It has been way too long since we have posted, but contrary to popular belief, we are not dead.
We had a nice 37 mile hike south of the James River in central Virginia in May 2011. I will have to provide an update on that one later, in addition to the last day hike in Maryland, which had its moments.
Tomorrow, Rhino and Bullfrog and our other brother, Skeet, will begin into Pennsylvania, taking on about 30 miles over 3 days. We will provide a post and picture when we get back -- if we get back.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Sunday, October 17, 2010
By the Numbers: Status to Date
2: Sections of the trail that we've completed (Northern Virginia/Maryland and Shenandoah National Park)
4: States in which we've hiked (Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania [so it's a 1/10 of a mile?])
4: Dayhikes it took to complete Maryland
5: Years that we've been doing this
7: Maps that we've completed (Maryland, 2 Northern Virginia, 3 Shenandoah National Park, 1 Central Virginia)
12.8: Percentage of the entire trail that we've completed
234: Miles that we've hiked in Virginia
279: Total miles that we've hiked -- From the Mason-Dixon Line to the James River
316: Miles left in Virginia
1900: Miles remaining of the entire Trail
2,179: The entire AT, our one goal
4: States in which we've hiked (Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania [so it's a 1/10 of a mile?])
4: Dayhikes it took to complete Maryland
5: Years that we've been doing this
7: Maps that we've completed (Maryland, 2 Northern Virginia, 3 Shenandoah National Park, 1 Central Virginia)
12.8: Percentage of the entire trail that we've completed
234: Miles that we've hiked in Virginia
279: Total miles that we've hiked -- From the Mason-Dixon Line to the James River
316: Miles left in Virginia
1900: Miles remaining of the entire Trail
2,179: The entire AT, our one goal
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
On to the James River
On July 24-26, 2009, Rhino & Bullfrog continued their journey south on the AT, picking up from where they left off in August 2008 at Hog Camp Gap. But just getting there was a chore as we began to fully be impressed by how far south we have hiked in total.
After meeting up at Gander Mt. for some last minute supplies, we hopped on 81 South, settling in for a couple of hours. We were glad that the traffic in the Northbound lanes was not in our -- or that we were not bound for the north -- as that traffic was stopped or slowed for some 40 miles as the result of three separate accidents. Nevertheless, before our exit, I was beginning to worry about my car which is really showing the signs of its age ... and that little leak in the radiator. Oh, and the CV joints badly in need of replacing.
After stopping in Lexington for some grub and some replenishment of my precious automobile fluids, we headed back over the Interstate and away from cell phone coverage. Passing through Buena Vista, we went past Glasgow and followed the James River east and found the AT footbridge and parked my poor little car there. I hopped into the successor to Gray Ghost and we went back through Buena Vista before heading back to east again into the wilderness and up the Forest Service road that is the only means to Hog Camp Gap.
As we picked up our third leg of the Central Virginia section of the AT, we weren't sure how many hikers we'd see on this trip. Not only was it a miserably hot time of the year, it was too late in the season to see Sobo through hikers. Plus, any Nobo hikers would be way too late to have an honest chance of making it to Mt. Katahdin before it was life-threatening. Nonetheless, the first hiker we came upon, about an hour and a half into our hike turned out to be just that, a Northbound purportedly through-hiker. Yet, it was apparent that this hiker knew that he was done. Never was defeat so palpable to me in the body language (of an adult) than this hiker, who was sitting with his pack off, leaning against a rock. It looked like he had given up even on death. I didn't know how crazy he was, so we didn't dally long by him, but wished him luck and continued on our way.
We had a good, hot time; climbed some nice hills; went around the Lynchburg Reservoir; discovered the remains of a lost civilization, a sort-of self-sufficient commune that was tucked up in a valley, and provided a haven for newly-freed slaves at the end of the 19th Century. We crossed more of these little wooden foot bridges than ever before, by the time we got to the James River. We were exhausted but triumphant once again, and relaxed a little soaking our feet in the River before we headed back to civilization. Another 27.5 miles under our belts. But some of those mountains south of the James looked rather menacing.
After meeting up at Gander Mt. for some last minute supplies, we hopped on 81 South, settling in for a couple of hours. We were glad that the traffic in the Northbound lanes was not in our -- or that we were not bound for the north -- as that traffic was stopped or slowed for some 40 miles as the result of three separate accidents. Nevertheless, before our exit, I was beginning to worry about my car which is really showing the signs of its age ... and that little leak in the radiator. Oh, and the CV joints badly in need of replacing.
