birdcouple's A.T. blog

Last Hike of 2011.... sniff sniff...

2011-10-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

Sad, yes. But, we have some great memories as we get all winter stiff from lack of hiking. I just can't take early morning winter stiff from a tent, so BC closes up the hiking shop before the nights drop in the 20s.

The Keffer Oak greeted us as we enjoyed perfect fall weather and a 27 miler with youngest son, Adam.
Another big tree!

We passed the massive Dover Oak in July in NY.

What a treat to spend hours hiking with our favorite Virginia Tech student!

Ahhh... fall colors...

My two favorite men take a pack break before a fairly taxing climb.
Ok, I really taxing climb.
Cute Husband and I reached target heart rate as 20 year old Adam leapt from one boulder to another.

But, the sightseeing was worth the lung busting...

We crashed at the Sarver Hollow Shelter where Adam built a nice fire for us and the Southbounders who shared the shelter with us.

The lovely couple who were Southbounding introduced us to "Hiker Butter", which is basically a jar of peanut butter that you eat from and constantly add new ingredients- such as marshmallow fluff, peanut M&Ms, pretzels. CALORIES!

Hiking Happiness!

The next day led us up to the Audie Murphy Memorial. Mr. Murphy was the most decorated soldier
of World War II and the memorial sits close to where he died tragically in an airplane accident in 1971. He earned and received every decoration for valor that this country had to offer plus 5 decorations presented to him by France and Belgium.

What an amazing man and hero.

Cute guys check out the maps.

I enjoy the rest of this Planters delight...

Happy legs with mountain sun on his face. The perfect hike! We enjoyed a huge dinner at Cabo Fish Taco and crashed at Adam's apartment while he pulled an all nighter studying. Thanks Buddy!

Cute Husband and I headed home the following day and enjoyed the most wonderful touristy stop on the way home...

A Blue Morpho at the Natural Bridge Butterfly Garden . We remember these beautiful creatures from Costa Rica, where Warren proposed. It was overwhelming when one actually landed on my hand.

No hiking boots here, but we did get to play tourist before the droves of other tourists descended on the Natural Bridge spectacle.

Here I am practicing my Ophelia Mad Scene. Act IV Scene V.

It is a crazy scenic place...

Thomas Jefferson actually owned this big piece of rock at one point.

Ok, Cute Husband, where to next?

We walked across Connecticut!

2011-08-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

Cute Hubby and I have been itching to spend a week on the trail and the thought of walking across the state of Connecticut as we inched closer to our 800 miles on the trail mark was just too good to resist!

I love this picture Warren made of the view from the covered bridge in West Cornwall. We spent the night at a popular hiker motel, The Hitching Post after a 6+ hour car ride to get us close to the trail.

Our shuttle driver took us to Pawling, New York to pick up the trail at the Dover Oak where we started hiking North.

Wow! One big tree, two big back packs...

The last of the trail in New York goes through a marsh and we heard familiar birds such as a Common Yellowthroat calling from the reeds.

We did a pack adjustment at the the only train station on the AT. Thru hikers often take advantage of this stop to head to the big Apple, but with temperatures in the 90s in the woods, we didn't find many queuing up for the opportunity to use public transportation.

Goodbye New York!

Hello Connecticut!

One of the most wonderful things about our CT hike was getting to spend time with some North bounders who were willing to slow down and hike with us to conserve energy in the heat.

Meet Brother of the Wind and Cool Shoes. Cool Shoes is actually a South Bound section hiker who was about to complete her hike of MA and CT. She is an amazing woman who teaches in South Carolina and survived a plane crash in the '90s. We missed her the second we said goodbye.

We kept running into Brother of the Wind over the next few days, and I am forever grateful for his lesson on the PCT method of bear bag hanging.

Warren checks out the beauty that is a Connecticut stream.

"Schaghticoke" (ska-ti-coke) means "the place where the river divides" in Mohegan, a Native American language. We passed through a reservation by the same name.

The heat broke after we woke at Ten Mile River Lean To (our first lean to!) and the rain started.

It drizzled, dripped and poured for the majority of the day, which made climbing down Saint Johns Ledges (AKA - a tremendous tumble of boulders) one of the biggest challenges of the hike.

We were then rewarded with a clearing of the sky and a 2+ flat hike along the Housatonic River to the Stewart Hollow Lean To. We caught up to Seven, PC, Moses and Gravity who were taking a short day due to the rain.

A fearless chipmunk watched us from a branch as we headed out the next day.

A very short next day, which included a shower, another night at the Hitching Post and lunch, dinner and breakfast at the Cornwall Country Store.... ice cream! beer! grinders!

After restocking and rehabbing for a night, we headed out for our longest day of the trip - 18 miles with good hiking weather and manageable terrain.

Somewhere along the way, we used our Murray beads and celebrated our 800th mile on the trail!

Sweaty packs resting.

We crossed the Housatonic River again - Connecticut is so beautiful!

We stumbled into Limestone Spring Lean to and decided against going down the cliff to camp at the shelter. We found the perfect stealth camping spot and set up the traveling LoveNest as we hugged each other with pride at our accomplishment.

My mountain man....

I gave thanks for such fun at the Giant's Thumb on Raccoon Hill...

We walked through the outskirts of Cannan and ran into Gravity again as we prepared for the ascent up Bear Mountain.

The trail was a little harder and a little higher, but the views were nothing short of spectacular.

I'm happy to be a few steps closer to Sages Ravine Brook Campsite and a few steps closer to taking my boots off.

AT!

Yup, more gorge-osity...

Cute Husband summits Bear Mountain...

The summit was cake compared to coming down the boulder pile that is Bear Mountain.

We walked across Connecticut!

The next morning we celebrated with oatmeal and coffee at Sages Ravine, enjoying the series of breathtaking cascades and small falls.

Hello Massachusetts!

We climbed over the challenging Race Mountain, which gave us a taste of the new state, and with great sadness at the near end of our adventure, found our blue blaze to the car.

Race Brook Falls was a tortuous way to end the hike.

The blue blaze to the car gave us various amazing views of the falls- making us pine for more hiking, but the trail was overused and steep and not AT mile countable.

I managed to fall in the creek with a 1/2 mile more of hiking. Much better than falling in with 50 miles left to hike.

And, then because it was our vacation after all, we treated ourselves to a luxurious stay at the Manor House Inn. The proprietor, Karl was kind enough to ignore our filth and smell.

Thanks Cute Husband for our Connecticut adventure - we did it!

Getting Some Religion...

2011-06-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

The PRIEST in Virginia has a been calling for several years as we tried to arrange climbing it with our two sons.

Well, we finally managed to get on Adam's schedule and his gal pal, Katherine joined us for the adventure.

For Cute Husband and I, this hike would connect the dots all the way from the border of CT to South of McAfee Knob!

Hey! We've been here before! In 2008!

But, the suspension bridge was worth the small backtrack before we started ascending the PRIEST.

And, ascend we did! The PRIEST tops out at 4,063 and we will not see this elevation North of here again until we reach Vermont. Four miles up, up, up.

A black snake sighting was a real treat. I do enjoy a good snake that doesn't rattle.

I also enjoy a great hiking partner.

Once we reached the top of the PRIEST, we all agreed that its bark was much worse than its bite. We had psyched ourselves up for years on how difficult the up hike would be.

Oh, don't get me wrong, it was a challenge, but a very manageable challenge.

We set up camp at a lovely site away from the shelter and took a decadent afternoon nap.

Sometimes getting out of the tent is more difficult than actually hiking.

We rarely ever start a camp fire anymore, but Adam and Katherine were game to go stick hunting. In fact, I have never seen a more enthusiastic log and stick gatherer than Katherine.

We dubbed her with the trail name, Sticks.

Adam and Sticks also seem pretty happy about filtering water.

Maybe not so much happiness for the dehydrated food....

