Date: 2013-08-23
From: Port Clinton Pavillion

To: Please Read
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Hello all!The trip is going well and I am currently in Dalton, MA hoping to hit VT by the end of the weekend. Just a few FYI's...* There is no way to update this journal regularly any more. My phone is broken after swimming in the Shenandoah and computers are few and far between, so I will no longer be attempting to regularly update entries. I have been keeping a paper journal and will update this AFTER the hike ends. If you would like to follow along with my location I invite you to go to www.facebook.com/jculton where public updates on major milestones will be available. Updates on the trip:- 7/2: 4 state challenge from 5 am until 1245 PM. Siren, Odie and I walked from VA and completed WV, MD, and stepped into PA for a grand total of 43.3 miles in 20 hours. We went to my house for 4 days to recooperate afterwards.-7/9: The halfway point! Pine Grove Furnace visit and the half gallon challenge completed. After hiking 20 miles that day, I ate a "half gallon" (now under by one pint by measurement) of neopolitan ice cream, plus the extra pint of blackberry ice cream in 17 minutes. I was sick all evening. Swimming commenced in the lake to help digest.- Late july (around Swatara Gap)- Siren and Rambles got off trail to attend Gray Fox, a bluegrass festival in the Catskills of NY. I decided to stay on trail as it was $$$$ and I'm not the biggest bluegrass fan. I hiked on and met up with the "dog pack", who is a group that just happened to be the same pace as me. They all hike with dogs.- Swatara gap thru PA- Rocks were horrendous. I was in a horrible mood and started to strongly dislike the physical hiking. I whined like a baby every day and my feet were killing me. Averages of mileages dropped into the single digits due to extreme heat, humidity, hundreds of bugs, lack of water sources, rocks, etc.- Port Clinton thru present- I am currently hiking with Little Bear and his German Shepard, Riner (trail name: Grizzley Rhino). Many many thanks to him for putting up with my crankiness through PA. I couldn't have done it without him!- Warwick, NY- Siren catches back up. We all hike together for a few days, including her birthday. We went to a drivein movie theatre and watched Wolverine and 2 guns for her birthday and ate drive in food. They allowed us to camp there after the show - Late NY- Siren gets ahead, and remains ahead by about 1-2 days. She is currently in VT.- Great Barrington, MA- The town is overwhelming with "tredy chic" people. We were planning an in and out visit and a random guy asks us to stay with him. Turns out, he is a local farmer that has an "off the grid" cabin with 133 acres of forrest. He makes us awesome food and really restores my attitude toward the trail. Thanks farmer Rich - "The North"- is definitely not what the trail was in the south. People are less friendly, trail magic is dwindeling, the trail itself is more rugged and difficult. With us being at the tail end of the pack and realizing that Katadhin will be a mid-October/ close call to summit closing dream, the hike has now become more about miles and finishing than fun. You probably wouldn't want to read much of what I would write right now anyways!- My feet- I think I have heel spurs and my feet have been killing me every step of the way. New insoles? New shoes? Take a few days off and flip flop? Still not sure what to do. Ibuprofen isn't touching the problem.MANY THANKS: To my family and friends for your continued support.Burt and Tammy- thanks for letting us crash at your place and slacking us!Uncle Buck- For slacking us and being awesome all aroundRich- you saved my hike in ways you don't know. CT- the views and nice trail returns!Jeff and Deb Wolf- thanks for hosting us on the 4th! GOB- It was great seeing everyone (sans the wilts) while I was home!And there are hundreds more, I'll send more thanks later, this is just a few.PLEASE check back in late October and you can read more about the last 600 miles of the hike! Sorry I can't update you more often!