07/10 - 07/31

What you are about to read are my unedited journal entries for the rest of July. In an attempt to catch you all up on my adventure, I decided it best to post what I have and save the more detailed/revised versions for my book. Thank you all for your continued support!

Be sure to visit the Substack Website/App to view all the accompanying Photos.

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07/10

We took a zero at the hotel and finally caught up on White Lotus. New shoes came in. I’m hoping that the wider toe box prevents my feet from feeling as cramped, they’re not as cushioned as my old shoes, so we’ll see how it goes.  I ordered a wide-angle zoom lens for my camera, which I’m excited for. It will allow me to capture more moments around camp and on the trail, as well as frame the viewpoints better. We soaked feet in Epson salt using some tin turkey pans we bought at Walmart. I took another shower. I ate chipotle and leftover ice cream.

07/11

Our longest day yet. 24 miles. We hiked into the dusk with fireflies lighting the way. It took us all day. I made it to camp and had to set up in the dark. Cooking with headlamps is a challenge. Whipped up our famous buffalo craft Mac and cheese. Set up in the shelter and tried to get some sleep. Tomorrow will be another big day, the start of the “Roller Coaster”.

07/12

Hikers showed up in the middle of the night, keeping us up by making noise and shining lights in our faces. This happened multiple times throughout the night, making it hard to get any sleep. We hiked a total 18 miles today, most of which was the rollercoaster. A 14-mile stretch of steep, short, and rocky mountains. A few miles in, I got stung on my ankle by a wasp, making a hard day that much harder. It was 95 degrees out. I dropped my donut in the dirt. I cut my leg open on a fallen tree, caught in a storm, forced to sit there in our ponchos and take it on the chin. It was by far our hardest day on the trail. It was the last day in VA. We crossed over into WV and made camp off the trail in a misty forest. Today was the first day where I felt like I wanted to quit. Press the SOS button on my Garmin and get a helevac out of there. Nick gave me a snickers because I’m not me when I’m hungry. Lightened my mood just enough to make it to tomorrow. Never give up on a bad day.

07/13

Feeling better, we began our hike into Harper’s Ferry. It was a notable change in the forest of WV. It feels like the Shire. I had blisters on my feet, and my ankle was still swollen from the sting. We decided to cut our hike short and shuttle into town, giving us enough time to do chores before meeting up with my friends Meghan and Rob. It was so nice to see familiar faces. We went out to eat, chit-chatted, and resupplied. I got a THC infused drink, which was surprisingly great. I worried about my feet again, still swollen from the wasp sting and throbbing in pain. We stayed at the Halfway Hiker Hostel, which had a bit of an odd crowd. It felt more like a frat house than a hostel. I’m not into the party scene, especially when the company is 40+ year old dead beats. Weird vibe, but overall a good day.

07/14

Woke up in the middle of the night and Had to pee, but I was on the top bunk and it is really hard for me to get down gracefully in the dark with swollen feet. So, I held it tossing and turning all night. Submitted photos for the ATC calendar, if selected they’ll buy my pictures from me and I’ll be featured in the official 2027 calendar. Ran to the post office to send some mail. Then shuttled back to Keys Gap to properly hike through Harper’s Ferry. About 6 miles left of WV then we crossed into Maryland. Made a pit stop back at the Rabbit Hole in town, got a sandwich and another THC drink which we knew was a bad decision but did it anyway. We were feeling good walking through the historic town, then we had to hike up the mountain out of there. A 2-mile steep incline and of course it started to rain. But in good spirits we dawned our ponchos like armor and pressed on. Another 11 miles and we reached the shelter. Called my parents, smoked a bowl. Messaged my feet. Wrote. Edited more pictures and went to bed.

07/15

Had some great sleep for a change. Shelter all to ourselves. A shorter day as we planned to meet up with Sarah and Joey. 12 miles in Maryland, the trail was nice and flat. A very welcomed change. We saw the original Washington monument that was used during the Civil War as a lookout. Lots of cool history in this area. We hitched a ride into Hagerstown, resupplied and got Dunkin’ Donuts while our hosts for the night were at work. Sat outside the Aldi on the side of the building and organized our packs. Had an hour FaceTime with my friend Dennis. Joey picked us off after he got off the train from work. Went to the dispensary. Had lemon garlic risotto at their house. So much fun to catch up and just chill on the couch with friends. Met their daughter Penelope who was sweet as can be. Had a good night’s rest.