We also found a new trail name for Adam after he accidentally stepped on a toad. The poor little man felt horrible about the accidental squashing, but he does do a remarkable imitation of Kermit the Frog.

Cute Husband and I (Wood and Thrush) were so pleased to pass on our love of the trail as we are sure Sticks and Kermit will continue hiking the AT on their own adventures.

Speaking of passing on love... you may remember we met the most lovely couple, way back in 2007. GG and Rhodo have been kind enough to follow our blog posts and cheer us on after they successfully finished a thru hike in 2007.

GG and Rhodo recently added a future hiker to the family! Big happiness to you both and the little one!

And, this is why they call them the Blue Ridge Mountains...

I believe we are headed to Connecticut next, right Cute Husband?

2011 First HIKE!

2011-04-29T10:47:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday found us in Virginia where we met with Cute Son #2 and his girlfriend, Katherine for a walk in the woods to celebrate spring and the holiday in the best way BirdCouple could imagine.

Aren't they just the sweetest?

13 mile dayhike on a gorgeous day with loads of great views...

The leaves were that bright lime color, that they only possess for a week or so when they are still super new on the trees.

A few warblers were calling from all those newly decorated trees. Black and White Warblers were out in force...

We hiked along the most beautiful stream for about a mile or so...

And, Katherine found her first trailmagic....

We left the Miller High Life and chips for any thru hikers who might want to celebrate Easter on top of the mountain.

Happy faces...

and a great hike on the best Easter ever!

Hmmm... I think Connecticut is calling us next.... or maybe the PRIEST!

Squeezing in a hike...

2010-08-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

There are few things that make Cute Husband smile as much as hiking! August is a challenging month for me to take leave from work, but the trail was calling and we set out for Buena Vista, VA to crash at a hotel and get in a short overnight. We were lucky enough to convince Homer Witcher to come shuttle us and were beyond pleased that his wife Therese came for the ride too!

Speaking of old friends, one of the first things we saw when we got on the trail was this from Queen Becky: I prefer her privy art, but it was nice to see that she had landed her also.

As we hiked North, we carefully navigated around squid and enjoyed a rain free day...

...with loads of butterflies and their children enjoying the flowers and milkweed. This creature becomes Cute Husband's favorite butterfly, the Monarch.

I'm thinking these guys may be Variegated Fritillary- but I'm always happy to be corrected.

And to learn more about flutterbyes...

A super cool suspension bridge that we crossed as a group of day players were out enjoying the day. One of the guys asked where we were hiking to and where we were spending the night. It always makes us a little uncomfortable telling non-hikers where we plan to spend the night with only a camp knife and a petzl light as protection.

Hiking North we came across the most beautiful hollow with a charming stream.

Sigh.

Bigger sigh.

We made it to our destination, Cow Camp Gap Shelter with plenty of daylight to set up the traveling LoveNest and filter water. The 1/2 mile hike off the AT to get to the shelter was a bit of a bummer, but we enjoyed a quiet spot away from 2 Northbounders and 2 section hikers.

Cute Husband makes fire and then coffee in the morning.

Plus, it was the perfect spot to stage our celebration! 700 trail miles marked this hike! It is still difficult for us to wrap our heads around the fact that we have walked over 700 miles on the Appalachian Trail....

Gorgeous day to walk up to the Balds. It is sometimes super swell to get out the woods for a piece and enjoy open views.

Finding the swing was also super bonus.

Mowed grass makes for happy hiker feet.

Cute Husband. The best view of the day :)

Virginia is calling again... mid September with the Witchers!

Wounded warriors climb Mount Kilimanjaro

2010-08-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

Nice Washington Post article and photos here. Impressive and heart-warming!

43 Miles, 3 Days, NY!

2010-08-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

The challenge:

43 miles in New York State

Temperatures in the high 90s.

Good chance of rain.

Fun!

And, it all started with a double rainbow which Cute Husband spotted after a fueling dinner at Barnstormers near Bear Mountain.

The hiking started at the Dover Oak with a ride from our pal, Shamrock and his dog, Spring.

And, it was hot, hot, hot for our longest day of the hike...17 miles ... on less than hiker legs.

Hot (very hot) Cute Husband.

A shady spot on a cool bridge with an angle in NY

Some local children made pictures of nature found on the trail in this display near a trail head.

Dark-eyed Junco, our personal favorite.

The best part about this hike was how many southbound thru hikers we encountered. This was some sweet trailmagic left by Ozigal. We had met some thru hikers at lunch who had enjoyed a morning beer or two from this very cooler.

We landed at dark at the RPH Shelter, exhausted, but happy after a 17 mile day. Our friend, Ross thru hiked 10+ years ago and remembered this shelter with the rusty water pump.

Nothing had changed.

We ended up filtering from the creek rather than drink the iron fortified water at the shelter.

But the shelter was quite comfy with bunks and a large porch to chill and enjoy breakfast. We met a thru hiker, De ja vu, who was trying to complete a thru hike after an injury took him off trail a couple of years ago.

Only 743.7 miles to Mt. Katahdin!

Day 2 was our short day - 10 miles. Which consisted of 5 miles of hiking in the rain.

Soaked.

We met a gentleman, who we assumed was a thru hiker, until we asked him how he was and he responded - Great! When do you get the chance to walk in the rain for 8 hours? He was excited to complete a 10 mile hike that day, as he had put on a back pack for the first time 2 days prior and had never hiked more than 5 miles in a day. We would have spent more time with him, and perhaps given him a trail name ... such as Cute Hubby's suggestion... Rain Man...but it was a torrential downpour with no cover in sight.

The rain let up in time to reach a camping area and set up the traveling LoveNest. We wondered why no other hikers seemed to be using this site.

Perhaps it was because tire marks criss crossed the field - making one think about the potential of getting run over in a tent?

Note our close proxmity to the picnic table.

Yum! Food from a bag!

I kissed my guy goodnight and we headed under tent cover as a next round of rain fell upon us. As darkness fell, we heard cars pull up and people walking around our tent. When we emerged, they informed us that they had reserved the entire field and there would be several tents and cooking and lots of noise right where we had pitched the tent.
They were kind enough to offer us a corner and they made good on their promise to make lots of noise. Things quieted down at around 10ish and we woke to this lovely group singing a hymn.

We couldn't stick around for breakfast, we needed to lace up and get out before the temps climbed up into the upper 90s.

We run across the most touching things on the trail... this was a memorial to Rick, whose best friend asked hikers to pray for him.

This is Stickwalker and Belle.

Belle was just back on the trail after recovering from Lyme's Disease. We also met Sweet Tea, a woman from TN who was still recovering from blisters after walking through PA. We met Hedghog and El Flaco. I tried to encourage them... "wow! you are almost there... less than 800 miles!" El Flaco said... "yeah, 800 miles what could possibly happen"

Hmmm.. good point.

We also met Miles who gave us the best news of the day. Apparently, there was an unmapped gas station with food and ... air conditioning! right off the trail about 4 miles South. We had a whole new spring in our step as we sweated out 90+degrees and dreamed of Gatorade and sandwiches rather than a hot mashed potato dish we had thought of cooking.

What a treat!
I ate so much, I could barely get my legs to work up the next hill as my entire body went into digestion mode.

We carefully and gently came down Anthony's steep nose and landed at the base of Bear Mountain Bridge.

Crossing the Hudson!

Anthony's Nose in the background.

Smelly, seriously fun great stuff!

It was good to cross the bridge late in the afternoon to avoid full on heat stroke... but we were bummed to learn that the zoo closed at 4PM.

We headed through the human zoo that is the Bear Mountain park on a Saturday and limped to the car. It was overwhelming to leave the woods and enter another universe of bbq pits, vendors, huge people in skimpy bathing suits....

We headed to where we had spotted the double rainbow... a Holiday Inn parking lot in hopes of finding a shower before dinner.

Success! and back for a last meal at Barnstormers!

We crashed and decided to check out the zoo the next morning, since we blue blazed the night before.

