Miles Hiked Today - 0
Total Miles Hiked on AT - 1194.1/2,193 (54.45%)
Zero Day in Pine Grove, PA - Comfort Inn
Total States Completed - 6/14
**No rain - hot day - near 90 degrees. Great day for a Zero
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It’s 9:30pm here in Pine Grove, PA. A really good Zero today. I slept in until around 9am - then connected with Sherpa Mike and Caruso. We got a shuttle to take us to the Post Office (to send items home) and then to Staples (where those guys had to get a new battery pack).
I’m definitely new to this extended hiking thing - so it’s taking me time to get comfortable enough to send items back home - and attempt to be as light as possible. I’m a “factor of safety guy” - I always like to make sure I have everything I would need for any situation. Well - when it comes to thru-hiking, it’s just not practical to be this way. It’s absolutely amazing how little some people have with them. I sent back a pair of hiking pants and hiking shirt today. It’s been tough to let go of some things - but I’ll learn to get by. I now have 2 sets of hiking clothes (pants, shirt, socks, underwear) that I alternate every other day. I then have shorts and a T-shirt for camp/sleeping. My only other clothes are a puffy jacket, my rain jacket, and an extra pair of socks/underwear.
There’s people that have only 1 set of clothes (shorts, t-shirt, socks) - that they wear every single day while hiking. Doesn’t matter if it’s wet, moldy, etc — they’re wearing the same clothes everyday. Then - at night - they are in the buff with no camp clothes. Usually they’ll have a puffy jacket - but that’s it. The ultralight guys have base weights (without food/water) well under 10 pounds. It’s truly astonishing. There’s 1 tramily we’ve been near that has a guy that hikes everyday in a very short skirt with no shirt on. Just shoes, socks, and a skirt. He lost some kind of bet - the group burned his clothes and are making him hike in this skirt. Crazy!!
After our shuttle trip - I again took an afternoon nap. That’s 2 days in a row for a nap - solid! I then packed up all my gear and met Sherpa Mike and Caruso in their room for pizza and a couple beers.
I had a chance to talk with my family tonight - it’s great to catch up and gain a little inspiration before heading out tomorrow. It’s something that’s so important for me.
Departure time is 7am tomorrow. We have 102 miles to the Delaware Water Gap and the end of Pennsylvania - hoping to be there in 7 days. We have 4 days into Palmerton, PA - where we plan to resupply. Then - the final 3 day push to New Jersey. This is a really tough stretch of the AT - voted the 3rd hardest stretch of the entire course. I’m just going to take 1 day at a time and not think too much about the enormity of the rocks. “Rocksylvania” - that’s what it’s called.
Shoe update — I’m going with the Hokas moving forward. They won the test vs. the Altras. It came down to the additional cushion provided by the Hokas. I’m actually hiking faster with them because I don’t have to break stride as much when rocky sections arise. Both the Altras and the Hokas are comfortable. I actually think I’d prefer the Altras for non-technical terrain. But - for the rocks in Pennsylvania - and the upcoming rocks in NH and Maine - I believe the Hokas are best for my feet. I’ve also been experiencing less heel pain with the Hokas/Dr Scholl’s inserts combination. Let’s hope for continued comfort moving forward.
Good night from Pine Grove. Let’s get this thing going again and walk on some rocks for a few days!!
Relaxing most of the day
My gear is mostly packed and ready for an early wake-up
This was from a few days ago (Sherpa Mike, Spice, me, Caruso, Colby)
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