Date: 2010-05-30
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: View Entry
Miles today: 80.0

Pine Grove Furnace State Park, PA:The last couple of weeks of hiking just flew by. Back in Waynesboro, VA, when I updated my trailjournal from the library I mentioned the fact that it was thundering and lightning. It was also pouring, but that just seems to go with thunderstorms. I was spared the dread of hiking in the storm, even tenting in the downpour, when the Pander family (who I know from Alford Lake Camp) offered to drive 2+ hours out of their way to come get me. Relief was lifted off my shoulders immediately. I ended up staying at their house two nights, taking a day off to rest my feet which had some strange ailment that I never could identify. All I know is that they were red, swollen, had strange sores, were oozing fluid, and smelled like a dead rodent that had gotten stuck in a wall of some old house. Staying at the Panders house was very restful and¢¦ well, just great. When I got there that night Whitney had already started cooking breakfast for supper. We had eggs (perhaps the best I have ever had¢¦ no joke), pancakes, english muffins, and orange juice- my new obsession. During my stay at the Pander house we talked about hiking a lot, ate a lot (well, I did), took a short walk, watched tv, and generally just chilled. Oh yeah.   They washed my clothes for me¢¦ three times! It was a great zero day, I loved seeing the three Pander sisters (as well as many other camp friends via Skype) and owe the whole family a big Thank You for everything.I entered the Shenandoahs the day they brought me back to the trail. I¢m sure they are great (considering how many ¢outlooks¢ they¢ve built on Skyline Drive), but I only got a couple views. For those of you who are not familiar, the Appalachian Trail parallels Skyline Drive through the majority of the 100 miles that are located in the Park, crossing the road about 30 times. I saw a bunch of fog during my walk in the Park, a few feerless deer, the rear end of three bears, and a rattlesnake that I got way too close to before I saw. I passed the 900 mile mark in the park as well, which was very exciting. Plus, I FINALLY found an eggplant parm sub. There¢s a brief story behind that one: When my mom brought be down to Springer, she asked if there was anything I wanted to eat before she left. I asked for an eggplant parm sub. Well, it turns out, eggplant parm subs don¢t exist in the south. I had to walk over 900 miles before I found a place that made them. It was Delicous! Also, a huge Thank You to Josh and ¢We¢ll See¢ for putting us all up in the cabin at Lewis Mtn. Campground. That night could have gotten pretty miserable in the cold and rain. Thanks a million for the warm, dry place to sleep.I exited the Shenandoahs without much emotion- just another day on the trail. Well, until I came across a teenage boy with a young ¢possum riding on his head. That was a bit peculiar? Soon after leaving the Shennies, I was finishing Virginia. It took longer than a month to walk through all of Virginia, so I couldn¢t help but feel a bit happy to be moving on to West Virginia. I was in WV for all of a few hours. With only six or so miles in the state, and me being determined to make it to Harper¢s Ferry before the ATC headquarters closed at 5, I didn¢t note too many items of interest. I did make it to the ATC (Appalachian Trail Conference) headquarters before they closed¢¦ just barely though. I don¢t remember how far back their records go, but for years and years they have taken a picture of each thru-hiker that passes through the town. Of course, not everybody does, but definitely the majority. They have binders full pictures with each persons name, trail name, start date, the date they had their picture taken in Harper¢s Ferry, hometown, and the type of hiker they are- section thru hiker, northbound thru hiker, southbound thru hiker, or flip flop thru hiker. They number each type of hiker as well. I was the 99th northbound thru hiker to get their picture taken this year, but only the 10th girl! It was May 22nd. I ended up staying at a nearby hostel that night, and getting a ride back to the trail the following day with a couple of very kind section hikers. Back on the road again! I actually ran into them later in the day, since they were day hiker the same section I was hiking, but southbound instead of northbound. I was greeted by, ¢Hey Hey girlfriend¢ in that sassy kind of tone that always puts a big smile on my face. I couldn¢t help but chuckle.Maryland, with only 40 miles of trail, was also a quick jaunt. It was home to many parks and historical areas. The one that I found the most interesting was the first monument to George Washington. Although there is a spot on the trail in Northern Virginia- the steps of the Blackburn Trail Center- where you can see the Washington Monument and National Cathedral, it was cloudy the day I passed through there. I couldn¢t help but think that way over there, just below the clouds, was where my friend Alice Pfeifer was at that moment in time. Anyway, back to the original Washington monument. It was a stone tower that reminded me very much of the tower atop Mount Battie in Maine.And then¢¦ at long last¢¦ came Pennsylvania. Well, it actually didn¢t take too long to get there after I got out of Virginia, but whatever. Everybody always talks about Pennsylvania¢s unrelenting rocks. Well, it turns out that southern PA really isn¢t too bad. They failed to mention to rocks in Northern Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland though. I suppose they are only a preview of what is to come though.From there, I was full steam ahead with tunnel vision. My goal- the midpoint marker. On May 26, 2010, on my 75th day of thru-hiking, I made it to the 12 way point which is located just shy of Pine Grove Furnace State Park about forty miles into the state of Pennsylvania. The few miles that I have hiked in PA had the most spectacular shelters I have seen yet, my third rattlesnake- I think it was a she¢¦ and I think she was pregnant! She was HUGE! And Pine Grove Furnace State Park had the first lake I have seen. Of course I couldn¢t help it, I had to go swimming. I decided to take a three-day break from hiking to come up north to see my brother and his girlfriend off to Kenya as well as Concord¢s graduation. Another friend from camp, Alice Pfeifer, came and picked me up from Pine Grove Furnace State Park. I spent the night at her house with her mom Shirley and stepdad David. It was great to see Alice and her family! She and I go way back! Thank you Alice for rescuing me on short notice and to your family for the fantastic food and great stay. I look forward to seeing you in Maine this summer. From there, it was off to find the Bolt Bus stop in Baltimore. That was an adventure¢¦ And then the fun truly began! Four hour bus ride to NYC, sprinting through the city with my pack since I had less than 10 minutes to get from one bus stop to another, then a five hour ride to Boston, 30+ minute subway to Alewife, and from there I was picked up by Brenda, a faculty member at Concord Academy. She was kind enough to let me crash at her house in Lexington. Thank you Brenda! It was great to see you again. I stopped into Helen¢s in Concord for a smoothie the morning of CA¢s graduation. They still know me by name. Haha. I guess that¢s what being Jeff¢s advisee will do for you! CA¢s graduation was lots of fun. It was great to see some classmates that were also there, past teachers, and of course all of the graduates. Congrats class of 2010! You¢ve turned a new page. And sorry about your speaker- He has good points, but that was definitely not a graduation speech. From there, my family came to pick me up. The Fernald/Walker/Perkins (plus Grace, my brother¢s girlfriend) came walking across CA¢s quad like a back alley gang. It was so great to see my mom, Steven (stepdad), Austin (brother), and Grace! I¢ve spent the last two days with them- mostly eating, cleaning my gear, and getting Austin and Grace ready to go to Kenya. Grace is from Lwala, the village that I am targeting for my fundraiser. And Austin is spending the summer there working on a water and sanitation project he designed. We brought them to the airport this morning. I¢m jealous. I want to go too. Someday¢¦ But for now, it¢s back to the trail for me. I will be very happy get back to the simplicity. Being around so many people has exhausted me. Great to see everybody of course, but I¢m tired.Thank you to everybody has helped me get this far. I¢m loving my hike and am glad that so many people have become part of it.