And, we were so glad not to have passed it up. The zoo is outfitted with animals (mostly rehab critters) found in the area with tons of educational plaques. It was a perfect morning to spend without the packs on our backs.

So, how did we feel after our 43 mile challenge?

Next hike... back to Virginia, Cute Hubby?

Celebrating 6 Years...

2010-07-10T18:05:00.000-07:00

Warren tortured me all week with the surprise he had planned to celebrate our 6 year anniversary. I was completely clueless and his hints (all utterly vague) were no help. Until... he asked me to pack my hiking boots, a fancy dress (for later) and then pointed to the AT map. See, there was this tiny section in the Shenandoah National Park that we had to skipped a couple of years ago when we had to reroute due to too much snow on the ground and too little clothes on our backs....

No snow on July 10. Picture perfect weather for a 2 1/2 mile section which we doubled back on for a lovely 5 mile hike.

When we reached the top of the mountain, Cute Husband whipped out the perfect Anniversary card, kissed me hard and dragged me back down the trail so that we could make our dinner reservations.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate 6 years of fun with this man... see why I am so crazy about this guy....

Thanks for the amazing surprise, My Love...

Virginia Calls....and it will for many more miles....

2010-07-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

Cute Husband left me the note above the day before we set out to Dalesville, VA for our first hike of 2010.

Geared up and ready to set boot to mountain for a short 2 day 21 mile hike. A hike that was special in many ways, but a hike that was made completely wonderful by Homer and Therese Witcher.

Their daughter, Taylor, shuttled us last year right after completing her second thru hike. The first of which she completed with her brother and parents when she was 11 years old. Homer shuttled us for another hike last year and this year we finally had the pleasure of meeting the driving force behind their 2002 thru hike, Therese.

This was our first real hike since the "Wilson Incident", which is how Warren and I refer to the stroke that I suffered from on May 6th, so we were both rather anxious before heading out. I had visions of taking a header and causing internal bleeding from the blood thinners that I have to take for the next couple of months. Or, perhaps, the left side of my body would just stop working, as it did during the Wilson Incident. Or perhaps, I would no longer have the stamina to complete a couple of miles carrying a pack.

And, poor Cute Adorable Amazing Husband worried that if something were to happen, would his cell phone get through, how would he get me out of woods?

Homer and Therese would have none of that worry. Homer looked me in the eye and said "Lisa, it is going to be fine" and he has a knack for telling who is going to be calling him looking for a ride off the mountain before they complete their hike. With a hug from Therese, we were on our way.

The first day, thanks to Warren's careful planning, was not too challenging and once we reached Mills Gap, I felt my confidence growing as I gained faith in my body once again. Plus, I had the company of this guy!

The weather was clear, but heat was building as we met this uber tame deer.

And enjoyed a buggy lunch on the side of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Canned corn beef. Something only enjoyed on the trail....

I felt stronger with each hiked mile and as we headed to the shelter, which was appropriately named:

I knew I was back to good.

Someone once told us that hiking is the best medicine. I believe that.

After chilling for a few hours, Warren got the traveling LoveNest set up in the perfect spot.

We woke to a Whip-poor-will as an alarm clock and tried to get on the trail before the heat set in. Day 2 started with the most challenging climb of the hike. We snacked happy when we reached the top before the temps climbed into the 90s.

As we moved down the mountain we saw the first hikers of the day.... Homer and Therese! They promised that it was not worry that brought them out, but just a need for a walk in the woods. It was such a treat to hike the next 5 miles with them and hear more trail stories.

We hugged goodbye at their car with promises to hike the next section together.

Warren and I hiked the last 3 miles alone in the heat. When we could see the car, Warren turned and congratulated me and I couldn't help but weep.

For the first time since the Wilson Incident I was grateful for my body.

On to Connecticut!

Birding the Appalachian Trail...

2010-01-28T19:28:00.001-08:00

No, we are not out hiking the A.T. in January search of birds, but we are super proud to be featured in A.T. Journeys, The Magazine of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy this month!
Trail Birds
Text and Photos by Warren and Lisa Strobel

A few years ago, while section-hiking a portion of the Trail through Shenandoah National Park, we met a thru-hiker named Matt (we’ve long forgotten his Trail name) who told us something we’d never forget. “Everybody,” he said, “has to hike their own hike.”

We do hike our own hike.

We have walked every mile (595 Trail miles to date) wearing a pair of binoculars.

We not only hike the Appalachian Trail, we “bird” it.

Being avid birders has given us an opportunity to more deeply appreciate the vital habitat of the A.T. and the lands that surround it, and to reconfirm the importance of preserving andenhancing the Trail.

It’s well known to most everyone familiar with the Trail that it provides a critical corridor for both fauna and flora. But the Trail’s importance to the avian life of North (and even Southand Central) America, is hard to overstate.

The Appalachian Mountains are irreplaceable north-south migratory flyways for raptors andsongbirds, and serve as feeding stops and breeding grounds, as well.

They are the bird equivalent of interstate highway, fast-food joint, and comfy home all in one....

Read the rest of the story here (and see super cute pictures of Cute Husband in the act of birding AND hiking)

We are particularly proud to be associated with the The Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the work they do to protect a corridor of the East Coast for birds and the habitat they depend on.

An organizaton that is largely supported by hikers, but is well deserving of the support of birders for their work in conservation and education.

Logistics and Another Wet Walk....

2009-10-07T16:55:00.000-07:00

Oh, the plan was perfect!

Cute Husband was in New York to report on the U.N General Assembly.
And the plan was for me to drive up and pick him up at the Trenton Amtrak station on Friday afternoon and head back North and then start hiking.

Unfortunately, news kept my guy from meeting me until late Friday evening in Trenton and we ended up shacking up in a hotel in NY rather than a tent in NY.

Fortunately, our pal, Shamrock was able to shuttle us Saturday morning to the start of a 25+ mile walk to finish out 2009.

Dry cool weather and Fitzgerald Falls welcomed us on the first day... See, I'm still dry!

Do those look like rain clouds to you?

There were also the first hints of leaves changing and fall sounds as we climbed and appreciated the view.

As always, we come across the most wonderful things on the AT...

And happy surprises such as this trail magic left by the Tuxedo Trail Runners.

Rugged.

Yes, New York state is rugged.

The trail through this section of New York included loads of short, almost vertical climbs through some huge rock dumps.

There is a little rock pile with the lovely name of Agony Grind.

We tenderly negotiated down this giant rock scramble hugging huge boulders, clinging to pine saplings and shoving our hiking boots in tiny crevasses... thanking the hiking gods that it wasn't raining.

It also includes the famous Lemon Squeezer.

Pretty sweet entrance, right?

The path through the Lemon Squeezer is a one foot wide and three feet high.

We laughed as we literally squeezed through the passage with our packs.

We laughed and took pictures until we turned around and faced the 12 foot high vertical rock wall that followed being squeezed.

My heart pounding, I followed in Cute Husband's foot steps and managed to not topple on my noggin as we reached the top.

Dang, at least it wasn't raining!

Information is so important on the trail.

We get all excited when we see something in the distance that indicates information.

Too much information would feel bill board like... NY City like... but a little information... good.

Hey, Katahdin is only 793 miles away?!

We landed at the Fingerboard Shelter, which was a super fine accommodation which boasted not one, but two fireplaces.

The shelter was full to the brim with other section hikers, so we planted the traveling LoveNest on some high ground, enjoyed a quick dinner and climbed in just as the rain started.

I love rugged Cute Husband! He remembered the hand warmers!

It rained all night, but kindly stopped in time for us to pack up and eat a warm breakfast.

We also celebrated another great year of hiking and making our yearly 100 mile goal!

600 total trail miles!

I think we saw just a tiny bit of admiration on the faces of the thru hikers we passed going South when we bragged about passing the 600 mile mark.

Sigh.

There are few things more wonderful than achieving a goal!

And, achieving one with someone you love!

