Week 2 - 2022

WEEK TWO of HOBOS GOING SOBO IN THEIR OBOZ, the journey "in-tents"ifies ...

Caledonia State Park, Fayetteville, PA to Boonesboro, MD - 42 miles, average 10 miles per day.  (3 days off due to rain)

WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK ON THE TRAIL :

• It was a really rough start to our week … I was ready to throw in the towel, if I had had one, I sure would have!  (Actually the whole week was rough, but some really good thrown in there too.)

• Rain is a real party crasher! We got caught in a heavy downpour that lasted all afternoon. Trying to walk on rocks and through boulders and not slipping was very challenging!  That part wasn’t even the worst of it. The setting up our tent in the pouring rain trying to hurry (which you feel like you’re moving in slo mo) trying hard to go fast so we didn’t get water in the tent ended up being a disaster!  By the time we were done, the inside of our tent was soaked from the rain and from the wet clothes we had on. To top it off, I spilled a full bottle of water leaving a huge puddle on the floor. So any dry thing we could find was used to soak up the mess.  As we’re in the tent singing our woes, 15 minutes later it completely stops raining! Are you kidding me?!  If we had just waited a half an hour longer we wouldn’t have had to set up in the rain?!  As the saying goes, “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to”; and I did.   Hours later the downpour started back up bringing thunder and lightning this time!  It was a LONG night trying to stay warm, dry and comfortable.

• FROG to the rescue and my hero!  The next day he made the decision to bypass our days walk with our wet things and called for a shuttle to take us to the closest town (Waynesboro, PA) to stay in a hotel to dry out.  I can finally bring out the party balloons and celebrate once again!  It’s going to be okay.

• Our first slackpack day this year! (A day with only a day pack, no full pack)  Since we decided to stay two nights at the hotel, we chose one of those days to hike to make up for the miles we missed by getting off trail  due to the rain.  Climbing over rocks is so much easier with less load on your back!!

• FROG got into something! He has developed a huge rash and sores on his leg. It’s ugly and he’s agreed I can share a pic with you but if you have a weak stomach you may wish to hurry past that pic.  We are putting cortisone cream on it but if that doesn’t help, we may be doing an ER trip at some point.

• Our shuttle driver, Roger shared a lot of his life with us and through that we learned he lost his wife last year.  It was so sad to hear him talk of it. We asked him if we could pray with him and it touched all of us emotionally.  Everyone has a story, we just need to take the extra time to listen.

• Welcome to Maryland!  Okay, so you hope that by leaving Rocksylvania that now you will have paths with no rocks. You think it might just be a much easier journey — WRONG!  In some areas, Maryland was worse!

• What makes it all better?! We were coming out of the woods to a trailhead and another couple that was just finishing their day hike asked if they could help us with anything.  They were headed into town, did we want a cold soda or some ice cream?  You didn’t have to ask us twice! In their car we go to get ice cream and sodas!   Trail Angels Kimberly & Peter, thank you!!!

• Well, another first for us (and I seriously hope our last!)  I was in the lead this time, enjoying an area of no rocks and we hear the distinct rattle you wish not to hear! Right next to me coiled up, a rattlesnake!  If my shoes had not been laced, I would have definitely lost them by how high and fast I jumped backwards!  I am not sure why he didn’t strike but I am literally thanking God he did not!  That was scary!  We stepped way back giving him plenty of space and walked a good way around him!  I hate snakes You know how hard it is to walk after seeing that??!! 

• WHY??!! At our stop at High Rocks overlook, we were in complete shock at the rocks and the trees surrounding the area. Everything was full of graffiti!  All this natural beauty and it’s been vandalized.  The view was exceptional if you could look past everything else.  There’s even a sign posted that says “Under Surveillance” - someone is definitely not doing their job!

• We have met up with some great people so far on the trail: Stacey and her dog Arlo,  Fish at TCO Outdoors, Hoot Owl, Motorcycle Man, Necessary Evil,  Ken,  Upright, 1/2 Marathon, Paige, Ash, Liberty, Foxtrot, Lawrence, Fresh Ground, Ice Man, Lost Man, Robin Hood, Sight Seer, Ghost, Beer Girl, Kimberly & Peter, Tom, Roger, Slug 1, 2, 3 and 4. , Strings, and Axe Man, to name a few.  So many more that we didn’t get their names all sharing their adventure and love for being on the trail.  Unless you’ve experienced it, it’s hard to explain, we’re out here for a lot of the same reasons and bonds are formed quickly … we’re family (tramily = trail family) and we look out for each other.

• Although everyone is out here for basically the same reason, not everyone gives the best description of what’s ahead on the trail. Many are trying to be nice and make it sound bearable.  Not one guy we came across … he’s an example of a good friend.  He didn’t tell us what we wanted to hear but told us what we needed to hear, the truth. “I won’t sugarcoat it for you, it is long , rocky, and very steep ahead for quite awhile.”  He didn’t lie, it was all he said and so hard!

• 100 miles!! We’ve hit a milestone!  Only 500 more miles to go to reach the finish line.

• And then there’s Tom! What a great way to celebrate our milestone! Trail Magic!  We missed the hamburgers and hotdogs but he still had cold drinks, cookies, and candy available for the taking.  Thank you, Tom!

• I was not a happy camper by any means!  FROG wanted to walk just another 3 miles (we had already walked 9 miles at this point) to get to Washington Monument State Park to camp there.  I was dragging, my feet hurt and my attitude stunk (I’m pretty sure it stunk worse that the skunk cabbage from last week!) When we got to the park, we found out “park closed” and couldn’t camp there.  Which meant we had to walk another 2 miles to the next campsite! I was pretty upset but I think my anger must have given me enough steam to endure a 14 mile day. I was completely spent by the time we got there. The upside … there was a bathroom with showers when we arrived!!

• Dilemma: what to use when you have no towel to dry off after a shower? Remember when I said I was ready to throw in the towel?  Hah! Now I just needed one!   Thankfully there were paper towels by the sink, and they weren’t “Downey, the quicker picker upper” because I went through several to get dry.  But so thankful for what I had. 

• We are fair weather hikers. Our week started with a rainstorm and ended with a rainstorm.  We called for a shuttle to pick us up, it’s supposed to rain all weekend. We will slackpack to make up lost miles but will do it staying in a hotel where it’s warm, dry and a shower (with towels!) available after our hike. That’s my type of hiking/camping!

• Praying WEEK THREE is without so much drama!  Enjoy your week!