07/16

Woke up early, said our goodbyes, then Joey drove us to the trailhead. He waved us off as we began our 17-mile day. We made good progress along the Maryland Trail and headed towards the Mason-Dixon Line. With rain clouds rolling in, we decided it best to push for a shelter. This turning our 17-mile day into a 23-mile day…. Oof. Maryland has many different public parks along the trail, with lots of Civil War historical sites. We came across a graffiti rock overlook. Sad to see but also now more unique and memorable than the countless other overlooks we’ve passed. We beat the rain across the border, and it wasn’t until we stepped into Pennsylvania that the clouds let us have it. With just 1.5 miles till the shelter, we got absolutely soaked. My hands are peeling from being constantly wet, either with sweat or rain. When we got to the shelter, there were already other hikers packed in. We had to squeeze in between some noisy old dudes for the night. We made ramen, wring out our socks, took a gummy, put my earplugs in and went to bed.

07/17

16-mile day

07/18

13-miles. A rather chill day as far as terrain goes. The PA trails have been very well manicured so far, and there are some mile-or-two stretches of FLAT (yes, really!) piney paths.

07/19

19-mile day. We did the half-gallon challenge. We met a tramily of hikers. We hiked 19 miles pretty quickly, got to the shelter, and set up our bug nets inside. We made dinner. Cheesy mashed potatoes and pulled pork. We had a good conversation with “Tina,” a section hiker just out for the weekend, and “Hazmat,” a chill member of that family from before. After about 30 minutes chilling, the rest of the horde showed up. Upon seeing us set up, one yelled “ohhh fuck no!” at us… made the rest of the night uncomfortable for no reason. I offered to make room (which there was already plenty of), and that’s all I can do.

07/20

8 mile hike out of the shelter and into boiling springs PA. The town was a complete and pleasant surprise. Seems we’ve moved beyond the podunk middle of nowhere towns and onto quaint historic villages. Complete with a picturesque park and a river that runs through the center of town. We stopped at a cafe and ran into some other hikers. It was nice to catch up with them and eat breakfast together. From there we went to the local outfitters where I switched out my socks (under warranty) and scheduled an uber for pick up. We had a hotel and packages waiting for us in Harrisburg PA, just 25 min down the road. The city had better lodging options and we were itching to get to a nice clean room. Upon arrival we showered and did our laundry, then resupplied at the gas station and had some great soul food at “feed your soul” a family run restaurant, right around the corner. The candied sweet potatoes and Mac and cheese were delicious. Good news is I got a package from home, with a new camera lens to try out and some additional medical supplies. Bad news, I’m getting sick. I feel like I have a fever and body aches. Hopefully it’s just a cold and will pass on its own. Although with tics all over the place out here, I can’t help but worry about Lymes disease…

07/21

Got a late start to the day. Leaving the hotel is hard when you have an all you can eat breakfast and air conditioned room. Our Uber showed up and drove us to the trail head back in boiling springs. We hit quite a bit of traffic on the way which gave us plenty of time to listen to our driver sing along to the music in Spanish. We had a 21 mile day planned, and I was a little nervous about this cold. However, it turned out to be a beautiful day. The first 13 miles were completely flat. We walked through corn fields and farms. The weather was gorgeous. It reminded me of Florida fall. A nice 73° and a breeze, bright sun and white fluffy clouds. About halfway through the day we stumbled upon a roadside farmers stand, selling cold drinks and fresh produce. A couple Amish kids were running it. We hiked on after drinking a Gatorade and eventually had to climb out of Cumberland valley. A steep rocky incline that luckily didn’t last too long. Upon reaching the top I heard a loud noise that almost sounded like a hiss. Nick had ran up on a rattle snake! This time the snake let us know not to get any closer. We stopped from a safe distance and admired its beauty. After a few minutes is slither off the trail and into the brush allowing us to pass. We made it to cove mountain shelter around 7pm, and met a new hiker named “Ash” an older gentleman who just got on trail in Harper’s ferry, he enjoys hunting and nascar. Seems like a nice guy. I lay here now listening to the mice scurry around me and the bugs obnoxiously chirping outside the shelter. Here’s hoping my earplugs block out the noise and I wake up rid of this cold.

07/22

Woke up in the shelter to a chilly morning. I forgot what it was like waking up out here in the cold, and how hard it is to get out of bed. After reluctantly packing my entire life into my bag for the 117th time out here, we made way for the town of Duncanon. An old iron works city, that compared to boiling springs, seemed to be a bit more run down… the historic building however still gave it some charm. We resupplied and had breakfast at the 7/11. What ambiance. A retired vet sat at the slot machine in the back, while we ate our cold subs. Appearing to be a regular as his friend showed up with a familiar greeting, pulling out the seat next to him. We walked through town, following the white blazes on telephone poles peppering the street. We walked up to the post office only to find them closed for lunch. At 11am. For the next hour…

Beth at the post office was so pleasant and I found some exclusive AT stamps!

