Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) Gaywings (Polygamy paucifolia) A member of the Milkwort family. May Apple (Polyphony peltatum) Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) The more rare, yellow Lady’s Slipper can also be found in Pennsylvania, but we have not seen one. Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense) Jack-In-The-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) The flower is at the bottom of the […]

During our third week of hiking we left the Commonwealth of Virginia, moved through West Virginia and Maryland…and now walk through the mountains and valleys of Pennsylvania. A few friends that told us to tell y’all hi! :–)

Before Steve left Wilderness Voyagers, the back-packing shop he worked at for ten years, he was able to aquire over forty dehydrated meals below cost.  These light-weight meals cost $8-10 US today – so this was quite a stash. I was somewhat skeptical of the quality of fifteen-year old food, but they do taste fine!

Over the past four or so days we’ve stayed in shelters and (sometimes) hiked with four great dudes from Florida (one now residing in Virginia). David was with us when we crossed the Va/WV a line…hilarity ensued… http://youtu.be/q0-jCOLeT70 We spotted our first morel mushroom one evening at our campsite.  The next morning we found several […]

Bloodroot (Sanguinea Canadensis) Flower stem has orange-red sap. Trout Lily (Erythromycin americanum) The name comes from the leaf coloration. Dutchman’s Breeches (Dentaria cucullarial) Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) Round Lobed Hepatica (Hepatica americana) Large-Flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) Sky Meadows State Park in VA has over 9 million specimens. We were a few days early of the big […]

Made it to Front Royal…still alive & smilin’.

We have now been in the Shenandoah Valley for 4 days, and have begun knocking out the miles by doing “assisted” (meaning being shuttled to and from the trail and taking a few days off now and then) day-hikes and a 2-day over-nighter to shake down our gear and get in better trail-shape. On the […]

Today was our first day of hiking.  We did nine miles in the Shenandoah National Park.  That is 0.4% of the trail length.  Tomorrow we rest, then hike for two consecutive days. There is no correct way to prepare for an AT through-hike.  We used various exercise techniques to gain strength and endurance.   LUNGES […]

Traditionally, AT hikers start in Georgia and walk north to Maine.  We will start in the middle: The trail start in Georgia can be crowded.  Two to three-thousand people attempt the AT by starting at Springer Mountain (north of Atlanta) from early February through the end of April. There are days when 50+ hopeful “through-hikers” […]