Thanks, first off, for reading this!
We are currently in New Jersey! This afternoon/evening/tomorrow morning are staying at a Hiker Hostel @ St Thomas Episcopal Church in Vernon, NJ. It's a sweet little set-up they have for hikers with laundry, shower and kitchen, and it's....DRY! As I write this (Preston) I'm in my moderately damp rain gear while my hiking clothes are in the wash. Abbey and I made it all the way through New York without any rain at all (which is not a good thing when you rely on rain for streams and springs...) until the last very 2 miles. Then it dumped. We were lucky enough that the rain stopped when we got to the state line to take our picture before unleashing another round of rain that lasted on and off until we were back on the trail this morning.
Let's see, a recap.
New York was a Smörgåsbord of terrain. One moment we'd be in some of the most beautiful pastoral landscapes with rolling hills and cows, yes, cows on the trail, and the next we'd be on a rock scramble with the reminder that we are actually Climbing Mountains. Then of course, throw in a train Station to NYC on the trail and some crazy highway crossings and then perfectly groomed trails and boardwalks, and you've got New York.
Some interesting things that happened in New York:
-We slept 30 feet next to said train tracks to NYC and laughed the first 1/2 dozen times it blew it's horn and blew our rainfly around
-We dealt with cow pies as an obstacle
-We hiked through a Zoo, while following the white blazes
-Crossed the Hudson via the Bear Mountain Bridge
-Had many encounters with Peregrine Falcons flying within 10 ft of us
-Had to carry 6+ liters of water at a time as there were no water sources for 12 miles...
-Got to have lunch at a gas station while following White Blazes
-Saw our first Rattlesnake (about a 4 ft long one)
-Walked out of the woods only to be encountered by a day-hiker saying: "Is now a good time to open up that Watermelon?" and then giving us more than 2/3rds of it.
- We got a taste of Jif Chocolate Silk, yes it's soooo good that it deserves to be on this list. We can't wait to actually get our hands on a couple jars.
-We resisted the urge to actually go INTO NYC, though we tried and failed a couple times...long story.
So now we're officially through our 1st Mid-Atlantic State, and into our second. NJ should be a 4 day endeavor or so, and then into PA, a uniquely challenging state.
We're 835 miles done.
In our 7th State, 1/2 the states!
Getting closer to that 1/2 way point of 1,091.4
As always, thanks for your love and support.
-P & A
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
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We update it everynight (as long as we can!)
http://tinyurl.com/p-a-appalachiantrail
We update it everynight (as long as we can!)
Mass/Conn
Hello!
We scooted our way through Massachusetts, a little slower than played but lavishly enjoyed the landscape, the people, and the unique opportunities that presented themselves along the way!
Since our last post, we had several days of RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, and even MORE rain. To make it more interesting, several of those experiences included ground shaking thunder and LOTS of lightning. ***MOM'S STOP READING NOW***
Seriously Mom's.
Okay so now that the parentals are gone...LIVING OUTSIDE can actually be quite frightening. Whether in a shelter, in a tent, or hiking through the forest, lightning and thunder mixed with downpours really complicate everything, especially in your mind. The brain is like, "GET INSIDE". And you're like, "ok, um, good idea, but uh, where do we go?" So that's been something we've gotten more 'used to', but it's still a little scary.
We had literally 10 miles of the hardest rain either of us had ever seen in our lives, but we just kept hiking. That day we ended with 21.5 miles and arrived in Dalton, MA. We had heard about a hostel that was kinda partyish and not our style but we had our minds on one thing "D-R-Y". We then figured out we had passed it a mile back and frustrated, walked further to a place we heard that a guy lets you tent on his lawn (like legit heard, not just on the trail, it was in our guide book...). So we get there and nobody's there, we wait 45 minutes and are about to leave when he pulls up. As I was building the courage to ask if we could tent on his porch vs the lawn (yeah still pouring down rain after 15 hours...) he says, "I have a place you guys can shower, Bring in any laundry that you want I'll be happy to do it for you, and I have a dry warm room with a double bed that's yours for the evening inside". Pretty much the best thing you can hear, or even dream up, the only thing that could have topped that is if he whipped up a batch of vegan chocolate chip cookies and delivered them to our bedroom...
