Date: 2011-06-09
From: Raven Rock Shelter

To: Blue Ridge Summit, PA
Miles today: 18.5

Dear Followers, last night we did not blog because cell juice was almost gone. We have gotten several e-mails wondering if we are okay since we hadn't blogged. There will be times when the battery is low or there is no service. So,don't worry if you don't hear from us. Okay, the saga continues. We left camp at Pogo ready to conquer the world. Then we saw what our world encompassed. Imagine boulders just thrown about and they landed in a long steep crevace, up and down. No dirt- just rock to climb over and around. Well, we conquered, but not without being wounded. My blisters are so bad from that hike that we are taking a zero day at Raven Rock to recover. I cried. Not because my blisters burt, but because other than the blisters, I am completely able to do it. Physically,I feel great. The climbs up and down the boulders actually felt good on my muscles. I liked it. But my blisters were screaming. Brandon made the decision not to go. So, one more night in the tent before we sleep in a real bed at a B&B, one more day without a shower, one more day holding my nose in the privy, and we will miss Jerri's gracious offer to have a real lunch at Pen Mar. Yeah, I'm sad. So today, I am catching up on my PD reading, washing the stench out of a couple pieces of clothing, and resting. Some cool things from yesterday were the beautiful streams we crossed and got water from. I forgot to tell you about our night at Pogo (after Dahlgren, before - Raven Rock). The campsite was on a steep hill, so the sleeping wasn't great. But there was a guy named Luke from the Missouri area. He is hiking just the MD part. Several people are here just doing MD. They say because it is the eaiest part. Uh-oh me! He was a very nice guy. Sheila brought us a food drop in Smithsburg Tuesday. Thank you! Okay, I am going to attempt some reading now. See ya/talk to ya later. JenAddendum1: A few extras - After walking a while with 30-34 lbs on my back, it is very funny and difficult to walk without it. It is hard to take a step without wanting to fall that way. It is kind of like walking after twirling around in circles awhile. Weird. Also, there pretty trees out here with pretty white flowers on them. It is nice to see, since it breaks up the green.Addendum 2: Took a long nap today (Wednesday). It was really hot, so we were really glad to be holed-up here at Raven Rock. It is on top of a ridge with a great breeze, most of the time. Heard it was 99 in Baltimore and 95 in Hagerstown. Glad to be a bit cooler up here. Been reading my PD (professional development). I am on schedule. Tuesday night I woke up and heard foootsteps in the fallen leaves. Well, it sounded like footsteps. It stopped and I didn't hear it again. But it took me awhile to close my eyes. Brandon gave me his flashlight to shine out to make me feel better. He wasn't concerned. I know this because as soon as he handed it to me he was back snoring. I heard you can't sleep well on these sleeping pads. Well, I finally got tired of numb hips and arms so I flipped to my belly and tried it. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Relief and sleep. I lost my knife today (Wednesday). Got it out to cut some mole skin (not an animal) to put on my blisters. I sat it down, put something back in my pack and reached for it. It wasn't there. How can I lose somethibng when I didn't even move an inch from my spot? So, we are using Brandon's knife which isn't as sharp as mine. I'll probably find mine when we are cleaning everything out at the end of our trip. Another hiker told us about naked hiker day. Yup, you heard me right. Apparently evey June 21st hikers hike naked. I think I'll take a zero day that day. Don't wanna see or be seen.Let me tell you about a couple we met at Raven Rock. OMG! Let's just say they are young and impulsive. They were in DC and decided to hike from DC to Maine. They had just been in DC to sightsee. So, they went and bought all of their equipment for the trek. Their equipment included a cooler, several changes of clothes, a laptop (for watching movies), a parka, baseball gloves and ball, $300 worth of fresh meat and canned goods, and charcoal lighter fluid. What it did not include was a tent, hiking boots for her, a camelback (water bladder), mole skin, or a first aid kit. They are slowly shedding their unneeded weight and are down to 60lbs each. What they lacked in preparation they made up for in heart. They are quite nice people. We also met two guys that were finishing up the 4-state challenge... 4 states (VA, WV, MD, PA) in 24 hours. It's almost 50 miles in 24 hours and they had 5 to go. Goodness!Addendum 3 (Today, Thursday) - HOT! We got up this morning at 6:00 and began packing it up. We were out of camp by 7:00. We had heard the weather forecast and wanted to get to the B&B before the heat got too bad. Well, we decided to skip breakfast and just eat a granola bar on the way to Pen Mar. I wish we knew just exactly what the trail had for us today. I think I would have eaten a big breakfast. Steep climbs and descents of boulders. I seem to be noticing a trend. Every time I attempt to describe the rocks we are going over and around, the next series of rocks are bigger, sharper, and longer and steeper. No more descriptions for now. My feet can't take it. We hear the PA rocks are terrible so I don't want to keep talking about the rocks. Just know they are brutal. We made it to Pen Mar and had a nice break. I fixed my blisters up for the next 5 mile stretch. While we were there, a thru hiker who stayed at the same shelter last night came up and rested with us. He was from New Hampshire... pretty cool. Another thru hiker came by from VT. He talked with us for a good bit. Then he passed us on the trail later. Apparently, his mom thru hiked a couple of years ago so he is determined to make it. He is getting excited because the trail goes right through his home town. Not long after we talked to him, we crossed the Mason Dixon line. We are now in PA and no longer in our backyard! Two states down, three to go. We were so hungry by the time we got here today. All either of us had today were 2 granola bars and a lot of water. We ordered a large pizza fron Papa Johns, loaded, and ate the whole thing between us. Now I know that sounds terrible, but that was all we had to eat today. You figure we worked off more than that in calories. I am okay with that. But know we won't skip breakfast again. We are staying at the B&B for 2 nights because of the storms coming through and let my blisters heal some more. I really don't like lightning. Good news for me - my legs are shaping up! Yes, my legs are actually becoming defined. I think I can feel comfortable wearing shorts again in public. I didn't think my arms would get much of a workout, but I am using my poles all of the time. They really give my arms a workout. So hopefully they will be defined by the end also. 6 and 7 hours of constantly walking, climbing, and descending is a real workout. I am physically done by the end of the day. But we are having a great time together. We came up with our trail names. Donkey and Shrek. Brandon can't seem to shut up on the trail. I can't take it. Guess who's Donkey and who's Shrek. Wow, that is a lot. I'm gonna rest for now. Good night ya'll!