After stopping in Lexington for some grub and some replenishment of my precious automobile fluids, we headed back over the Interstate and away from cell phone coverage. Passing through Buena Vista, we went past Glasgow and followed the James River east and found the AT footbridge and parked my poor little car there. I hopped into the successor to Gray Ghost and we went back through Buena Vista before heading back to east again into the wilderness and up the Forest Service road that is the only means to Hog Camp Gap.
As we picked up our third leg of the Central Virginia section of the AT, we weren't sure how many hikers we'd see on this trip. Not only was it a miserably hot time of the year, it was too late in the season to see Sobo through hikers. Plus, any Nobo hikers would be way too late to have an honest chance of making it to Mt. Katahdin before it was life-threatening. Nonetheless, the first hiker we came upon, about an hour and a half into our hike turned out to be just that, a Northbound purportedly through-hiker. Yet, it was apparent that this hiker knew that he was done. Never was defeat so palpable to me in the body language (of an adult) than this hiker, who was sitting with his pack off, leaning against a rock. It looked like he had given up even on death. I didn't know how crazy he was, so we didn't dally long by him, but wished him luck and continued on our way.
We had a good, hot time; climbed some nice hills; went around the Lynchburg Reservoir; discovered the remains of a lost civilization, a sort-of self-sufficient commune that was tucked up in a valley, and provided a haven for newly-freed slaves at the end of the 19th Century. We crossed more of these little wooden foot bridges than ever before, by the time we got to the James River. We were exhausted but triumphant once again, and relaxed a little soaking our feet in the River before we headed back to civilization. Another 27.5 miles under our belts. But some of those mountains south of the James looked rather menacing.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Bullfrog: Back to the Trail to the South
Tomorrow, we're picking back up where we left off last August. Hopefully, we'll make it to the James River. We might be having a guest join us; stay tuned.
Bullfrog: A hike without Rhino...
is like a day without sunshine.
Seriously, Rhino had to be out of town and two other guests bailed on me. So, Robert and I went instead on June 19-21. We hiked from Snicker's Gap (Route 7, Bear's Den) to Chester Gap (Route 522) just southeast of Front Royal. It was the same section Rhino and I had done in hikes #2 and 3. Rob and I did about 11 miles the first day, about 17 miles the second day, and coasted to my car on Sunday around 11 am with about 6 miles for a grand total of a little over 34 miles. Not bad. Then I went to the farm and fished all afternoon and got a sunburn on my legs.
Highlights:
- It rained Saturday morning, but then cleared up. Not nearly as much water through there as Hike #3.
- Sunday was Father's Day and also the First Day of Summer, also known on the AT as Naked Hiking Day. We saw only one naked hiker, a dude with bandana strategically placed on the waist-strap of his backpack, so we didn't see any of his junk.
- We camped at the top of the hill just south of I-66. There was a wonderful meadow at the top ... laced with poison ivy.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Who says the Washington Post has nothin' good!
Here is a good article about thru-hiking the AT. Someday, someday.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
First Hike of 2009
Bullfrog and I drove up to Maryland again for a quick day hike north along the AT. We had started in Gathland State Park last year and this is were we picked the trail up again. Since it was only going to be a quick day hike I didn't want to overpack...but I did. God! It felt good to get out and on the trail again. Bullfrog and I hadn't seen each other in months, and as we talked, and walked the miles seemed to fly by. My core temperature began to warm up and the jacket came off. We stopped at some Civil War monuments for a quick lunch of tuna and crackers.
While there we met another hiker who had been section hiking for 10 years from Georgia and had finally made it to Maryland. He was doing the Maryland Challenge, which is Hiking all of Maryland in one day...about 40 miles. We continued on just enjoying the day. I really didn't have any problems with fatigue or endurance and we just kept trucking on. At a clearing we looked back at the distance we had travelled, seeing landmarks on the horizon that we had passed early on that day. Around mile 10 we arrived at the Washington National Monument and it began to sleet/rain. The monument was interesting but the weather was beginning to suck and I was getting tired so we didn't hang out to long.
My pack was really digging into my shoulders by the time we reached the Interstate 70. As we victoriously crossed over the bridge, cars zooming underneath I raised my hiking poles in triumph. I got a few honks for my efforts. 12 miles a good day.
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