So we stayed there. Next day we hiked about 11 miles in the warm sun! We stopped at the "Cookie Lady's" house for lemonade and some blueberry picking. $2 a lb for organic blueberries! We ended up tenting on the property which was amazing, orchards and farms and barns and chickens and an airstrip with an airplane... And we picked and picked and picked blueberries. I mowed an hour "work-for-stay" which was quite enjoyable, moreso than ever before.
The next day we hiked 11 miles to Upper Goose Pond, a free Bunkhouse/Cabin on a small lake/pond. It was nice to sleep on a mattress (like the 4'' who-knows-what-they're-made-of kind) and not have to worry about weather or hanging a bear bag. Coffee in the morning and a lovely little paddle around the pond in a canoe!
The next two days had beautiful landscapes of farms, rolling hills, rocky-topped mountains with gorgeous 360 views, and walks along rivers like the Housatonic sandwiched between water and cornfields. A highlight for me (P) was watching our buddy Kite Runner, fly his kite above a cornfield, it really set the mood for the day.
We crossed into Connecticut this morning and will be moving into NY early next week, maybe Monday or so. For those keeping up with Maildrops, we're over 1/3rd done, in Salisbury.
Some Stats 700 miles done
1500 miles left
5 States hiked in
9 State lines left
Anyway, we love you all.
Have fun!
-P & A
We scooted our way through Massachusetts, a little slower than played but lavishly enjoyed the landscape, the people, and the unique opportunities that presented themselves along the way!
Since our last post, we had several days of RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, and even MORE rain. To make it more interesting, several of those experiences included ground shaking thunder and LOTS of lightning. ***MOM'S STOP READING NOW***
Seriously Mom's.
Okay so now that the parentals are gone...LIVING OUTSIDE can actually be quite frightening. Whether in a shelter, in a tent, or hiking through the forest, lightning and thunder mixed with downpours really complicate everything, especially in your mind. The brain is like, "GET INSIDE". And you're like, "ok, um, good idea, but uh, where do we go?" So that's been something we've gotten more 'used to', but it's still a little scary.
We had literally 10 miles of the hardest rain either of us had ever seen in our lives, but we just kept hiking. That day we ended with 21.5 miles and arrived in Dalton, MA. We had heard about a hostel that was kinda partyish and not our style but we had our minds on one thing "D-R-Y". We then figured out we had passed it a mile back and frustrated, walked further to a place we heard that a guy lets you tent on his lawn (like legit heard, not just on the trail, it was in our guide book...). So we get there and nobody's there, we wait 45 minutes and are about to leave when he pulls up. As I was building the courage to ask if we could tent on his porch vs the lawn (yeah still pouring down rain after 15 hours...) he says, "I have a place you guys can shower, Bring in any laundry that you want I'll be happy to do it for you, and I have a dry warm room with a double bed that's yours for the evening inside". Pretty much the best thing you can hear, or even dream up, the only thing that could have topped that is if he whipped up a batch of vegan chocolate chip cookies and delivered them to our bedroom...
So we stayed there. Next day we hiked about 11 miles in the warm sun! We stopped at the "Cookie Lady's" house for lemonade and some blueberry picking. $2 a lb for organic blueberries! We ended up tenting on the property which was amazing, orchards and farms and barns and chickens and an airstrip with an airplane... And we picked and picked and picked blueberries. I mowed an hour "work-for-stay" which was quite enjoyable, moreso than ever before.
The next day we hiked 11 miles to Upper Goose Pond, a free Bunkhouse/Cabin on a small lake/pond. It was nice to sleep on a mattress (like the 4'' who-knows-what-they're-made-of kind) and not have to worry about weather or hanging a bear bag. Coffee in the morning and a lovely little paddle around the pond in a canoe!
The next two days had beautiful landscapes of farms, rolling hills, rocky-topped mountains with gorgeous 360 views, and walks along rivers like the Housatonic sandwiched between water and cornfields. A highlight for me (P) was watching our buddy Kite Runner, fly his kite above a cornfield, it really set the mood for the day.
We crossed into Connecticut this morning and will be moving into NY early next week, maybe Monday or so. For those keeping up with Maildrops, we're over 1/3rd done, in Salisbury.
Some Stats 700 miles done
1500 miles left
5 States hiked in
9 State lines left
Anyway, we love you all.
Have fun!
-P & A
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Hello from Bennington, Vermont!
