with soaking shoes, slippery stones, silly stories, swollen feet, magic moments, and cleansing, gutteral laughter has been riddled with rocky ups and downs, both literally and figuratively. Endless wet, ankle-twisting rocks as slick as if they'd been rained on with melted butter; swollen feet I barely even recognize as my own; days of gloomy rain and drizzle with fog blanketing any hope of a possible view followed by days of sunny warmth and fresh mountain air; odd encounters and lessons learned from people off the trail; the indescribable feeling of gratitude that comes from being indoors during a nighttime rainstorm; magic human beings who get pleasure from providing grateful hikers with places to stay, sandwiches, coolers of drinks, or even showing up at a shelter with tables full of food; storytellers from all walks of life. In a week, my time has been filled with eccentrically diverse hikers such as a teenage writer on a hike with her mom; a German fellow, "Earth", whom I was lucky enough to pass in a field ten days ago who has brought genuine, gut-clenching, tear-producing laughter into my daily existence; an older gentleman, trail name "Paul with Bunyons", who's lived a life that comes alive in riveting stories told by a gifted storyteller; a surprise encounter with Cheswick, a friend I met three months ago on an entirely different trail who helped me navigate my way around Duncannon; trail angels Bob and Sue, 219 Market Street, who open their home, their cooler, their grill, and their company as hikers trudge into Duncannon searching for rest; Linda who sets up trail magic sandwich stations; Pennsylvania Mule who was there when needed a trail angel the most; Alice who blesses hikers with tables full of food biannually at the 501 shelter...the stories, the people, the views, and the ups and downs are endless. The perfunctory daily routine of setting daily goals, walking miles with your belongings on your back, snacking, filtering water, cooking dinner, setting up camp, taking down camp, packing only to unpack a few hours later somehow morph into a series of unforgettable moments and the adventure of a lifetime! To sum up my week, laughter truly is an instant vacation...or even better. Rain sucks, but the sun will shine again and the streams will be full. Trail life, though exhaustingly difficult at times, is a daily reminder of just how little one really needs to be at peace in our world. Happy trails, friends!

[Motofool]

We are all very happy for you, Allyson !!!

[CC Cowboy]

You're not back yet! What are you only using one foot and hopping up the trail?

The good part is, walking back you'll know the way.

[ally99]

Thanks! I wish it was easier for me to post pictures on our forum from my mobile, but alas, it isn't. Words will have to do.

[LittleRedNinjette]

you better post them when you get back!

Glad to hear all is well out there!

[accumack]

Thanks for posting your adventure. I really enjoy reading your posts.

[ally99]

Found a computer! Pics coming...

[ally99]

[LittleRedNinjette]

Beautiful!!