Even if you celebrate all day in the pouring down rain...

We reached the top of Bear Mountain and checked out Perkins Tower as we prepared for the journey down the mountain on tingey sore knees.

There has been an amazing amount of work completed by an amazing group of volunteers on the trails around Bear Mountain.

Erosion control and restoration by the New York- New Jersey Trail Conference is evident as you descend the mountain.

Thanks for all you do for us out-of-state hikers that enjoy the trail!

Cute Husband and I got to the base of Bear Mountain just as darkness fell.

We checked into the stone cabins at Bear Mountain Inn, showered and rushed to a great BBQ joint in time to chow and enjoy a few beers to celebrate.

We woke the next day to a beautiful dry day and strolled (pack free) around Hessian Lake at the base of Bear Mountain.

We summitted this guy...!

Now to wait for months for the hiking season to begin again...

Out Came the Sun and Dried Up All the Rain (Eventually...)

2009-08-24T18:41:00.000-07:00

Change is often hard. Change is often sad. Change may require some intense therapy.

Cute Husband and I dropped off young Adam at Virginia Tech to begin his first year of college.

Sniff.

Oh, sure, he was excited and thrilled to start at the university of his choice. He unpacked his college life and created his dorm room as we stood watching and offering silly adult advice.

Maybe you should put your socks in the smaller drawer ----or if you put your computer here, you won't get too tangled in the wires--- or see these hooks? That is where you hang your towel.

After a few hours of this, Adam proclaimed himself adult and gave us the boot.

We walked out of his dorm room and across campus. See the duck pond, Honey? I bet he takes a girl for a romantic walk there someday.

I hope he remembers what a Mallard looks like, so he can impress her with his bird knowledge.

For the time being, little Adam didn't need us.

We drove out of the campus (searching to see if we could still see his dorm room window) and headed for the mountains.

Therapy.

Hiking.

Perhaps the best kind of therapy.

Cute Husband planned the perfect hike which started with a very short walk into the woods to the Thunder Hill Shelter. We (Cute Husband) unpacked and set up the traveling LoveNest while the sun was still high in the sky.

It was one of the few nights that we got into camp early enough to enjoy a few hours of daylight before dinner.

It was also one of the few hikes that packing a little extra weight seemed reasonable.

Pinot Noir from rubber-like camp cups. We clicked rubber and toasted Adam. We endlessly wondered what he was doing at that exact moment.

We enjoyed some lovely dehydrated food which went perfectly with the red I had selected.

We checked out the fine artwork in the privy.

Hail to you, Queen Becky!

Anyone that could spend that much time in a privy working on their art deserves a bow!

As the evening progressed, we were joined by other section hikers who decided to set up camp outside the shelter.

Possibly, because by this time, we had spread BirdCouple gear throughout and left very little inviting space in the shelter....

The rain started as night fell and continued almost until dawn. In the morning, our shelter mates were (luckily) mostly dry and unfazed and excited as we were to start hiking North.

See why I call him Cute Husband?

We put our boots to the mountain to start the 16+ mile walk to the John's Hollow Shelter and the rain decided to return.

A nice steady four hour walk in the rain.

I sang the Itsy Bitsy Spider song as we passed MovieTime, one of our camp mates at the last shelter.

Eventually, the sun did come up and dried some of the rain off our soggy gear.

The sun also gave us our first views of the James River from above.

We just needed to get down there, cross the river and hike up a tiny hill to the shelter.

Even this box turtle looked like he was over the rain.

Voila! The James River after 4 (or was it 6?) more hours of hiking.

It did feel like a huge achievement when we crossed the foot bridge over Virginia's largest river.

Oh, the places the AT takes us!

Teenagers were jumping from the bridge as we passed. One of the girls asked us where we had hiked from. We pointed to a mountain in the distance.

"Wow", she said in the cutest little Southern accent.

After we had completely impressed the teens hanging on the bridge with our exploits, we sauntered (ok, limped) across the bridge as an Osprey (a new AT bird!) flew over us and a train chugged by on the opposite bridge.

We made it to John's Hollow Shelter and peeled off wet socks and clothes and crashed.

The next morning was sunny and dry and gave us the opportunity to actually see what a lovely spot we had landed in the night before.

Cute Husband creates coffee.

Cute Husband explains to me the importance of properly caffeinating before climbing big mountains.

See why I call him Cute Husband? And, it was a climb.

Two big climbs with more views of the James.

All I have to say is that the map didn't lie.

Ok, this is not the actual map, but (divide by 2) it does have some similiar aspects.

Apparently, mushrooms can survive at these high altitudes without oxygen.
We passed the spot that marked where a 4 year old's body had been found in 1891 after she strayed from her school and we added a rock to her memorial.

We stopped at the top of our last climb and stared in silence and breathed deep.

Therapy.
We miss you Adam!

The Guillotine, Apple Orchard Mountain and 99 Beers on the Wall...

2009-07-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

Cute Hubby and I were thrilled when Adam selected Virginia Tech as his college of choice.

Not only is it an excellent and well loved university, but the campus is super close to miles of yet un-hiked portions of the AT!

We made the 5 1/2 hour trek last week to get Hokie oriented and then ... well... since we were in the neighborhood... we decided to put some AT miles on our boots!

Warren planned the perfect hike that got us on the trail after orientation ended and off the trail early on the 3rd day for the ride home.

20+ miles of fun that started with The Guillotine...
The trail leads under a very large boulder which thankfully remained suspended as the Cute One and I hiked through. Then up to the summit of Apple Orchard Mountain, the highest point on the AT from Chestnut Knob in the South to Mt. Moosilauke in New Hampshire.

Nope, the mountain wasn't named because of fields of apple orchards, but rather for the stunted appearance of the trees on the summit.

Harsh conditions and strong winds on top of the mountain prune the trees all winter long making a forest of dwarf trees.

The view was spectacular from the summit as we sang "Top of the world...."

In fact, this may have been one of our most beautiful hikes to date.

Walking through the George Washington National Forest with mature timber and moss covered rocks. Sigh....

The trail in this section is also beautifully maintained.

A big thanks to all the trail club volunteers that maintain and steward the AT, while keeping the trail natural.

In particular much thanks to, the Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club for the superb work on this section.

And, while we are at it, a big shout out to Appalachian Trail Conservancy for all the work they do to protect the trail.

Without their hard work and efforts to conserve areas around the trail, there would probably be very little wild in the wilderness on the 2,175 mile walk.

We hiked the remander of the day passing Apple Orchard Falls Trail where we could hear a group of day hikers singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall.

They were on 34.

I'm happy!

We pitched the traveling LoveNest at Cornelius Creek Shelter and settled in for a short nap before dinner.

My guy loves his gear and his new shelter shoes.

Two Barred Owls serenaded us throughout the night.

The following morning, we stopped to admire the architecturally unique Bryant Ridge shelter, about 5 miles South.

This is the fanciest shelter we never got to sleep in.

Built in 1992, the shelter was designed by Catholic University architecture students and sports a second floor, windows and a lovely setting.

We then headed to Jennings Creek to filter as much water as possible, as the next shelter was dry.

Apparently, legend has it that a woman and her child were attacked and killed by a mountain lion while attempting to cross Jennings Creek.

We did not encounter mountain lion, but it did feel odd filtering water downstream from a group of hefty campers who were squatting in the creek smoking cigarettes.

We headed up to Cove Mountain Shelter as ominous sounding thunder rolled around over the the mountain and light rain set in.

A turkey ran down the trail ahead of us as we picked up the pace to the shelter.

The storm calmed in time for dinner and we decided to set the traveling LoveNest up inside the shelter, as we had the whole place to ourselves.

This turn out to be a most excellent decision.

As darkness fell, gail force winds blew up the mountain and lightening seemed to strike all around the shelter.

In between storms, we heard a pack of coyotes howling and barking as they hunted on the mountain-side.

So very super cool!

And, a testament to how wild this area remains.

