Date: 2005-07-20
From: Washington DC

To: Waynesboro, PA
Miles today: 47.0
Weather: scattered clouds

UPDATE!~Today is July 20, 2005 and I am in Harpers Ferry about to set way on the ¢Four State Challenge¢! That¢s right, I am about to hike the equivalent of nearly two full marathons, through the mountains with rooty/rocky terrain, in under twenty-four hours.The Four State Challenge is an extremely difficult task set forth that involves the following: A hiker must hike over forty-seven miles in the four states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania in one twenty hour period. This requires the hiker to start at the Virginia and West Virginia border at midnight, and hike like there¢s a mad swarm of twenty pound killer bees chasing him down, as he crosses through the entire states of West Virginia and Maryland, and finally finishes in Pennsylvania, crossing the Mason-Dixon line, at nearly midnight after twenty four hours of pushing the limits¢¦My own hike so far has been about enjoying every single thing the trail has to offer, and generally that involves going fairly slower than I would hike normally, and really soaking in all the trail has to show me, but tonight is a night to commune with my body, the same way I did when I was cycling and working with my own physiology to push myself to higher limits than I ever thought I could reach. There is a difference though about what I am about to attempt and when I am cycling though¢¦When I did my first cycle climb up to Clingmans Dome in the Smokies, which is the longest paved ascent in this country at nearly twenty-seven miles of continuous climbing at a pretty steep grade, and is one of the hardest rides a cyclist could do, I had the ability to research and prepare. I could do trial runs and monitor my body¢s natural gauges and really max out my body¢s output through nutrition and heart rate monitoring, however tonight, I don¢t have my hear rate monitor, nor do I have the ability to really eat perfectly out here like I do in town while cycling. Anyways, my main point is that I am kind of scared I might not make it all the way to the Pennsylvania state line in my twenty-four hour time limit I have set for myself and it isn¢t my stamina or my muscles that I am worried about giving out and failing, but my feet that are about as tough as a little toddlers. I am going to give it all I have got, and I¢ll have a few days to recover, while Sunflower catches back up, so the only way I will ever know is to try it¢¦Anyways, Here are the official stats:Start at the VA/WV state line at midnight-Cross WV/Maryland state line in morning-Cross Maryland/ PA state line late night-Overall it is over forty-seven miles-As far as logistics:Sunflower left Harpers Ferry this morning in hopes of accomplishing her own personal challenge of doing the same feat in slightly more time. It¢ll be funny to see each other out on the trail out hiking on our own. Hopefully she can do it all in under her two day goal. I think she¢ll be able to because she just bought a new lightweight pack here in Harpers Ferry that is really small which will be nice and quick, providing more mobility. I will stop at the PA state line and wait for her, and in the process I will head into Waynseboro, Pa- where we mailed some gear ahead to ourselves to keep our loads really light for this stretch, and then I¢ll just chill somewhere until she gets to the line¢¦Up Next:The state of Pennsylvania is horrifying to most hikers because of the rocks, heat, and lack of water. Sunflower and I are planning on doing huge miles though the state and getting though it really quickly, since we aren¢t looking forward to it, and then after PA, everything gets really exciting because we will be heading to New England which is going to be amazing and exciting to finally be up there, and we will finally be in beautiful terrain again. Once we pass out of Pennsylvania, we will probably hike though New Jersey and New York, and then flip up to Maine and start hiking south so we can hit New England in the good weather and take our time to really soak it up and enjoy the Whites in New Hampshire and Southern Maine as well¢¦ Anyways, It is going to be a rocky ride for the next month through the rocks and heat of PA, but we¢ll manage to make it fun somehow. Hopefully Sunflower likes her new pack, and I am really excited about our new superlight loads since we finally decided to start sharing gear and so we have to carry about half as much each. Our packs are lighter than ever, and so theoretically we should be ready to haul through PA...As far as trail news goes, it seems like everyday, we hear of more and more hikers who have dropped out. It isn¢t uncommon to have the shelters to ourselves, and thru-hikers are becoming rarer and rarer¢¦However, we¢re still doing great mentally and ready to do miles¢¦Take it Easy everyone and I hope to update you all soon with good news regarding my successful completion of the Four State Challenge, which would be fantastic. Thanks Again to Dave and Ali in Washington, DC for your hospitality, as well as Katie and Mark for giving Sunflower and I a place to stay while in the city. It was so great to experience city life again for a short while and eat at great little places in the city, and feel normal for a change, (which actually felt quite abnormal after living in the woods for so long). It was truly amazing to see how culture shocked we were upon entering DC on the metro and then witnessing us as we mastered the transit system and the hustle and bustle that is rampant in the Capital City. It was so much fun for Sunflower and I to go and goof off by trying on normal clothes at the mall and laughing at each other because we weren¢t wearing our hiker clothes as well as just getting to experience the joys of air conditioning. We got exactly what we needed and now it is great to back on the trail!