Harper’s Ferry, WV to Fayetteville, PA 7/14/18 – 7/18/18

We got back out here on the trail Saturday after enjoying our last yummy dinner with Myron, Lance’s friend, who brought us the whole way out here! We just hiked a few miles and set up camp for the evening.

Monday was our first full day of hiking and we hiked 18.3 miles. We were still struggling with getting over sore throats and colds so it took a bit to get back into hiking again but after a few good nights of sleep and actually hiking we felt pretty good. Our feet feel so good compared to what they felt like before we came home!

Tuesday we got a fairly early start around 7am. We hiked around 11 miles to a shelter where we stopped for lunch and also just so avoided a big storm that hit after we got there. We ended up staying there for a few hours due to the rain and then just decided to hike later into the evening instead. Later in the day when we were within a few miles from the shelter we were planning to stay at that night it POURED on us! Setting up our tent quick in the rain only results in an inch of water in our tent so we decided to just keep hiking. Close to 9pm it finally stopped so we set up our tent and put some dry clothing on. Obviously WE were totally soaked but at least our tent was fairly dry! The worst part was putting on wet clothes in the morning! We were SO hungry and felt no motivation and earlier when we got to a road crossing there had been people eating pizza. After smelling that pizza all I could think of was pizza, pizza, pizza and how much I was craving some. The thought of boiling water for couscous was enough to make me not want to eat at all. After we had everything set up, Lance ordered some pizza and we enjoyed a late night pizza party! Even though we got rained on, it was a pretty good ending to the day!

We had an interesting skunk experience out here. We had a skunk chase us for at least a mile…It must have been rabid or something. There was a group of six of us that would run down the trail to get away from it, think we got away from it so would start walking again, and after a bit we would turn around and see it coming after us again down the trail. It was the strangest experience ever!

We have met some of the coolest people this past week out here. I’ll admit I felt sad about coming back and not knowing ANYONE since those we would have hiked around were now, at the least, one week ahead of us.  In just a few days time though we have met other awesome people that it’s hard to believe we only met a few days ago!

This week we also crossed the Pennsylvania state line! It seems like a lot of fast progress with being in 3 states in a matter of a few days. We went from a few miles in West Virginia to 30ish miles in Maryland till Pennsylvania.

Some of Lance’s relatives invited us to their place for amazing food, showers, and a comfy bed. Leon and Francis Kanagy had us to their place for one of the most extravagant meals we have had in a while! Chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, buttered noodles, and veggies! Sooooo good! Mark and Joyce had us to their place then for the night and provided showers and a nice bed for the night! We felt so spoiled and taken care of! It was such an enjoyable time spending time together and getting to know them better! Thank you so much!

Happy Trails,
Marlisa