Appalachian Trail Thru Hike 2012 - Day 80 mile 1140.9 (11.4)

Hit the trail at 7am with the intention of making Duncannon by noon. Was hoping to meet my friend there, but unfortunately a last minute meeting would not allow it.
The day was filled with nothing but rocks which I thought would slow us down. Even though it did we made it to town by 11:40am. We ate wings and drank a couple beers at the Doyle Hotel (an AT landmark, but run down). The staff there are very nice people and I would definately recommend stopping by for a bite and a pint.
I headed to the post office to pick up my drop box and mail a couple things home.
I am now at the StarDust Motel an doing chores like laundry and such. The feet are actually getting worse (didn't think that was possible). My left achilles is swollen pretty bad. I am going to head to the ice machine after I hit the shower and wash the stank off so I can tollerate myself. :)
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Appalachian Trail Thru Hike 2012 - Day 79 mile 1129.5 (26.3)

Started hiking again today by 6:30. The morning started off pretty good. The humidity wasn't too bad and it was overcast. It started raining around 9am which was actually pleasant to walk in because it is getting pretty warm. It did however make it hard to navigate the rock maze that we had to traverse. The walking was otherwise easy going since the terrain was relatively flat.
The big issue has been with my foot (or should I say now both wheels). My right foot with the stress fracture hurts something aweful. Every step feels like a knife is being stuck through it. Since I have been favoring it I have been over using my left. Today I noticed a sharp pain below my calf muscle. It is now swollen, red and extremely painful. It looks like a small tear in my calcaneal tendon. So now I have two very flat tires.
tomorrow we head into Duncannon. Looking forward to a short 12 mile day!
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Appalachian Trail Thru Hike 2012 - Day 78 mile 1103.2 (17.1)

Woke up at 5am this morning, but did not crawl out of the tent until 5:45. Hit the trail by 6:30 and made it to the AT half way sign by 9am. Big milestone!
Made it to Pine Grove Furnace by 10am for the half gallon challenge. I ate mint chocolate chip ice cream and finished in 37 minutes. I washed it down with a burnt hamburger :)
Started seeing some of PA's rocks today, but I know the worst is still to come:)
made it to camp by 4pm and will try to knock a few more chapters out of my book.
Happy fathers day to my dad, my father inlaw and all other Pops out there!
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Appalachian Trail Thru Hike 2012 - Day 77 mile 1086.1 (10)

Got dropped off by 11:30 and headed off. Within 15 minutes of hiking I ran into Hill Hiker. It was nice to meet back up with him once again. We lost Chez11 as part of our group (for reasons I will not go in to).
We stopped at a shelter where we ran into a Ridge Runner. The funny part is that he recognized me. He did a Thru Hike last year and he happened to see me, Marta and Becki on one of our weekend outings. Small world!
The day went very quick and we made it to the shelter by 4pm. Not a bad pace for all the BS'ing we did along the way. The shelter had 2 cubscout groups at it so it was packed. The kids were all very well behaved and nice to be around. I climbed into my tent around 8 and read for a while before turning in for the night.
On a side note....the foot was killing me by the end of the day! :(
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Appalachian Trail Thru Hike 2012 - zeros in Pennsylvania

I apologize for not updating this for anyone following my little adventure. I have been on the fence for a little while now whether or not I could continue. My foot has been causing me problems for quite some time now and i have been contemplating making my scheduled visit with family being the end of my journey. Before putting the possibility out there and getting asked a number of questions I decided to wait until I came up with something definitive.
I have decided to continue on further and go as far as my foot will take me. I am not going to continue until I hurt myself permanantly, but I will continue on with my hiking companions for as long as the foot holds up.
I will be getting back on trail this coming Saturday and push on north.
I have taken just about everything out of my pack to lower my base weight as much as possible to take some impact off of my foot. The only other piece of equipment I could downsize is my tent (which I absolutely love my Double Rainbow). Unfortunately buying a new one is out of my budget. The only other tent that I would consider getting is the Six Moons Designs Lunar Solo (2012 model that is being released June 13, 2012). This would lower my base weight by another pound.
Anyway.....I will make sure to keep everyone posted once I return back to the trail.
Thanks to everyone who has been following!!!
Happy Trails! - Rovious

Appalachian Trail Thru Hike 2012 - Videos

Here are a few updates that I have been able to upload.....sorry I can't get these things up faster, but I have lacked the technology to do so on the trail. :(

Keffer Oak Tree


Coming down from Dragon's Tooth


700 Mile Mark


Lost Doggy :( (story has a happy ending though)


Tinker Cliffs


Coming down into Daleville, VA


Daleville, VA Update


1/3 of the Appalachian Trail Completed


17 Year secada


Crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway for the first time...

Appalachian Trail Thru Hike 2012 - puppy update

Just a little update about the lost dog I had found. The owner sent me the attached pictures. The dog is doing well and the worried owners are very happy.
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