Steve from the nearby catholic church pulled up after we shipped back our packages. He drove us to the church so we could fill up our water, then drove us two miles to the trail head. Thanks Steve!

We hiked another 14 miles up and over an insanely Rocky Mountain. Rocksleveinia officially started. Boulders on boulders on potato sized rocks to roll ur ankles on.

Made it to a double decker shelter. Had to hike 300 steps down the mountain we just spent all day climbing… 300 stone stairs! Steeply down the mountain and then right back up…. Insane. Just for water. But the next 6 miles were dry so we had no choice.

At the shelter, wasn’t long before this tramily came strolling in. Slowing warming up to us but they are noisy…

07/23

What a day. There’s moments out here that I know will stick with me for the rest of my life. Stories of hikes, people met, food ate, cat holes dug. But today. Today might take the cake. After leaving the shelter, we made way to a view point about 2 miles up trail. Comments on our navigation app “FarOut” mentioned seeing lots of snakes in this area.  I expected to see a snake or two, but 18?!?! Yes… eighteen. I counted. 13 of which were rattlesnakes. 4 copperheads. 1 Rat snake.

Nice weather. Felt like I dodged death. Snake slithered right by my foot. Saw a baby porcupine. Camped by rolling creek. Long day ahead tomorrow.

07/24

Long day. 19 miles. Walked through a swamped out mile of trail. Flooded from the beaver dam up stream. Hiked in to “Sataway” a hostel right off the highway so that we could do a quick resupply. They had everything we needed though a bit more pricey. groceries are very expensive out here. $50 - $100 dollars every time. Usually going 3-5 days between runs. Hiked up a rocky steep bit and saw more copperheads. Once we were on the ridgeline we got what will probably be the last “nice” part of the PA trail. From here on out it’ll be bouldering… every day… for 15-18 miles a day. We have about a week of that before reaching New Jersey. Made camp at the historic 501 shelter. This is its last season on the AT… after being here and housing hikers for 50+ years! The national park service is tearing it down due to cuts made by DOGE.

To appreciate the shelter in its grandeur, we ordered a pizza, took a “solar shower” and slept in our tents outside. It was a bit stuffy in there. But very cool! And should remain standing.

07/25

Woke up and used the porta potty before grabbing a soda from the care takers house. We got a later start than usual, and set out around 8am. We very quickly hit some decent blundering, and it took us about 3 hours to go 4 miles… coming off the rocks, Nick stepped within and inch of a rattlesnake. It let out a loud rattle which sent Nick screaming in the other direction. The snake didn’t move as we found a safe way around it. These things are everywhere and so well camouflaged, they’re near Impossible to see until you’re right on top of them. This is especially true, when you have to keep your eyes on the ground beneath you in order to avoid falling off the rocks.

We’ve each dodged death by snake now within 3 days. They’re everywhere. A little ways down the trail we saw a full grown porcupine! Much bigger than the baby from the other day. This one waddled away down the trail and then climbed a tree to get away from us. Good little climber to. But after seeing that I took note: make sure to watch for snakes down below, and falling porcupines from above. It was another 16 mile day with us making way for eagles nest shelter. About 1.5 miles away from camp, a freak thunderstorm came out of nowhere. Lighting crashing over our heads, while we hiked through a baron forrest completely exposed to the elements…. Of course the rain stopped as soon as we reached the shelter. We met another hiker there named Cous Cous. She was very nice, met her back in hot springs but haven’t seen her since. We had some good conversation which was in pleasant contrast from the hikers we’ve come across the past few days. Sitting here now in the shelter, a dear just walked by. Hopefully the snakes and mice leave us alone for the night.

07/26

We hiked the first half of our day with Cous Cous, and made pretty good time. 10 miles in about 4 hours. The rocks in PA haven’t been too terrible though I’m sure that’s about to change. We hiked into the town of Port Clinton, a very small development along side a rail rode. Despite being right on trail the town didn’t seem to be very welcoming to hikers, at least in comparison to some of the others we’ve visited. We got a ride to the Walmart where we did a little resupply, just enough to get us another couple days down trail. We’ve found it best to carry less food, and hike more miles. The lighter pack means we can go farther and not have the extra strain on our bodies. After shopping all three of us sat for lunch at the attached subway. I ate 2, foot long subs and honestly could’ve had another. We still had another 7 miles to the planned camp for the night. First we had to do a mile walk down the interstate back to the trailhead. Lucky for us, we managed to hitch a ride within seconds of our thumbs being out. I’m getting pretty good at this hiker trash thing. The hike into camp was a little steep but not terrible. We were once again racing to beat the rain. This time we made it. I lay now listening to the water drip from leaves and onto my tent. The frogs and crickets chirping all around, and the thunder putting me to sleep.