The rain continued much of the night, but we woke dry to a clear cool day.

Cute Husband is even romantic when he is smelly and sweaty.

Note the bouquet he placed on the picnic table as he served up a delicious breakfast.

As we hiked out the next morning, we stood in awe watching the fog lift out of the valley.

It was also fascinating seeing the first green returning to this area which burned during a lightening strike wildfire last July.

The fire burned over 600 acres and closed the AT and surrounding trails. Fog.

Not smoke...

When we got to the car and prepared for the long ride home, we said what we always say after good long walk....

"I LOVE HIKING"

Mud! Mosquitos! Mountains!

2009-07-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

Cute Husband and I set off North for a 3 day, 38+ mile hike to finish off NJ and start our adventures in NY. We met our shuttle, Bob (trail name Shamrock), and his two golden retrievers at High Point State Park.

Shamrock was kind enough to share his knowledge of the area and trail crossings as he drove us to our drop off in New York.

We will have completed 1/4 of the trail after this hike!

BirdCouple's boots in a new AT state!

BirdCouple's wet boots in a new AT state...

As soon as we got our bags strapped on, I found one of these little guys just begging to have his picture taken.

This is a Red Eft, or Red Spotted Newt. They like wet forests. We were going to hike through a lot of wet forest.

Within the first couple of miles we came across our first thru hikers of the season heading North.

We love it when they have a few minutes to stop and chat.

We met Carpenter who packs about 80lbs on his back because he can not feel complete without his shampoo, conditioner and loofah.

After spending a couple of days in wet muddy woods, I understand the absolute need for a loofah.

Every hiker we crossed during the drizzly morning warned us of the wet slippery rock scramble up ahead.

Super slippery wet rocks.

And, every time we thought we had mastered them, another one loomed ahead.

This was a nice wet cliff that made for a gripping adventure.We took what the trail gave us, even if it meant taking our bags off and scooting down the wet rocks on our buns.

I may have scooted for a couple of miles on my buns for fear of taking a header with my less than hiker legs.

Hi Wet Boots.

The rock scrambles were followed by trail wash outs. We have had a lot of rain on the East Coast this year.

Cute Husband and I must have stepped through or in 20 or so wash outs, which soaked our boots through to our socks.
Sometime during all this morning fun, our cell phone went nutty from the humidity and the camera stopped cooperating.

I thought I was taking a snapshot of the border above, but apparently I was just cursing on video at the camera.

And, it was fun.

The birding was outstanding.

Warblers in their last efforts of breeding were still calling from the swamps and treetops.

And, it felt great to be back out on the trail.

Mostly it just felt great to be with Warren for days on end...

We also met a thru hiker named Iron Man who was walking the trail in memory of his wife. With a little over 900 miles to go, he had some great stories of his adventures and hiking mates.

Apparently, he hiked with a guy from Miami for a while who was less than the naturalist.

When he saw his first chipmunk, he thought it was a gerbil.

I think Cute Husband and I will laugh about that for the next 20 years of hiking....

We shacked up at the Wawayanda Shelter and finished dinner and got in our tent just as the first rain storm hit.

Our socks were banned from the traveling LoveNest tent, as they reeked so bad they would make one gag.

We are all about packing out what we pack in, but those socks...

They hung outside by pack for the remainder of the hike. Downwind.

In fact, the sock perfume scared away the one (very large) bear we saw on our way to get water.

He high tailed it once he picked up their scent.

We dodged ominous sounding thunder storms the entire next day, which made us rush through the boardwalk and bridge at Pochuck Creek.

We woke at the Pochuck shelter after a night of listening to early fireworks in the distance to a gorgeous dry 4th of July day.

The last day of hiking up to High Point was heaven.
Hiker's dream path after days of mud and rock:

We crossed cow fields full of butterflies And a peace sign in the middle of the forest.The High Point Monument from 5 hiking hours away. Five hours later, we missed the side trail up to the monument.

But, hey, we are purists.

We stick to the white blazes.

Besides, my legs weren't doing any more up with the car within a mile or so.

Sweaty.

Stinky.

Happy.

Cute Husband says off with the heavy bag as we reach the car on the best 4th of July ever!

The AT in VA is calling next...

500 Trail Miles....!

2008-11-03T07:45:00.000-08:00

This is the lovely view from our warm toasty room in downtown Stroudsburg, PA on Saturday morning. Cute Husband and I were meeting our shuttle, the famous George Lightcap for a 25 miler in the lovely state of New Jersey for one of our coldest hikes to date.

And, meeting George was the best way to start any hike!

George is an A.T. section hiker, a literature teacher at Vernon High School and the guardian of Murray, The Tin Foil Ball.

If we didn't have a hike to do, we would have loved spending hours chatting with George in a warm coffee bar.

Oh, the Vernon High School students are soooo lucky to have this man as a teacher!George presented us each with a string of Murray beads (named for The Tin Foil Ball) for good hiking karma and dropped us at High Point State Park.

Apparently, they had gotten a little snow up this way.

It was actually perfect day hiking weather.

Highs in the low 50s, crystal clear with patches of snow that had already melted on the trail.

It was not perfect sleeping weather.

We landed at the Gren Anderson Shelter an hour or so before darkness fell.

And, then it got cold.

Really cold....

We crawled into our tent at the outlandish hour of 7PM and were actually quite cocooned and somewhat warm.

But, after drinking gallons of water through a Camelback all day, there was no way we could make it through the night without using the facilities.

Breaking the tent seal.

Bad idea when the temperatures were in the 20s.

Cold can actually feel like a creepy finger that sneaks into your sleeping bag and runs down your spine.

How, how, how do people sleep in temperature below zero?

Condensation build up from a lot of heavy breathing in the BirdCouple tent.

Nothing warms up the body in the morning like a cup of Cute Husband's instant coffee and some hot cereal.

And reading the local news in the trail journal format.

The shelter journal had lots of mention of the fabulous privy at the Gren Anderson Shelter...

We packed up and headed out enjoying another clear day and the last pieces of fall in New Jersey.

We ended the day stumbling over rocks, searching for white blazes with our head lamps on in cold complete darkness.

The perfect adventure!

The perfect way to knock off our year goal of 100 miles and bust through the 500 mark!

Already hungry for our first 2009 hike...

~BC

BirdCouple Walked Across PA!

2008-10-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

Cute Husband and I were really looking forward to finishing Pennsylvania.

Not that we don't love our neighbor to the North.

We are just not crazy about the rock pile that is the AT in PA.

The foot bruising, punishing rock pile that is PA.

A good chunk of PA would have been impossible without the help of our shuttle, Scott of Ye Olde Backpacker .

His shop is full of hiker goodies if you are in the Port Clinton area.

And, if you need a ride and good laugh, he is dependable for both.

Ask him to tell you the story of his chicken farm...Warren and I had perfect weather with the first signs of fall in the air for our 2 day 25 mile hike.

We started hiking North from Fox Gap with six miles left to reach the New Jersey border.

Ha! Goodbye sharp pointy Pennsylvania rocks!

It felt like we were running to the border, the anticipation was so great!

The white blaze led us over the Delaware River where if you looked to the right you saw this:

And, if you looked left: After a scenic mile of diesel fumes it was time to celebrate!
New Jersey! A new state!
And, as odd as it sounds, the trail did change drastically as we headed over the border. Cascading streams welcomed us as we made our way up to the Backpacker's site. Views of the Delaware Water Gap. And, I quick shout out to my gal pal Vencka who grew up near this wonderous area!Bears are plentiful in NJ.
That added a bit of drama to each turn in the trail and each noise off the trail.

But, when we landed at the backpacker's site, we found pure luxury.

Most of the tent sites have spectacular views. Bear safes and poles for hanging are throughout the area.

And... there was actual grass instead of rocks to sleep on!

We found the perfect spot and had a few minutes to lounge and watch a warbler feasting above us.

