Date: 2012-07-06
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Just posted up the most current 1200 pictures that I took from Damascus Va to Duncannon Pa. Below is the last article that the Intelligencer posted in regards to the hike...Posted: Friday, June 22, 2012 5:00 am | Updated: 8:11 am, Fri Jun 22, 2012. By Hilary Bentman Staff writer | 0 comments Posted on June 22, 2012 by Hilary Bentman Al Karp has already walked his way through a pair of shoes.¢The first pair made it 850 miles. It should have only made it 600,¢ he said. ¢By 700 miles, they were causing pain and by 850, they were torture devices.¢Karp still has more than 1,200 miles to go on this trip, and the aches and pains are too numerous to list.But with a new pair of shoes on his feet, he continues the journey and is committed to reaching its end.The 39-year-old Perkasie man, a self-described recovering couch potato, is more than two months into the Appalachian Trail hike, a 2,184-mile walkabout between Georgia and Maine. It is one of the longest continuously marked footpaths in the world.The Intelligencer spoke with Karp in the spring as he was preparing for the hike. Last week, we caught up with him by cellphone, as he was traversing the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.¢It¢s rough out here. I¢m missing my daughter, family and friends,¢ said Karp, who has a 14-year-old daughter at home. ¢It¢s tougher than I anticipated. The mental aspects are tougher for me than the physical.¢But Karp is committed to reaching Katahdin, Maine, the end point of the trail.¢From the beginning, I have taken the mental standpoint that I will finish,¢ he said. ¢That¢s where my own motivation is and I stand by that.¢Karp, whose trail name is ¢One,¢ logs about 15 miles on hiking days and is averaging 96 miles per week. He has watched many hikers call it quits.¢I have thought daily about what else I could be doing,¢ he said. ¢If there are people out there who say they never thought about quitting, than I don¢t know who they are. But I¢m still committed.¢Karp is on a journey of self-discovery. He divorced a couple of years ago, and the trail is his chance to regroup and re-evaluate his life. The bakery technician quit his job to take this adventure and he will have to figure out what to do when he returns home.¢Thoughts go through my mind all the time about that,¢ he said. ¢I will see what comes at that time. I¢m taking each day as it comes.¢Back in Perkasie, Karp¢s family is following his online trail journal. His mom, Kathleen, said she ¢thought he¢d last a good while.¢ Her initial concerns, which included bears, have eased a bit.¢It¢s much better now. There are so many people along the way,¢ she said. ¢He¢s seen a lot of people, mingled a lot.¢Karp is even encountering some local hikers, including 25-year-old Mark Strobel of West Rockhill. Strobel¢s mom, Carol, has been in touch with Kathleen Karp and the trail moms have swapped stories about their sons¢ adventures.Originally, Karp had hoped to complete the journey in four and a half months. Reality has altered his plans.¢It¢s easy to sit at the kitchen table and plan that out,¢ said Karp.The hike will probably take five to six months, wrapping up in September.Karp isn¢t trying to speed his way through the trail. He¢s taking time to enjoy the sights, to stop and smell the roses as it were (if there are any out there). His favorite spot so far is McAfee Knob in Virginia, the most photographed place on the trail. The knob provides breathtaking views of the Catawba Valley, North Mountain, Tinker Cliffs and Roanoke Valley.Karp has spent a few nights in a hotel or hostel, but most of the time he sleeps in a tent. He does take short excursions into the towns he passes to explore the local scenery and meet people.The weather has been wet and hot. He¢s encountered hail and thunderstorms and had to put away his tracking poles for fear of being electrocuted. No problems with bears, though he has been supper for the insects.To date, he has lost 20 to 25 pounds and has sworn off peanut butter, Spam and Pop Tarts.Karp often washes up in streams, though occasionally gets a shower when he reaches a shelter. He manages to call home every few days when there¢s cell reception but Karp said he feels cut off from the world. The rare opportunities to watch television have proved odd.¢It¢s funny when I turn on the TV, how depressing the news is and how overwhelming the commercials are,¢ he said.The halfway mark on the trail is north of Harpers Ferry, W.Va., just across the river from Maryland and about 35 miles from the southern Pennsylvania border. Karp expects to reach this region in time for the Fourth of July. He will take a few days to rest and will visit family and friends before continuing on.Though he¢s not even halfway through this journey, Karp said the trail has helped him realize what is important in life. And he knows that the experience will stay with him a long time.¢I am happy to have the experience and I am still blessed to be able to do this,¢ he said. ¢I try to remember that every day.¢Added his mom, Kathleen: ¢I think it¢s changing his life. He¢ll be a different person, for the better I hope.¢