We've had a very 'interesting' week of hiking. Some parts of Vermont are actually "flat", at least as flat as one can realistically expect hiking the Appalachian MOUNTAIN Range... We're still developing our Big Hill muscles in our legs and knees, completely different muscles than we used climbing straight up and straight down mountains in New Hampshire and Maine, we have finally found....drumroll please.....Switchbacks!
Beautiful views of rolling hills, pastures and farmland. We got a Hitch into Bennington, by a hiker, who was super friendly. We told him we wanted to go to the 'Rec Center' which allows hikers to use shower facilities. He informed us that the Rec Center was under renovation but he'd take us some place better.
Ends up, he took us to 'The Vortex', no joke it's what they call it. It's a former Hostel, that no longer is in operation due to one of the owners having health challenges. It's basically someone's home, more or less, with extra facilities. The guy that dropped us off said that she lets hikers leave their packs in her garage. Not only did she let us do that, she let us borrow some beach bikes, shower in her home, and then offered to let us spend the night. A really unique lady, dreadlocks down to almost her knees, who's a jazz drummer, and a big fan of skeletons, voodoo, and who knows what else...Oh and she's selling her house and she and her husband are going to live in their converted school bus for now on, for real. Apparently we're not the only free spirits currently in Vermont!
We originally weren't planning on spending the night, but due to some complications with the U.S. Postal Service, we decided to stay. Our Mail Drop had apparently opened in transit and arrived to us half empty. So we got to do some shopping.
This morning we wandered into a coffee shop, sat down, met some other people that are hiking the Long Trail, and ended up talking to them for over 6 hours. So now we're here at the library, which has blocked Facebook because: "The library is a temple for learning, not social media". And we're socially using internet media still to connect to you, our loves :)
We're really embracing our new pace of live, learning to be flexible when we have no other options, and just going with the flow of life instead of trying to canoe upstream without a paddle. Certain fears have vanished, as we know we're always provided for! We love and miss you all. Take care! Next time you hear from us we'll be in Mass or Conn.
-P & A (Spartan & DreamCatcher)
We've had a very 'interesting' week of hiking. Some parts of Vermont are actually "flat", at least as flat as one can realistically expect hiking the Appalachian MOUNTAIN Range... We're still developing our Big Hill muscles in our legs and knees, completely different muscles than we used climbing straight up and straight down mountains in New Hampshire and Maine, we have finally found....drumroll please.....Switchbacks!
Beautiful views of rolling hills, pastures and farmland. We got a Hitch into Bennington, by a hiker, who was super friendly. We told him we wanted to go to the 'Rec Center' which allows hikers to use shower facilities. He informed us that the Rec Center was under renovation but he'd take us some place better.
Ends up, he took us to 'The Vortex', no joke it's what they call it. It's a former Hostel, that no longer is in operation due to one of the owners having health challenges. It's basically someone's home, more or less, with extra facilities. The guy that dropped us off said that she lets hikers leave their packs in her garage. Not only did she let us do that, she let us borrow some beach bikes, shower in her home, and then offered to let us spend the night. A really unique lady, dreadlocks down to almost her knees, who's a jazz drummer, and a big fan of skeletons, voodoo, and who knows what else...Oh and she's selling her house and she and her husband are going to live in their converted school bus for now on, for real. Apparently we're not the only free spirits currently in Vermont!
We originally weren't planning on spending the night, but due to some complications with the U.S. Postal Service, we decided to stay. Our Mail Drop had apparently opened in transit and arrived to us half empty. So we got to do some shopping.
This morning we wandered into a coffee shop, sat down, met some other people that are hiking the Long Trail, and ended up talking to them for over 6 hours. So now we're here at the library, which has blocked Facebook because: "The library is a temple for learning, not social media". And we're socially using internet media still to connect to you, our loves :)
We're really embracing our new pace of live, learning to be flexible when we have no other options, and just going with the flow of life instead of trying to canoe upstream without a paddle. Certain fears have vanished, as we know we're always provided for! We love and miss you all. Take care! Next time you hear from us we'll be in Mass or Conn.
-P & A (Spartan & DreamCatcher)
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Hello everybody! It's been forever since we've updated this, we apologize! We've had some logistical issues with getting ahold of ample internet time, and by the time we get done with the 'business' stuff, we get kicked off. So in the 10 minutes remaining at this library, here we go!
