And Maryland is not remotely even close to flat. Just take a look at the trails in the pictures below... We trekked from sea level to almost 2,000 feet then back to sea level. Here's a map of the trail... follow the red dotted line... that's the AT.
It took Summer and I 3 days and frequent side trails (for a hot shower, a beach, a monument, etc) adding up to about 50 miles. One of the best hikes I've ever been on... the Appalachian Trail from Pen Mar, Maryland (PA state line) to Harper's Ferry, WVa.
Hey, do any of you know of a deaf person who's HIKED the entire Appalachian Trail (someone who's hiked the entire 2,000 mile trail in one setting from Georgia to Maine)? The average person finishes this in 6 months.
Can you identify the creature in this picture?
The Lipstick of the Forest
Washing dishes the Eco way
Annapolis Rocks. Whoa!
Weaverton Cliffs. I'm on the Md side, overlooking Harper's Ferry and the Potomac River. On the other side of the river, left side, is Virginia and on the right's West Virginia.
Back to Civilization. Unfortunately....
10 comments:
Beautiful pictures! I agree with you 100 percent that Maryland DOES have awesome views. There are many wonderful places to go to. It annoys me that people think I am crazy not to return to Northern California -- where I was born and raised for 18 years. I love it here and always feel that people underestimate Maryland.
Ive always wanted to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail as one item of things on my list to do before I cease to exist.
Have you ever thought of thru-hiking from Georgia up to Maine?
candace, i'm guilty of underestimating maryland, even myself a born & bred marylander! now i know better!!! :)
jay, i've always thought about thru-hiking the AT - but am also tempted to do other trails such as the PCT or the CDT (tough!!!). those trails take 6 months out of your year to complete and require much, much advance planning. someday, someday!!! :) do you know a deaf person who has thru-hiked the AT?
raychelle
Looks like a Megaphasma dentricus - a walking stick insect. Excellent camoflage to protect itself with!
It has been my dream to hike thru from Ga to Maine. I hiked sections of Pen Mar to Harper Ferry in different times. Granted Maryland has beautiful places for hiking!
Anyone thinking about hiking sections of AT, please me know! :-)
Truly an inspiration to everyone of us even you only hiked Maryland segment of AT. Ya know, the temptation is going to bait you to complete the entire AT one day.
I only have hiked portions of AT in Tenneessee, NC, VA, WVA, PA, NJ, NY and NH, mostly a day or two not continuous. Since I was teenager, it has always been my dream to hike complete AT. Procrastinating is dangerous approach due family, job, lifestyle and health. If you got the motivation to do it, especially when you are still student, the sooner the better.
Photos:
it is American toad (Bufo americanus), very common on the east coast and for insect, it is giant walking stick (Megaphasma dentricus), not northern walking stick (Diapheromera femorata).
Since I have been diagnosed with lumbar facet syndrome (LFS), I don't think I will get the opportunity to hike entire AT but I do have mini goal which is to hike complete New Jersey segment. If you ever thinking about going through NJ, let me know and I could tag along for a week. Its 72 miles hike in NJ.
Few questions:
1) what time do you start hiking in the morning and end in the evening?
2) do you see any interesting birds along the way?
3) any signs of bears, deer, northern flying squirrels?
4) any signs of invasive species (plants or gyspy moth)?
5) where do you get drinking water?
6) how many bags of litter did you collect?
ooh, NJ AT looks good. definitely something i'd consider... i'll think about it!!!!
1) what time do you start hiking in the morning and end in the evening?
first day: 8 am to 6-7 pm (15 miles)
second day: 8 am to 3 pm (13 miles)
third day: 8 am to 7 pm (17 miles)
we wanted to start hiking earlier in the morning but we just took our time getting started... (i hate rushed mornings so i appreciated that :))
2) do you see any interesting birds along the way?
many, but i'm not good at identifying small birds :(
3) any signs of bears, deer, northern flying squirrels?
summer saw a deer... we saw some fox scat on the trail...bears and northern flying squirrels were probably around but i probably missed them due my limited nature skills...
4) any signs of invasive species (plants or gyspy moth)?
i'm not sure, i have no idea how to identify invasive species :(
5) where do you get drinking water?
first day: from a small, somewhat stagnant spring
second day: from a bigger nicer spring
third day: from a bathroom sink :)
6) how many bags of litter did you collect?
none except for small pieces here and there :( no excuses, i know...my pack weight was already heavy... i was tempted to pick them up but i would've compromised my ability to hike within schedule (we only had three days to complete about 50 miles). i feel bad about it though. next time we'll have better distribution for our packs so we can pick up litter on the way.
raychelle
Everett Carpenter, (age 30?) from NC hiked the App. trail. He graduated from NCSD and Gally. He is deaf. He did the trail in few months I believe. I can't remember the story when it was published how long he did the trail, etc...
Did you rest at that shelter? Do click on:
http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/Odyssey/spring2000/some-assembly.pdf
wow that's awesome that KDES students built the Cowall Shelter. we stopped there on the 10th mile of our first day for some snacks, and we wanted to continue (stopping at 15 miles) so we didn't sleep at that shelter... darn! :)
raychelle
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