Shannon's Appalachian Journey: August 2016

I left the trail with a smile, and very sore, swollen feet…but definitely a smile! It was time to go and I could accept it because my body was telling, or yelling, for me to take a break and heal. No more pushing in misery, every step hurting, and no more ignoring the tell tale signs of “enough is enough”. I hiked 622.3 miles of the Appalachian Trial this summer and am so very proud of what I have accomplished. I did extremely well and often paid a big price for big miles, but that’s what you do to get where you need, or want to be. You expect to hurt and you undoubtedly know it will be hard, but you can’t imagine how much you underestimate both of these things until you're actually doing it. I wouldn’t change a thing and feel so incredibly lucky (with my crazy life) to have found the time to do what I did. I met some amazing people and made some wonderful friends. I ate wild blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and filtered the most delicious water from mountain streams. I slept above rattlesnakes (I'm sure...) and with wolf spiders big enough to have an address, but I survived, I even thrived! I would say to anyone who was thinking of taking on this, or any trail…Freaking Go For It!!!! It made me stronger physically and mentally, and forever changed who I am…I am a backpacker, a hiker, and I am a badass!

~Curlz
AT Section Hiker 2016

It's been an adventure already...as expected really. I had a couple days solo, which were awesome and peaceful (except for the trains all night long in Boiling Springs...skip this fucking place), I made some good time too. I met up with Croft on my third day...all kinds of excited! So great to be hiking with my tramily girl again. Its hot, humid, with scarce water supplies, and shelters crazy miles apart, but onward we go like crazy people. As usual, the trail has its share of surprises. So, carrying extra water in an already weighty pack we move forward through boulder feilds and stone steps in good ole PA. Day 2 together, after an 11 mile morning getting into Duncannon, I pick up my re-up box at the Doyle Dump Hotel. We have lunch and venture on to a shelter 4 long miles in, it felt like 10!! Anyway, next day were planning a 20+ mile day and 4 miles in Crofts hip belt buckle on her pack breaks. Thankfully we were close to a road crossing and were able to secure a ride back to Duncannon, of course the closest place to rectify this issue was behind us...and at a dump hotel😜. Whatever, at least it will be fixed and she didn't have to carry that weight on her shoulders for long. Our luck on the trail is beyond expectations! We miss rain by mere minutes, we get random free rides somehow, and trail magic has its way of coming to us too (popsicles were awesome in the heat yesterday just as we were commenting how hot it was). The guy who gave us a ride didn't want gas money (again😀) and ended up taking us the whole way even though he only agreed to a few miles...he was fun! Guess he liked us enough to put up with our smells. Now we wait for her part to arrive because Kelty overnighted it to her. Hooray, hoping to be back on the trail today and it looks like a pleasant week as far as temps and rain. Looking forward to putting Dumpcannon behind us (again) as well as PA altogether! These boulders can kiss my ankles goodbye.😉😜😬