We made it Deet free in Maine! Absolutely beautiful, magical, Maine. Maine was also extremely wet, muddy, boggy, EXTREMELY full of mosquitos and black flies, but also full of Moose, Loons, and a ton of other beautiful wildlife and ponds, lakes, streams, etc. We slept near or next to water almost every night.
New Hampshire....Oh, New Hampshire. New Hampshire was full of Dramatic Landscapes. Lots of Hard Climbs, mostly straight up and down Mountains, I think we saw 3 switchbacks through the entire state. Also the White Mountains. We had some crazy weather. On Mt. Washington, we had 5 foot visibility, 70 MPH gusts with 40-60 mph constant winds, oh and freezing rain and sleet! It was quite an experience to hike in that, felt like survival mode for sure, because you really could die in that type of weather. We also had some of the most beautifully serene moments watching the sunrise over Mt. Madison, and 10 miles of exposed ridgewalking at a time. Not quite as 'hard' as we had expected, because the terrain was a lot better than Maine, but some super challenging climbs that left us and our knees/feet begging for easier times...
Now we're in Vermont, we're in love. Both us together, and us with the state. We saw pasture for the first time our first day in VT. We've also been doing our biggest mileage in VT so far. Oh and we pretty much have unlimited access to blackberries and raspberries as long as we don't mind picking them ourselves. We literally had to bushwhack through a Raspberry Bramble the other day where it had grown over the trail. We stop constantly to eat berries, which is bad for our pace, but fantastic for our bellies. The beautiful views of pastures and rolling hills are breathtaking. We've pretty much decided to move here. Oh and Maple Syrup, did we mention that? We're Technically on the 'Long Trail' now, the AT and the LT share the same trail for the next 150 miles, kinda neat, we'll have done over 50% of the LT when we're done with the state.
Logistically everything is going well. We're healthy, stronger by the day, safe all the time, and happy to be sharing this experience together. We've had plenty of food and water, our shelter: The Big Agnes Copper Spur 2 is pretty much the best thing ever, and the communities have embraced hiking. We've done a lot of things we thought we couldn't do, and are inspired to do more big things in the future (we met 2 sisters that biked from Washington State to Maine, we met them in NH, 4 days from their finish, that was quite fun to share similar experiences with one another).
Some people have asked how they can contact us while we're hiking, here is the email that we just sent to our family. Take care, we love you all, thank you for your support.
P & A
Hello All!
We got the next section of our guide in the mail (we chopped the original up into pieces to reduce weight but that kinda backfired with planning....haha oh well) and here are the next 9 Mail Drops and the Approximate dates AS OF NOW that we think we'll be there. As always, we LOVE letters from you all.
Remember, anything you send us would need to get there before the dates listed, so take note of that. We're hoping to start up our 'jet packs' and start flying through, we'll see though. We're working on some extended (2-5 days) rest periods when we're going through NJ and when we're near DC. Otherwise, our job is hiking, and we plan to do it well! We hope to have to update this and tell you we're getting somewhere sooner. If in doubt, just send it to one town ahead of where you think we'll be to make sure we get it.
Everything is going great, Vermont is a little harder than anticipated, but we're getting back into the right mindset. We're over 20% done, and going to be crossing our 500 mile mark tomorrow. Ones with ** are pending right now, we have to check that we actually are sending it to the right city as there are two close by, we'll let you know if those are not accurate.
As a reminder the format is as follows:
Preston & Abbey Stohs
c/o General Delivery
City, State, Zip
*Please hold for thru-hikers, EDA _______* (EDA--is the estimated date of our arrival, listed below)
MD9 Bennington, VA 05201
EDA - Aug 6th
MD10 Tyringham, MA 01264
EDA - Aug 11th
MD11 Salisbury, CT 06068
EDA - Aug 14th
MD12 Stormville, NY 12582
EDA - Aug 18th
***MD13 Greenwood Lake, NY 10925***
EDA - Aug 21st
MD14 Delaware Water Gap, PA 18327
EDA - Aug 26th
MD15 Port Clinton, PA 19549
EDA - Sept 1st
MD16 Boiling Springs, PA 17007
EDA - Sept 7th
***MD17 Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214***
EDA - Sept 10th
That's what we got. Hope you are all well, happy, and healthy. We think about you all the time.
