Rocky Road

Now that we got that out of our systems. Thank you all for your encouragement after our last post. Let's just say we were more than a little fed up with this hiking business. We're continuing north, and we should be in New Jersey on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. Today we're in Palmerton, PA after a thirty mile rock scramble with stellar views but rough, rough, rough trail. I'm guessing we'll both be on our fourth pair of boots by New England. Palmerton is an interesting little town/EPA superfund site with a curious absence of trees on the surrounding mountainsides from the former zinc smelting operation. At one time this area was probably beautiful, but this afternoon we will be climbing another rousing round of exposed rock, compliments of acid rain. The climb out of Palmerton is supposedly the toughest thing south of New Hampshire's White mountains, and we'll let you know how that goes next post. Our morale is slowly rising (buying that fly rod at Cabela's helped me out quite a bit), but Maine still seems a long way off (probably because it is). Jess and I are holding up well, and we're back in a group of some of our old hiking buddies. In the last week we have had some wild experiences, but I think being conscripted as farm labor for an afternoon was the best. We spent an entire afternoon following an antique farmer on an antique John Deere tractor planting pumpkins and gourds at his orchard/farm. For what you ask? A ride to the Cabela's superstore...worth it. It's a long, but good, story so you'll have to ask us about it some day. Congratulations to Amelia and Kieth on their baby boy, and congratulations to Emy for her book signing. We look forward to reading the newborn and meeting the book when we return...strike that, reverse it. Sorry, we watched Willy Wonka in a hotel room a while ago. Jess just called me a weirdo. Anyway, the trail is calling, and we've got to go stick our thumbs out to catch a ride back. We have to hurry, it being naked hike day and all. Thanks again for all the encouraging comments after our last pessimistic post. We hope all is going well at home, and we love and miss you all.

Stomp and Shuffles

The Thrill is Gone

Okay, I'll try not to sound pesimistic, but this is getting old. Jess and I are getting more than a little frustrated after1130 miles on the trail. During a thunderstorm last week, we crested a ridge and both subconsciously thought about how great it would be to be struck, but not killed, by lightning, providing us with an honorable discharge from this 2000 mile death march. As usual, things aren't nearly as bad as the mind makes them out to be, but we are very road weary. We're taking a day off tomorrow and contemplating a trip to a nearby bluegrass music festival to raise moral. Anyway, we're sticking to it for now. The weather has been ungodly hot, the trail has been incredibly rocky, but nether are the root cause of our poor morale. Really, to be honest, we just aren't having very much fun right now. We have decided to postpone any talk of surrender for the moment, and we want to give it another week to solidify our thoughts and feelings. The weather is supposed to cool off later this week, and the terrain is fairly forgiving, so we think things may clear up soon. We are not exactly alone in the quitter camp, as many hikers tend to feel the same way after passing the halfway point and failing to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our decision is to forget about the summit at Katahdin and to make every effort to enjoy the time we have together without regard for forward progress. I think we will be fine and will clear our heads of this nonsensical quitter talk, but I don't know if we're moving fast enough to finish at our five month goal. Anyway, who cares about finishing; barring nuclear war or a meteor impact, the trail will be there when we are ready. I don't mean to sound gloomy or depressing, but I want to be honest and keep everyone abreast of our situation. We still consider it quite an achievement to have made it this far, and we look forward to the ground we have yet to cover. We should be stopping in NYC early next month to visit some friends, and hopefully we will continue pushing northward. Don't worry about us or our morale...if you know us at all, you will realize that we will have a good time regardless of the circumstances. We hope all is well at home, and we may see you sooner than you think. Who's to say what will happen. Blah, blah, blah...sounds like Jon's on another Dennis Leary rant. Hope everyone is enjoying the summer, however scorching it may be. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Holed up in Harpers Ferry

So I lied; you're hearing from us sooner than expected. We're convieniently in historic Harpers Ferry, hiding from the severe weather that is moving through the area this afternoon. The town is remarkably well preserved and full of interesting museums and exhibits. As soon as the weather passes, we'll cross the Patomic and spend the night in Maryland. Jess and I are sore and tired, but we are holding up well. Yesterday we became 1000 milers as we exited Virginia after over a month and 500 miles within the state. We spent last night in nearby Charles Town watching Obama clinch the final delegates he needed to secure the Democratic nomination. Luckily, we've missed most of the mumbo jumbo on tv about the primary elections. Just another thing we're glad to leave behind as we try to lead simpler lives, if only for a short time. Apparently we missed the memo about the civil war never ending because we've encountered any amazing amount of people in northern VA that are still active confederates. They seem harmless, but if I hear one more toothless derilect utter 'the south will rise again' I might have to laugh in their face. And these jerkoffs make fun of Kentucky! P.S. It's called Antietam, not Sharpsburg. Get a map made after 1865 and look for yourselves. If it's in Maryland, they get to name it. One moron was even trying to convince me of Lee's military brilliance by citing his retreat from the battlefield (which he later corrected and called it a tactical withdrawl). I think the word he was avoiding was massacre. Anyway, that was a tangent and a half. I don' think anyone has been this excited to cross the Mason-Dixon line since the underground railroad. Blah, blah, blah...we need to do more hiking and less complaining. It's still storming, but my legs are getting restless. Let's blow this popsicle stand. P.S.S. Jess smells like a yeti.
P.S.S.S. I hate yetis.