Then, what looked to be a Merlin, swooped in missing our almost identified warbler by millimeters.

What a show!

Cute Husband sets up the traveling LoveNest on the soft grass at the ridge of the mountain. Cute Husband filters water. Cute Husband prepares dinner. I honestly have no idea what I did during this whole period of time.

We slept like babies, despite a non-forecasted rain shower and woke to fog and clouds breaking.

On to Sunfish Pond!Sigh.
Praying Mantis.
Middle of the trail.
Stood his ground with dukes up as we passed.

To add to the perfection of the hike, we randomly came across a hawk watch in the middle of the AT!

This is the view from the Raccoon Ridge Watch and the dedicated counters were just getting started as the day heated up. The owl decoy allows for some up close raptor sightings as the passing hawks will dive bomb the owl as they migrate through.

Oh, it was hard to tear away from the clear views off the mountain, the constant bird talk and bins everywhere.... But we needed to keep moving ...10 miles remained before sunset. New Jersey is gorgeous!

Bogs and ponds and lakes and clear vistas with views of forest canopy for as far as the eye can see.

Tasty berry waiting for Mr. Bear.

Warren got a quick glimpse of a bear on the run.

It is such a treat to see one of these amazing animals. The habitat and miles of woodland along the trail in NJ gives these creatures some much needed elbow room.
Catfish Mountain Fire Tower.
Happiness.

Apparently there are A LOT of Rocks in PA

2008-09-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

Fox Gap to Lehigh Gap.
30 some miles in 2 days.
BirdCouple's biggest hiking challenge to date!

This is a picture of the trail with very little rocks.
In fact, the rocks in this picture are rather smooth and flat.
We could have laid down and napped on these wimpy little smooth rocks.
We didn't get many pictures of the sharp, jagged, toe busting rocks. Probably because we were too focused on avoiding taking a header on them.

Cute Husband summed up the AT in North East PA.... "I don't mind rocks in the trail. I do mind when rocks are the trail."But, we are doing the WHOLE trail. All 2175 miles of it, with a goal of 100 miles per year. So, there will be no skipping the painful parts.

With Warren's perfect planning, we headed North on Friday evening, crashed in a hotel and met our shuttle driver, Scott, of Ye Olde Backpacker at Lehigh Gap Saturday morning for the drop at Fox Gap.

If you are near Port Clinton and need gear, Scott is the man to see.

We love his motto:

Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave in a well preserved body, but to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, wow what a ride.

Cute Husband. Checking gear.
Ready to skid in sideways.

And, we were totally worn out after 13 miles of continuous, unending, uninterrupted rock-ness.
Rocks!
Always rocks!
You would think (and I did) that there is no way that the Earth could possibly have 13 miles of sharp rock.
It does.
It is the AT going South from Fox Gap.

This is a simulation of what happened to my foot about 10 billion times walking to the Leroy Smith Shelter.

Did you know that you can actually walk on rocks long enough to cause a fist size blister on the bottom of your foot?
True.
But once we offloaded our packs at the Shelter life was pretty good... That is until I couldn't find the spring to filter water in total darkness and we contemplated life without coffee in the morning.
Then we contemplated life without water for the next 4 miles of rock.

Cute Husband saved the day the next morning when he discovered the 3rd (and only running) spring a 1/2 mile from the shelter...

We re-hydrated, got pumped with caffeine and packed up the traveling LoveNest.

Day 2 was the real challenge.
16 miles ending with the climb down to Lehigh Gap.
The rocks seemed less abundant and perhaps a little less sharp as we journeyed South.
Our feet were hamburger-like but happier. It was a picture perfect day and the views traveling to Lehigh Gap were worth all those silly little stones that got in the way.
Poke Berry in full ripe. We went through a field of blooming golden rod and had the pleasure of meeting a non-BirdCouple honey bee.

Scott had warned us about the lack of water enroute to Lehigh Gap and we had stashed a gallon at Little Gap.

Good thing. No H2O at Delp Spring.

Cute Husband checks the maps and calculates water supply as I check out the amazing views.

The most random things happen on the AT.

For example, when this guy parasailed right by us at eye level as we were on the top of the mountain. And here we are on top of Blue Mountain.

Happily hiking through the remains of a barren Superfund cleanup site.

Note the setting sun.

And this is where it got a little dicey.

See, we still had to climb down the steep bald face of Blue Mountain.

A 1,000 foot rock scramble down with black toes, blistered feet, exhausted bodies, no water and very little light.

There was the white blaze that pointed to the sky as your next step.

There was the rock scramble where we threw our hiking sticks down the cliff so we could use every appendage to hold on to the mountain.

There was the part where a strap on my bag got wedged between two rocks. The more I pulled the tighter it got. I thought I was going to be Turkey Vulture food or cause a rock avalanche.

As complete darkness fell, we hit the tree-line of SuperFund mountain...

Totally worn out, shouting, WOW what a ride!
I love this guy.

June Overnight in VA

2008-06-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

BC Does the AT in PA

2008-05-28T18:59:00.001-07:00

BirdCouple does the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania.... with adorable son #2, Adam.

Oh, the 2008 hiking season begins! A 13.3 Mile day hike which would not have been possible without the shuttle driving of Scott from Ye Olde Backpacker (570-366-2110... he also has great packs and supplies!)

Cute Husband keeps telling me that no day hikes are possible within driving distance....

With only one one day of the weekend left after soccer tournaments all weekend, we drove up to Hamburg, PA and crashed at a local motel and woke early to meet Scott for transport to the trail.

The trail.... ahh... the trail...

Look! PA and no rocks! We met two other young hikers from the great state of Pennsylvania. The joke among PA hikers is that PA has no unemployment because the governor sends everyone out at night to put rocks on the trail.

Ha! Looks lovely so far...

And, then the boulders began.

This is the mound of rocks otherwise known as the Appalachian Trail in PA. After this little rock scramble, we hit something called Knife Edge.

Knife Edge was the closest thing to rock climbing that Warren and I have encountered on the trail to date.

Yes, it is a wimpy little climb compared to anything we will experience further North.

Yes, we had the advantage of climbing it with only day packs (slack packing), while thru hikers do it with 20-40lbs on their backs.

And, yes, Adam bounded up the boulders like a mountain goat while Warren marched over the rocks.

I crawled up on my hands and knees, without looking down.

I was so focused on crawling and looking for rattlesnakes, I forgot to take a picture. A search for Knife Edge provided this.... Ok, this is actually the infamous Knife Edge Trail to reach Mt. Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.

The Knife Edge Trail is an alternate route to Mt. Katahdin. Right?

The Knife Edge Trail is not the Appalachian Trail. Right?

Cute Husband, we are purists, we don't do alternate routes... Right?

Yes, there were rocks and more rocks. But there also were some beautiful overlooks to enjoy on a beautiful day. About 4 miles into our hike, Warren and I celebrated completing 400 miles of the 2,175!

Our goal of 100 miles per year will put us on Mt. Katahdin in the year 2025....I love goals!

The super cool thing of the day was the use of my new book, National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Mid-Atlantic States....

Well, I thought it was super cool, but it may have bugged Warren and Adam when I kept saying "See that plant/bug/butterfly/mushroom/toad .... go ahead... ask me what that is...I will just look it up in my new handy dandy field guide!"

It came in especially handy when we hiked up to this lovely snake sunning himself on the path.

I yell "poisonous"!

It looks poisonous, doesn't it?

Adam wants to see the guide.

This is a Milk Snake. Wonderful and non-venomous, which allowed for the fearless up close pictures.
And, this beautiful creature blooming beside the trail is Pink Azalea (Pinxter Flower).

We also encounter the most wonderful and interesting people on the trail. We met Snake and Shoe at the car as we were finishing our hike. These two gentlemen met on a section hike in 2001 in Georgia. They live hundreds of miles apart, but decided to section hike the remainder of the AT together, doing 200 miles per year.

When we met them they had completed almost 1,200 miles of the trail.

