TeaTime and Peak

There are lows on the trail and there are highs. I can go on for paragraphs about some of the highs, some of the amazing people we’ve met so far, some of the many loving moments of support and laughter Teatime and I have shared, some of the spectacularly beautiful views we’ve seen, I could go on.  But then there are the lows.  We left Open Arms Hostel in Luray Monday afternoon after having a relaxing morning tying up lose ends and getting ready to set out on what we thought would be a lovely seven days of hiking to Waynesboro. Our first accent was to Mary’s Rock, just south of Thornton Gap, where this photo of us was taken. The sun was blazing and we were loving it.  We heard of snow and rain from many people but the locals kept saying it would mostly likely pass over us or likely wouldn't be too bad. As the sun was setting we found a grassy area near a picnic area in Shenandoah National Park to set up our tent. In busy season, this would have been a bi...

We are back on trail... yeehawww! While our awkwardly timed break from hiking was  necessary, I do admit I was getting a little agitated upon our final day off. I think this was a combination of constant travel, little rest, and last minute errands, that made for a very grumpy Gavin leaving Philadelphia. But upon boarding the 6:30 MARC train to Harpers Ferry all of this agitation immediately turned into excitement once again. "That sandwich was good but not 12 miles worth of good" This may have been the “honeymoon effect” at work, but our first few days back could not have went better. I will give you all some of the highlights and try not to ramble. Harpers Ferry this time of the year is a ghost town. We woke up late at the towns inn. We were extremely excited about this, since this particular hostel had been featured on Gordon Ramsey’s Hotel Hell. It is just as quirky as portrayed on TV. After a few laps of the town we realized there was only one coffee shop open, ...

This is all something new. We've never hiked long distances before. We've never put our bodies through such physical demands before. We've never even written a blog before. It is all new and it is all extremely exciting. I would like to share a small introduction of us and our hike to come. My name is Emma and my fiancé is Gavin. We are thrilled to finally be getting married this October after nearly eight years of laughter and love together.  But first, we have set out to thru hike the Appalachian Trail and are aiming to finish by end of August. We have had to change our hiking directions more than a few times and we may even switch our plans again. We originally wanted to start in Georgia and finish in Maine. Now, we are flip-flopping and hiking both Southbound and Northbound. We have already hiked Northbound or NOBO from Harpers Ferry to Duncannon PA. We will start hiking Southbound or SOBO from Harpers Ferry to Springer Mountain GA today. Then we will hike NOBO from...