07/27

We woke up early to beat the rain… though it didn’t matter much as all of our things were completely soaked from the nights thunderstorms. I faught condensation and splash back droplets all night, which meant I was tired and wet. We had 8 miles of rock scrambling today. A physical and mental endurance test. All the while, we were racing to be done before the storms started, making the rocks wet and the trail that much more difficult. The forecasts have been laughably incorrect, which makes timing our hikes around weather incredibly difficult. Luckily for us, there was no rain to be had. Just a foggy mist. We passed the same tramily we’ve been seeing for the past few weeks and made some good banter. We met up with Cous Cous towards the end of the day at the lookout hostel. A self serve style hiker haven, overlooking a farmhouse valley. We took a shower and did laundry before heading to a nearby restaurant where we saw the same group again. This time we were able to break the ice a bit and have some good conversation. They came back to the hostel with us and we had a good night just hanging out. Watching the sunset over the mountains, eating ice cream, playing music, it felt like a good hangout with friends.

What you couldn’t see, were the fireflies. Feel the nights breeze over the mountains. Strangers turned friends. If just for a night, this is home.

07/28

Slept pretty well through the night. We rolled out of bed and helped ourself to pancakes and coffee. Sat around the breakfast table chit chatting with other hikers, then the owners of the hostel showed up. They were super nice and personable. We got a later start to our day, hiking out around 9am. our day started with a rock scramble up knife’s edge. A good two miles of straight bouldering. My feet were ready to be done before we were even halfway through our hike. We spent most of the time on trail today chatting with Cous Cous, our new hiking buddy, before crossing a bare ridgeline above Palmerton PA. The view was cool, but we were completely exposed to the afternoon heat. We set up tents a little ways down the mountain and hung out a bit before heading to bed. We have a big day tomorrow so need to get some rest.

07/29

Rock climbing is never something that has particularly interested me. In fact, I always avoided the playground rock wall as a kid. Maybe it was the height or the lack of trust in my climbing abilities, but I’ve always preferred to stay on flat ground. This morning however I didn’t have a choice. “Leigh Gap” is an incredibly steep rock climb out of Palmerton, PA, that requires you to put your trekking poles away and use your hands and feet to scale the mountain. My first time really rock climbing, and it was on a real mountain with no harness and 35lbs strapped to my back! I was terrified to say the least. Taking my time, I made sure every foot/hand hold was secure before moving up along the rocks. There were some parts where I could stop and admire the view, but mostly I was admiring my new found skill. Shifting my weight from boulder to boulder, hoisting my body up and over the cliffs edge. Upon reaching the top, all I could do was look down at what I had just conquered and think to myself “you’re fckn crazy”. Even crazy for having planned to do another 20 miles for the day… if there was any luck to be had it was that for the most part, that was the major elevation gain of the day. The rest of the topography seemed to be rather flat. This being Rockslevania however, it was of course, covered in rocks. It’s hard to explain just how frustrating a 20 mile hike on a path of rocks actually is. Every step has the potential to trip, break an ankle, fall, or at the very least stab your foot with pain. Needless to say, it slowed our pace down drastically. By the time we reached camp (a grassy lawn outside a motel) I was cursing at every rock in sight. The Gateway Motel was hiker friendly, and kind enough to allow us to tent on there front lawn. Quite the sight to be seen let me tell you. They did have a nice hiker resupply, and allowed us a shower as well. It wasn’t long before the tramily showed up and joined Nick, Cous Cous, and I. We had a good night sharing stories and telling jokes, before the the street lamps came on. We went to bed under the stadium lighting, I put my buff over my eyes as a blindfold. The trade off being it smelled like feet.

07/30

Hiked into Delaware Water Gap. Lychan made us quesadillas on trail. Us and the tramily were basically running into town. We were just excited for food and to be out of PA. We all met up at the church of the mountain a donation based hostel that offered us a place to stay. We went and got food, hung out a bit around town, got ice cream. Further broke the ice with our new friends. Then Cous Cous and her friend Sabrina drove us to Walmart to resupply. We got back to the church just before the storms, our room was extremely musty and warm. Honestly I would have rather slept outside but the rain was supposed to be fierce. We turned the fans on high, and I could barely breath the air was so thick. Still I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep.

07/31

We left the church, and hiked out with Widget over the Delaware Water Gap bridge crossing the PA/NJ border. We ended up spending most of our day waiting out the rain with Widget, Cous Cous, and Sour Crout at the Outdoor center a few miles up the mountain. We played bored games, ate food, and sat around in the cozy hiker lounge waiting for my friend Nate to come pick us up and drive us to a nearby hotel. We planned to do a zero day with him as he flew all the way up from Florida to see us! I just hope he doesn’t get lost driving up these dark mountain roads in the rain…