Date: 2009-09-26
From: Kent, Connecticut: Cooper Creek B&B

To: Pine Grove, Pennsylvania
Miles today: 272.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Hot off the rocky trail of Pennsylvania, here is your monthly update on the adventures of Anya and Joshua or Smokin' Loon and Mtn. Yogi.Since we last left you in the beggining of September we were in Connecticut. Now we have traversed through two more states (New York and New Jersey) and are in the middle of a third (Pennsylvania).It's 12:23 am, I am updating from a computer in the lobby of the Comfort Inn which we hitched into in the back of a pickup truck from the road to the town of Pine Grove 3 miles West of the trail around 12:30pm after hiking just 6 miles today and are sharing a room with Jo and Phil or Someday and Hungry Creepster as known on the trail. Our feet have appreciated the comforts of the comfort inn, and our bellies the calorie content and tastes of town food. We will sleep here in a bed tonight and hitch back to the trail head tommorow morning. Anya is having some of her first hives that she has had on the trail and we are going to try and figure out how to keep that under control as we do not want her to have an aggrevated reaction on the trail: Anya has heriditary angiodema which has been controlled by taking estrogen(birth control) but recently in Pennsylvania in the past week she has had a few hives when we have rested in town. It could be that she needs a stronger dose of estrogen as her body might be metabalising it faster due to being on the trail, we will experiment to hopefully keep it under control.Other than sore feet from the rocks of Pennsylvania (also known as Rocksylvania on the trail as the rocks from Maine were dumped here by glaciers back in the last ice age and have created the trail in PA which is covered by boulders in someparts, sharp rocks in others, and flat sometimes inbetween) we are well.Here is an update of the last states.... it's late so please forgive my run-on sentences and spotty memory.9/5/09: New York, New York. 14 miles, hiked to Wiley Shelter where we met some local guys on an overnight camping trip from New York. We passed into New York from Connecticut today, There was not much of a sign marking the state line, just a little wooden post that had a map of the New York trail on one side and the Connecticut trail on the other. 9/6/09: Hiked a few miles and upon looking at our guide book we saw that we were approaching the Appalachian Trail train station. A Train stop that is right on the trail where we could catch a train into Grand Central Station in New York City. I had wanted to see Adam in New York but we weren't sure if we were going to be able to swing it with our schedule to try to meet Anya's Mom in Pennsylvania. But we talked and we both thought when else am I going to get to walk to New York city and visit the city and my close friend right from the trail. I tried to get in contact with Adam every hour, leaving him messages as we hiked towards the Train stop. Success! We hike to the train stop through the fields and forests of rural New York and as we are waiting at the train stop Adam txts Anya's phone that he is at work. We txt back and ask if we can stay with him tonight (it's Sunday and tommorow is Labor Day) He txts back that we can and we excitedly plan to catch a train in to New York City.We catch a train from a station up one stop, as the A.T. station is a whistle stop station which the train only stops at on certain times, and we get into Grand Central Station going from the forest to the Jungle of the city in a 2 hour train ride. We emerge from the bustling station with our backpacks and boots on into the city just as Adam gets off work and we hike a few block to meet him in the heart of New York.Adam hugs us both even though were a bit dirty and probably smell from lack of shower on the trail. It's great to see him and have him be part of this grand adventure. (Adam and I have been close friends ever since middle school and even though we only see eachother maybe once a year now my soul feels at home near his soul whenever I connect with him.)Anya and I go with Adam on the NY Subway back to his apartment, shower and then enjoy a thai dinner and a Gelato desert off of the grenich village area streets. We then go back to rest on a futon at his place and Adam and I catch up and chat till 1am, I would have stayed up later but I'm so used to going to bed as soon as it gets dark in the forest, 8:30pm is hiker midnight. I wish I could have spent more time there, but the trail was calling us back and we had miles to make in the morning, so we headed out the next day and caught an early train back to the trail from the city.Perhaps someday Adam and I will live in close proximity once again, no matter how far though I will always feel that he is my brother in spirit. I admire his passion and focus and I greatly respect him as an artist and friend.9/7/09: Took train back to A.T. Hiked 11miles from the Appalachian Trail station South. Saw a Big Tree on the trail and some nice forests. Met some day hikers to gifted us some trail mix and we wound up tenting at a shelter near Short and Sweet and Gray Beard who are the parents of the Brain. The Brain had completed a Northbound thruhike last year and his parents are who provided the watermelon and cake trail magic that we partook in when we were just entering Vermont. They are out for a week long section hike from Connecticut to Bear Mt. New York.9/8: 20 