To celebrate this accomplishment, Shoe decides to get a tattoo which he is now trying to convince Snake into getting.

Dedication... love of the trail... what a great way to start the 2008 season!

Note to Cute Husband: If we get make it to 1,200 miles... I'll get a (temporary) tattoo if you will...

Every Hike is Special

2007-10-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

... but this one was more special-er than others!

We were met Sunday morning by trail angel superb Bill Gallagher, who was good enough not to complain that we were 20 minutes late at our meeting point. (Okay, okay - we overslept by a whole hour, and I drove like a madman at 80 mph from Annapolis to Swift Run Gap, VA, to try to get there somewhere close to on time.

Seeing Bill again was the first special thing.

Then there was this:

Aren't these beautiful people?

This was the first time Lisa and I have gotten to hike the AT with *both* of our incredible boys, Adam & Mitch. Adam has hiked with us before. This was Mitch's initiation. We did a quick and relatively flat 11.6 miles from Bootens Gap to Swift Run Gap in the Shenandoahs. What a beautiful October day! This was my birthday present from the boys!!

Poor Lisa. With three Strobel guys, of course there was a lot of testosterone flowing around:

And there were fun and games:

The next special (and kinda sad) thing, is that this was our last real hike in Shenandoah National Park, where the adventure all began. We've done all but about 3 miles of its 110-mile length of the AT. How many beautiful things have we seen there?

Lastly, this hike was special because it may have been our last of the 2007 season. But we met, and surpassed, our goal of 100 trail miles this year. Come on spring! Here's to all the SOBOs (southbounders) still on the trail, on their way to Georgia...

Labor Day Weekend in the Woods

2007-09-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

Bill was our trail angel shuttling us from the Riprap Trail Parking Area in Shenandoah National Park to Humpback Rocks Parking Area, outside the park on the Blue Ridge Parkway. ...

Bill is lucky enough to live right outside the park at the foot of the mountains. He dedicates many miles on his vehicle to shuttle thru-hikers to town and section hikers to the next point.

Bill is also a birder! He gave us the low-down on what migrants we might come across and told us about a Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch that was occurring right up the hill from a portion of the trail we planned to hike. !!!! Yes!!!!

Sigh. Cute Husband and I were a little torn.

One the one hand, this hike would only leave one more day hike in Shenandoah National Park and we couldn't believe we had hiked most of the park. On the other hand, SND was going to be past history.

Could this be Boletus pseudosensibilis?

Bill told us that the area around Humpback Mountain was its own little climate. Rockfish Gap had actually gotten quite a bit of rain during the summer. We found some beautiful mushrooms thriving in the damp woods and plenty of water for the first 7 or so miles of our hike.

So, I thought I would take a few pics of these lovely fungi and bring them home to ID. After some research, I discovered that to properly call a mushroom by its name, it helps to have a good look under his little umbrella.

You might also need some ammonia to determine what chemical reaction occurs. Or you need to slice it up and check out the mushroom's hues.

Now I know.

I refuse to give up my new dream of becoming a mycologist, but it may take me the same time as hiking the whole AT to get to know my 'shrooms.

Our plan was to hike about 12 miles on day one. That would be a fairly leisurely pace for some birding and enjoying whatever crossed our path.

Warren spotted a Magnolia Warbler and we worked fairly hard for a flycatcher which was trying to be a Olive-Sided, but he didn't quite convince us. Other than a group of migrating Grackles in the middle of the woods, the forest was pretty still.

As we re-entered the park, water sources dried up.

Cute Husband prays for a running stream.

We marched into Calf Mountain Shelter at dusk dehydrated. We praised the wood elves for the small trickle that was running from the pipe that dumps into the stream.

At the Shelter we met a guy from Michigan who was hiking through the park and then back to his car at the North end. He decided against sleeping in the Shelter because the one he slept in the night before was haunted by a couple of huge wood rats.

We slept on the softest piece of ground that Warren has ever laid the tent. The last sound before sleep was a Barred Owl calling in the tree above us.

Bill told us that the farmer who used to own the land on Bear Den Mountain had placed all his old tractor seats in a semi-circle for use during family reunions.

The view was spectacular and I noted that a tractor seat is designed perfectly to hold the immense weight of my backpack as I checked out the scenery.

Day 2. We passed a couple who started section hiking in 2004 and had put in more than 1,300 miles. They also spoke of the wood rats at the Black Rock Hut. Apparently, one wood rat was almost skewered by a hiking pole before escaping to lick his wounds under the Shelter all night.

I love going through the green tunnels on the trail.

Cute Husband! Run for your life!

The deer in the park are beyond tame. This poor guy was being eaten by so many insects an entomologist would have had a field day.

We finished the hike at Rip Rap Trail and headed to the Hawk Watch!

We met Brenda Tekin, who was one of the coordinators.

She is amazing at picking out the speck in the horizon.

I'm not kidding, she is so good she could even tell you that the speck was an immature male Northern Harrier.

Thank you for the lesson and generosity, Brenda!

So... it looks like we are off the PA for a portion of rocks next weekend.

My toes say no, the rest of me can't wait!

BACKPACKERS!

2007-07-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

Good Medicine.

That's how our shuttle driver, Rodney describes hiking.

Cute Husband and I were off for some good medicine and our first overnight of the season.

28 miles in the Shenandoah Valley.

I don't think we could have picked a better weekend for a hike in July in VA. Our longest day of hiking with 17 miles. Camp at the Pinefield Shelter with 11 miles to follow on Sunday.

This meant pedal to the metal. Boot to the mountain.

The only problem is that there are birds. And, always so much to see, to hear, to inspect.... No way could you just cruise right by this guy. Turk's-cap Lily (Lilium superbum).

Or this beauty. Jewelweed.

Jewelweed is also called Touch-me-not because its seed pods explode when touched. Jewelweed is used as home remedy to treat poison ivy rashes.

There is a saying that goes "Wherever poison ivy is found, Jewelweed grows close by". I don't know. We've seen a ton of poison ivy, but not enough Jewelweed.

The yellow species of Jewelweed (Impatiens pallida) is common at higher elevations.

Higher elevations.

That makes sense. It felt like we hiked up most of the time. Queen Anne's Lace or Wild Carrot. Tiger Swallowtail on the last blooms of Milkweed.

Monarch on Milkweed leaves. A beautiful Bald Faced hornet nest. The Bald Faced Hornet is actually a larger yellow jacket, and not a true hornet.

Ok, enough with the flowers.....

We also saw lots of scat!

If poop pictures gross you out, please stop here.

I happen to find it quite fascinating and we found several varieties right in the middle of the trail.

Bear scat. Scat from a pretty large bear.

According to this website, it may be important "to identify scat of bears that have been feeding on meat so that you can use this as a sign to leave the area, or at least to be very vigilant. When bears are feeding on meat, the scat is usually black and runny and there may be some hair visible."

We didn't see any hair.

A raccoon most likely left this berry filled scat on the side of the trail. Droppings are often left in raccoon restrooms which the raccoon will repeatedly visit and may be a way of staking out a territory.

I thought this was some sort of owl pellet. Owls swallow their prey whole and then regurgitate the indigestible parts such as fur or bones. I'm not quite sure, though... so any help would be appreciated.

And then we had lunch.

Trader Joe Wraps. The lunch of hiking champions. TJ Wraps eaten while digesting this view.

Cute Husband uses an AT map to verify that Highttop Mountain is appropriately named. I preferred to call it $%%^$%# mountain. Look! No urban sprawl in sight!

Hiking in the Shenandoah affords many beautiful overlooks. This view was also accessible by a short hike up a "blue" blaze and was crowded with day hikers and families.

As we trudged by a family, a girl yelled at the top of her lungs--- BACKPACKERS!!!! Talk about making us feel like superstars!

Yes, that's us... BACKPACKERS... sleeping on the ground...carrying all our needs on our back....making water potable.... living off the land..... for days and days.... (ok, for two days).

