Date: 2005-08-15
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Bear Mountain New York
Miles today: 210.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Hey Everyone!New Jersey is hot.New Jersey is humid.Bits of News:Sunflower and I saw two bears! They were right in the trail and we startled the first; it took off running as I was yelling,"BEAR! BEAR! BEAR!". The second casually walked towards us and then walked away. It was fantastic.The same day we saw the bears, we came across an awesomely huge Rattlesnake. It was right in the middle of the trail. Sunflower came within about three feet of it and scared it. It alerted her of its presence by rattling and it scared the whiz out of us. It then proceeded to hang out in the trail for so long we had to walk around it in the woods.Sunflower and I are really whipping out the miles!~ No more leisurely hikes. We are on a mission, but unfortunately, it is constantly harder to crank out the miles with this oppresive heat, but we are trudging 'thru'. New Jersey is really scenic!Other Reminders and Random Bits:Sunflower and I are some of the last hikers left that are still in this hike for the long haul. Most hikers have either dropped out by now or began yellow blazing. (Yellow Blazing is a term for skipping large sections of trail by hitching up to the next town without hiking that section.) It is really a shame that so many people have abandoned the opportunity to become REAL thru-hikers by doing this rank activity of skipping. I am saying this because it really makes us happy that we don't take short cuts and we don't want to skip anything. We are having a blast out here. Everyday out here in the woods isn't great, but we always have fun or learn something new each day. This trail is such an awesome adventure and it is so great to be out here loving every minute. There are HARD trials/trails daily, but the challenges bring pride and joy. I don't want this to end. The Journey is incredible and I am happier each day. I never imagined this hike could be so incredible, and full of fun as well as opportunities to learn about myself daily. I figured it would be one way or the other, but it is both.ANYWAYS, We will be in Mass in a few days and heading up to Sunflowers house for a few days of rest and then we'll be back on the trail to head up to Maine. It was really cool on one of our last days in Pennsylvania we found this awesome cave system on top of a ridgeline in Pennsylvania. Sunflower and I spent a lot of time going DEEPER and DEEPER, and it was incredible! It was so much fun. Sunflower and I had a blast and we squeezed into some serious cracks. We really had a lot of fun, crawling through these TINY passageways that opened up into larger and larger caverns. We can't wait to do some more caving back home when she comes down to Louisville with me November, since we have the best caving anywhere back home. We found another activity that will provide a lot of fun that we can't wait to do once we aren't on the trail, which is cool, because it gives us stuff to think about while we are in the woods, every day, hiking away. Take it Easy Everyone!*Bottle-RocketPS- We are so excited to be done with Pennsylvania. The one state I was worried about ever since starting my planning for this hike was PA, and we sailed through with sweet form. I am so ELATED!Hey Y'all! (Said in my best, though rather pathetic, attempt at a southern accent!) The one and only Sunflower here! I thought that it was finally time to write a little something myself, instead of just being the one reading over Bottle-Rocket's shoulder... Admittedly, I am finding it hard to type between the distracion of television in the background and (trying not to) scratch my horrible bugbites every few seconds! B-Rocket already wrote about our exciting bear and snake encounters. The rattler was really neat because we don't have them in NH- too cold I suppose! Speaking of cold, I can't wait for the weather to cool off. I move rather slowly most of the time as it is, but in the heat my pace slows to snail-speed! Poor Bottle-Rocket spends lots of time waiting for me, but he says it's worth it! : ) I have been able to pick up the pace lately, though. Everyone who knows B-Rocket would agree that he loves a good physical challenge, so our accelerated pace probably makes him happy. I've been known to inflict pain on my own body from time to time as well (you have to be at least a little nuts to want to thru-hike of course!), so it works out... as long as it's not too hot! A lot of our longer days have been hard for me but it's a great feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day. And besides, it's about time I whipped myself into shape! Anyway, I've babbled on enough for today. I'll try to write again soon!For the friends/family/followers of Bottle-Rocket in Louisville, I am looking forward to finally meeting all of you in late October/early November!~ Adios Amigos! Sunflower