miles, nice day, hiked to a camp that Anyas friend Vivian is starting. It was just a mile off a road right by the trail head. This camp is an Ecological Jewish camp and we get to stay at a hippie jewish commune. It was a very cool place to stay, we met Baruch and Brandy who made a vegetable dinner and met Pesach and Simcha. They were going to have a class on edible mushrooms which would have been awesome to stay for the next day, but alas we had to push on.9/9: Anya was tired so we altered our mileage and camped 3 miles before Bear Mt. Park. There was a sketchy tent at the camp site that looked like it might belong to a homeless person living in the woods (we had heard that there are some shelters that homeless live in). Well we never met the owner of the tent as they didn't come home that night but we did have Jessica and her friend meet up with us at the camp site. Jess brought Anya Starbucks and me cheese and we had a fun night chatting by the fire.9/10: Woke up from a good rest at the campsite. We then hiked to Bear Mtn. where we crossed the Hudson Bridge and saw the Zoo that the trail passes right thru. We saw our first bear in a cage at the zoo on the trail. We then hiked Bear Mtn. Met a school group that gave us a Big Block of Jalepeno Cheese and a giant 2 pound Salami that they had left over from there 3 day trip. Stocked with this trail magic food we hiked on to finger board shelter where we met up with Peeps. 17 miles and we saw alot today.9/11: It rained today We hiked out through the rain and up big mtns, Agony Grind. It was a hard climb and we were wet and had memories of Maine all day today. We think Peeps must have camped before the shelter we planned on hiking to we arrive and met the couple from the Mayors House and there dog and find out that they are getting off the trail due to a hurt ankle and sickness. Shoe hikes in late that night and we all sleep in the shelter as it rains all night.9/12: we Hike along slippery rocks and scary climbs in the wet on to New Jersey. The New Jersey state line is spraypainted on a boulder ridge walk. We finally get into New Jersey proper and the Rocky ridge walks stop. We are glad it was too wet to be shimmying over boulders, the end of New York got pretty difficult out of the blue and our spirits have been down from the difficulty and weather of the past couple days. We hike to a shelter and Anya tries calling the Mayor who we had heard of in Unionville NewYork who lets people on the New Jersey trail stay free at his house. He "makes us an offer we can't refuse" He says that he will pick us up from a nearby ranger station let us shower, feed us dinner and sleep at his house and then slack pack us on the trail tommorrow! We Agree with a resounding YES! and get picked up and reunited with our friends on the trail. 9/13: After a nice rest and great breakfast Butch (who is one of the mayors secret service as he jokingly says, he helps run the "Outhouse" which is the donation hostel they run for thru-hikers out of Unionville) drops us off where he picked us up and we slack pack, with Jo and Phil who got to the shelter after us and called the mayor after seeing our shelter entry in the register. All 4 of us Slack pack 17 miles back to the Mayors House where we all enjoy Dinner, showers and Beds. Dick who is the former Mayor of Unionville plays an inspirational video on following your dreams and he wants to encourage us to continue on the trail, even though he thinks we are all crazy for hiking it.9/14: We ask to get pampered more and Dick and Butch agree to slack Light weight, Hungry Creepster, Anya and Myself (Someday stays back with poison Ivy) 23 miles farther, So we get to slack pack hiking North to the mayors house just like we had hiked south to the mayors house. Anya and I finish the hike by 6:30pm which for us is our longest day and we still get back in time for dinner and its light outside. We feel really good about ourselves hiking so far and fast for us.9/15: We get driven the 23 miles forward that we had slack packed the day before to continue the trail, we had a great time at the mayors house. I even was inspired to write a poem off of the stay: (see poem below)"He speaks in a language of loveAn ancient language, as old as the dirt of the earth, whose tongue is being forgotten in modern generations.Learn this language now!For the more of us who remember and pass down this tonguethe more we ensure that this ancient language, our human birthright, will not become like a dead language: studied, but never spoken.You can pick up this tongue here, or anywherebut pick it up.Or our children may wander aimlessly whispering broken phrases amongst the maddening crowds, wondering how we lost the humane part of humanity."It is the hospitality that we had in New York as well as in many parts of the trail that inspired the poem above. I have just been inspired by so many people we have met who have helped us and kept us on the trail with there kindness.9/15: 17 miles to Mohican Campground. We played Texas Holdem for Candy with Zeus, Hungry Creepster and Lightweight in the lodge there. Someday played the piano, and Anya read Calvin and Hobbs. We slept in our tent in a mosquito filled campsite.9/16: Hiked to Delaware Water Gap. and into Pennsylvania. Had pie and Hot dogs.. yum. Visited the Church of the Mtn. Hostel where we saw Shoe and met Blue Rhino and Slip and Slide: two brothers hiking together and who were staying there. We also saw Dick Freeman who has been living by hiking the