We met a section hiker with the trail name Rain Man from Tennessee. Rain Man was hiking the park with his daughter who had thru-hiked several years before, but chose to water blaze around the park. Meaning she canoed, rather than hiked through it.

We slept by the stream at the Pine Hut Shelter. A herd of deer were our alarm clock.

Honestly, Cute Husband had to chase them away so we could get out of the tent without being trampled.

I fought off 10 bears to provide a wholesome breakfast for Warren.

Well, I would have fought off 10 (teddy) bears if they had showed up.

We did see a beer later on Hightop Mountain (AKA $$%^%^ Mountain). He was traveling above us as the trail circled the mountain. It was our best look at a beer to date. He was traveling North as we traveled South and he wasn't the least bit frightened.

He stopped to stare at us. We stopped to stare at him.

We moved on before he could whip out his camera and take a picture of us.

Get off me backpack.

Look! Not a Walmart in sight.

Warren, King of the Mountain.

The view from Hightop was amazing and worth the aerobic workout. It was our last big climb of the hike. As sore, tired and smelly as we were, we found ourselves slowing down just to eck out the last bit of hiking goodness before we got to the car.

It will probably be weeks before we can get back on the trail.....

Oh, why must we work?

Have boots. Will travel.

2007-07-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

Warren treated me to the best anniversary gift this year.

Cute Husband gave me Georgia!

We shacked up with the most fab Mom in the South, her cute husband and their creation (and my new best buddy) in Atlanta for a few days of Hotlanta sights.

And, if too much fun with Avery Lane was not enough to keep me floating, Warren also hooked us up for our first AT hike in the great state of Georgia.

We were unsure of what to expect from the trail, terrain and boiling weather in GA, so we (ok, Warren) planned a short 9 mile day hike.

Our plan was to drop our rental car at the Springer Mountain Parking Lot and find a ride to our hike start and travel backwards to the very beginning of the Appalachian Trail.

We found that ride through the AT Shuttle List. Leigh and her husband thru-hiked in 2000 and now run a hostel for hikers and mountain bikers.

It was perfect hiking weather and the trail was breathtaking. Ravines full of ferns. Valleys of blooming rhododendrons. The sound of a mountain stream and a lovely waterfall dropped right in the middle of it all.

Sigh.

The lush habitat also supported a healthy population of nesting warblers. Black and White Warbler, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green......

It was a treat to see these guys outside of migration and we were challenged by remembering songs and calls we hadn't heard since May.

Yup. I could live here.

Cute husband in the middle of the woods in the middle of Georgia.

Ok, this wasn't exactly taken on the AT. The Aquarium was also a super cool GA attraction. Seriously.

This is it.

This is the very first white blaze that marks the Appalachian Trail.

It was super weird not seeing another blaze further in the distance. The plaque reads "A footpath for those who seek fellowship with the wilderness"

That's us!

Our next walk in the woods is back up North. Warren is planning something fun for Virginia.

As a footnote: Despite what you read here, hikers do not like to "tie one on before hiking", but rather they like to properly hydrate before hiking.

Thanks to the Queen of Fun (oh, I am missing you Paige) for putting us up, making us insanely tasty jambalaya and introducing us to the love that is Avery.

We're going to make that child a nerdy birder yet....

We met a guy named Mayo

2007-07-03T17:45:00.001-07:00

Mayo is a thru-hiker who really really enjoys mayonnaise. Apparently, his fiance sends him single serving packages (by the 500 count) for a squirt of nutrition along the trail.

Warren, Adam and I hiked the "Roller Coaster" in Virginia last Sunday and what a ride it was!

Straight up, straight down. Sharp turn left, bank right.

Adam carried all the "trail magic" (strawberry and blueberry organic cereal bars) for thru-hikers.

Northbounders hike from Springer Mountain to Katahdin in one continuous journey. We met so many Northbounders on this hike, that we actually ran out of treats.

Adam was deemed King of the Mountains by many a grateful hiker.

We also met a thru-hiker named Turtle. Turtle looked to be in his mid-sixties and in amazing shape. Each year we see more and more thru-hikers who are doing the journey after retirement and raising a family. I love that inspiration!

Eastern Box Turtle. Not thru-hiking, but climbing straight up the mountain. No switch backs for this guy. I am guessing this is a male. Male box turtles usually have bright red or orange colored eyes while the eyes of the females are usually dark red or brown. Male box turtles also have a slight depression in the middle of their lower shells while that of the female is flat. Cute Husband without his 50lb day pack.

Mile 3

Mile 12. When does this mountain end?

For all the ups and downs, the Roller Coaster was one of our most beautiful hikes to date.

Birdcouple is off to Georgia!

We are visiting the hippest gold lame wearing Mommy in the South and to meet the famous Avery Lane.

As an added bonus, we are going to step foot and on Springer Mountain! The southern tip of the AT!

According to our new Southern Half of the AT in the Chattahoochee National Forest Map:

"....some of the most challenging miles of the 14 state route. Do not underestimate the difficulty of the terrain and the possibility of sudden heavy rains."

We hear you. 8 mile day hike is the plan.

Oh, I can not wait!

1st Walk in the Woods 2007!

2007-06-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

Ah! Long range goals.....

As part of our wedding vows, Warren committed to not only love, adore and put up with me, but he also promised to complete the Appalachian Trail, section by section, with me.

Our goal is to complete 100 miles per year which should put us on the top of Katahdin in the year 2027.

We've completed almost 300 miles to date in MD, VA, WV and PA. Last weekend we started our hiking season with a short 9+ mile hike in PA off of Route 325.

We found Michael Gelinas (717-249-3718), our PA shuttle driver through The Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The ATC has a list of shuttle providers so that hikers can get on and off the trail or for hikers to travel with only one car and get dropped up the trail.

We love Michael! He always comes prepared with wonderful thru-hiker stories along with some tales of ill prepared hikers.

Male and female Scarlet Tanagers. BirdCouple loves hiking and birds!

Cute Husband maintains the bird list, plans the hike, organizes the maps and carries the heavy stuff.

I hike and look at birds.

I wish I knew what this beautiful flower was.

Reminder to myself: Pack wildflower book in Warren's backpack next time.

Several hikers warned us of a rattlesnake den that was a couple of miles into our hike. That made us super cautious for a few miles wondering when a huge viper was going to spring out of the woods and sink his venom in us.

This sign indicated the danger zone, but apparently we were the only hikers that day that missed hearing the tell tale rattle.

We love it when we get the opportunity to meet thru-hikers. We passed several north-bound thru-hikers last weekend. We always pack some chocolate as "trail magic" in trade for some of their motivation and trail stories.

We met this lovely couple (trail names GG and Rodo) in the last mile of our hike. They were into learning about birds and described the "tropical red bird with black wings" they had recently spotted. We showed them a picture of a Scarlet Tanager and Bingo!

Warren and I will be cheering them on (they have less than 1,000 miles to go!) to Maine through their online journal. Their blog has some great pics of swamp foot, if you are interested in what happens after hiking for hours in rain.

Nice new hiking sticks!

I wish I knew what these berries were.

Note to self: Pack the Berry identification book in Warren's pack for next hike.

Toxicodendron diversilobum.

I don't need a weed book to ID poison ivy.

A pair of amorous butterflies. I wish I knew what type of butterflies these were.

Note: Next hike, pack butterfly book in Warren's pack.

Actually, these are the most common fritillaries in the eastern United States:

Great Spangled Fritillary Butterflies, with the female to the right.

BirdCouple is planning (ok, Warren is planning and I am hoping) to walk a slice of the AT in VA in 2 weeks.

Virginia is less rocky! Hooray!

1st Hike of 2007!

2007-06-12T12:02:00.001-07:00

A nice rocky portion of PA! Can't wait to try out our new poles!

Coming soon!

2007-03-31T15:16:00.001-07:00

The Bird Couple's Appalachian Trail adventures...