Love,
Preston & Abbey
We made it Deet free in Maine! Absolutely beautiful, magical, Maine. Maine was also extremely wet, muddy, boggy, EXTREMELY full of mosquitos and black flies, but also full of Moose, Loons, and a ton of other beautiful wildlife and ponds, lakes, streams, etc. We slept near or next to water almost every night.
New Hampshire....Oh, New Hampshire. New Hampshire was full of Dramatic Landscapes. Lots of Hard Climbs, mostly straight up and down Mountains, I think we saw 3 switchbacks through the entire state. Also the White Mountains. We had some crazy weather. On Mt. Washington, we had 5 foot visibility, 70 MPH gusts with 40-60 mph constant winds, oh and freezing rain and sleet! It was quite an experience to hike in that, felt like survival mode for sure, because you really could die in that type of weather. We also had some of the most beautifully serene moments watching the sunrise over Mt. Madison, and 10 miles of exposed ridgewalking at a time. Not quite as 'hard' as we had expected, because the terrain was a lot better than Maine, but some super challenging climbs that left us and our knees/feet begging for easier times...
Now we're in Vermont, we're in love. Both us together, and us with the state. We saw pasture for the first time our first day in VT. We've also been doing our biggest mileage in VT so far. Oh and we pretty much have unlimited access to blackberries and raspberries as long as we don't mind picking them ourselves. We literally had to bushwhack through a Raspberry Bramble the other day where it had grown over the trail. We stop constantly to eat berries, which is bad for our pace, but fantastic for our bellies. The beautiful views of pastures and rolling hills are breathtaking. We've pretty much decided to move here. Oh and Maple Syrup, did we mention that? We're Technically on the 'Long Trail' now, the AT and the LT share the same trail for the next 150 miles, kinda neat, we'll have done over 50% of the LT when we're done with the state.
Logistically everything is going well. We're healthy, stronger by the day, safe all the time, and happy to be sharing this experience together. We've had plenty of food and water, our shelter: The Big Agnes Copper Spur 2 is pretty much the best thing ever, and the communities have embraced hiking. We've done a lot of things we thought we couldn't do, and are inspired to do more big things in the future (we met 2 sisters that biked from Washington State to Maine, we met them in NH, 4 days from their finish, that was quite fun to share similar experiences with one another).
Some people have asked how they can contact us while we're hiking, here is the email that we just sent to our family. Take care, we love you all, thank you for your support.
P & A
Hello All!
We got the next section of our guide in the mail (we chopped the original up into pieces to reduce weight but that kinda backfired with planning....haha oh well) and here are the next 9 Mail Drops and the Approximate dates AS OF NOW that we think we'll be there. As always, we LOVE letters from you all.
Remember, anything you send us would need to get there before the dates listed, so take note of that. We're hoping to start up our 'jet packs' and start flying through, we'll see though. We're working on some extended (2-5 days) rest periods when we're going through NJ and when we're near DC. Otherwise, our job is hiking, and we plan to do it well! We hope to have to update this and tell you we're getting somewhere sooner. If in doubt, just send it to one town ahead of where you think we'll be to make sure we get it.
Everything is going great, Vermont is a little harder than anticipated, but we're getting back into the right mindset. We're over 20% done, and going to be crossing our 500 mile mark tomorrow. Ones with ** are pending right now, we have to check that we actually are sending it to the right city as there are two close by, we'll let you know if those are not accurate.
As a reminder the format is as follows:
Preston & Abbey Stohs
c/o General Delivery
City, State, Zip
*Please hold for thru-hikers, EDA _______* (EDA--is the estimated date of our arrival, listed below)
MD9 Bennington, VA 05201
EDA - Aug 6th
MD10 Tyringham, MA 01264
EDA - Aug 11th
MD11 Salisbury, CT 06068
EDA - Aug 14th
MD12 Stormville, NY 12582
EDA - Aug 18th
***MD13 Greenwood Lake, NY 10925***
EDA - Aug 21st
MD14 Delaware Water Gap, PA 18327
EDA - Aug 26th
MD15 Port Clinton, PA 19549
EDA - Sept 1st
MD16 Boiling Springs, PA 17007
EDA - Sept 7th
***MD17 Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214***
EDA - Sept 10th
That's what we got. Hope you are all well, happy, and healthy. We think about you all the time.
Love,
Preston & Abbey
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