trail up and down for 2 years now, he looks like he is in his upper 50's or 60. he is in good shape and is a very kind man but hikes on karma and food stamps.We trecked on and it started to sprinkle. Spent the night in Kirkridge shelter while it rained outside. Bearwalker (who we had been in contact with at the beggining of our trip as he had finished a southbound thru hike last year.) Did awesome trail magic and hiked in pizza and donuts to us in the shelter in the rain! We hung out till 11pm and now trek on, we need to give Bear Walker back his stove that he left in the shelter. We also left a beer in the shelter for the next hiker (it turns out Zeus got the beer) as we didn't finish a beer the night before. Great night we get a 9:20am start to head for mechanical mans today and will get picked up by Anyas mom tommorow.9/17: Hiked to Mechanical Mans House, a mile off the AT. did 17 miles today. Wolf Rocks were wet and steep but short lived, not a bad hike overall today there are less sights though in P.A. The rocks are here but not as bad as the Northbounders made them out so far. Had a hot shower and was jumped by John and 11 year old bmx racer who is mechanical mans son. Played some Guitaur hero with John and Mechanical man scared us by playing rough with his Doberman Pincher. We got picked up by Anyas Mom Dora and her family friends Lev for Rosh Hashana. We will take a zero day there in Philadelphia.9/19: I awaken in a Russian household after toasting and feasting in Rosh Hashana the Jewish New Year with friends of Dora and Anya Lev and Ira and there family and friends. Through the dinner I sit next to a russian man who teaches me about vodka drinking and russian heritage and how you could pay for rent in Alchol in Russia. A day of rest for the New Year we do not have to walk anywere today and we feast on traditional russian food, cheese and tea and sweets. Its a blesssing to be fed, for the bowels to work, and for rest, also for cultures that encourage guests to eat :-). Invite in the guest, for you never know when you will be a guest.9/20: Lev and Dora drop us off into the woods. It is the second time that Dora is dropping her daughter off into the woods not to be seen for months. We enjoyed philadelphia, good food, rest and fun and historic sites and great company. We walked and climb 14 miles to the shelter after Leigh High Gap. going 14 miles after 12pm which is pretty decent hiking, we get in and it is dark. The descent to Leigh High Gap is scary. I have to lower myself down backwards over a rocky cliff. It freaked me out and Anya (being the braver one of us in terms of heights) encouraged me over the cliff climb. At the shelter is a bunch of Southbounders, our zero days didn't put us behind anyone, we are still with the pack.9/21: 5 miles we hike to get picked up by Beth who we had gotten a hitch from way back in New Hampshire in the whites. When we got a hitch from her she and Jay had given us there number and told us to call them when we made it to Pennsylvania. Well we made it and they picked us up and treated us royally, cooking us dinner introducing us to there friends and giving us great trail magic food and tea. We hope to keep in contact with them and hopefully hike with them later on. They were truly trail angels to us, another incredible hospitality that we could have never expected. We went in strangers hitching a ride and came out with new friends.9/22: Beth dropped us off at the trail head and we said our farewells for now and hiked on 15 miles to Eckville shelter. Lots of Southbounders here. Firebuilder hiked in and Ron and Kim "Tree Hugger and Petunia" whom we had hiked with to Vermont and then had been ahead of till now showed up. we had a reunion and introduce Ron and Kim to the pack of southbounders that we are hiking with now.9/23: 16 miles to camp in the Pavilian in Port Clinton right in a small trail town. We camp within the group of Southbounders 13 of us... The most southbounders that we have been in. we have dinner with Ron and Kim and eat Candy corn and peanuts from the candy shop in town. There is also a Lady who is without a home who is living in the pavilion and camps with us. 9/24: 18 miles to a campsite right by a river, I make a fire and Jo and Phil camp with us. The next morning Anya hatches the plan to hike to the Comfort Inn and Jo and Phil also agree to the plan and hence we are caught up for now on our adventures. In many ways I feel like the wanderer or the vagabond. We hike and have amazing karmic goodwill and experiences and are helped emensly by the kindness of others and we hike on and are dirty and sore and live through the elements and take only what we can carry and leave only footprints and hike on. Constantly moving to our goal, GA. home. But there are people who constantly wander and do not have a home, the wander is there home. Its a hard life sometimes but a gratifying life. We are very lucky that we have the fortune to choose this life instead of it being forced upon us, yet there are certainly many lessons to be learned. The Vagabond knows waste and bulk and cannot afford either. Light equals free, but we still carry more than we need. We hope our bodies can continue as we celebrate the 1000 miles that we have already walked, and we thank those who have uplifted us along the way as you have made it possible for us to keep going.Love to all, I hope to learn the language of love to speak it with whomever I meet.-JoshuaJoshua (Mt. Yogi) and Anya (Smokin' Loon) SOBO 09'