Jack finishes the AT

Jack and the boys made it to Katahdin together, but then Jack had to finish the state he missed while he came home for two weeks this summer. He caught a bus ride from Maine to Pennsylvania and walked from Pennsylvania to Harpers Fairy to complete the AT. My mom walked the last two days with him. I made a typo on one of the slides...sorry, but it would take too long to fix it and upload it again. Maybe you won't even notice it!

Jack on Mount Kathahdin

They Did It!!!!

Today at 6:45 am Jack, James, Randall, and Tyler made it to the top of Mount Katahdin in Maine. They got up at 3 am and started this morning because they heard that it was going to be clear early in the morning. Jack said it was still very cloudy and FREEZING! He said his hands were frozen into little fist. The boys had a celebratory cigar and beer but had to get off the mountain before they froze. Jack will be going to stay with a cousin on my mom's side of the family and catch a Grayhound bus to Pennsylvania to finish the state that he missed. We're so proud of them and happy for them!

Monson, Maine

Jack called today from right outside of Monson, Maine. He was on top of Moxie Bald Mountain. He is by himself right now. He will be catching up with James later today and then the two of them will meet Randal and Tyler in Monson tomorrow. Monson is the last town before they enter into the 100 miles of wilderness.

Jack went on to say that New Hampshire and Maine have been his most favorite states. They weather is beautiful. He also said that he only has two pair of socks and he wears them both at all times…so they stink!

Jack and the boys stopped in Stratton, Maine last Thursday and stayed the night. They watched the USC game…Go Cocks!

Jack’s goal is to complete the trail (Katadin and the state that he missed) by October 1^st. He wants to make it home for the Moonshiners Music Festival in Spartanburg, SC on Friday night and the USC football game that Saturday. Jack will be living with me (and Jessica and Emily -my roommates) when he comes back to Columbia. He said he is very excited to cook and have a refrigerator. I am appointing him head chef of our humble abode, as well as head trash man, yard man, and protector. He will also be looking for a J.O.B. when he gets back so if anyone has any connections…give him a call.

MAINE

Jack, James, Randall, and Tyler made it to Maine this past week. Tonight they are in Andover. They are staying at a hostel that you pay 5.00 for everything (Shower, Place to sleep, Food, ect). They are paying a little extra to be able to stay in the owners RV. Jack said he thinks its the V.I.P. spot. He also said that it is freezing at night. They have about 250 more miles until the finish line!!!

Jack Up North

Stratton, Vermont

Tonight Jack is in Stratton, Vermont. He said it is a ski town a lot like Steamboat Spring, CO. and he thinks it might be one of the biggest ski resorts on the East Coast. They were able to ride a gondola from the bottom of the mountain to the top where there is a large open snack center with working restrooms and running water (and a hot chocolate machine they may sample). They are planning on staying the night there..but they are going to leave after the watch the sun rise so they don’t run into any workers that may be coming up in the morning. They are planning on hiking 10 or 15 miles tomorrow to get to Manchester Center, Vermont and stay in a hostel. From there they have 3 day hike to Rutland where Jack and James will catch a flight to Memphis for Blake’s Wedding.

Just on a side note… while I was talking to Jack he told me some more stories about New York. He said that when they got on the train he had to climb up the side of the train station and put his poles on the roof because they don’t fold up like the other guys poles! Then when they got back from the city he almost forgot to climb back up the side of the building and get them!

It rained their whole trip to and from the city so when they got back to the town where they caught the train from Jack and Randall didn’t feel much like hiking in more rain. Jack talked around and found out about an open space that has a roof and picnic tables in another part of the town and they decided to camp out there. They were so tired that at 2:00 in the afternoon they went to sleep. Jack said they woke up many times throughout the day because of all the people passing through. At dark, two men in a pickup truck came up to the mountain with a TV and some movies. They said they came up there a lot to watch movies that they rent from the library because it is the only place they can really just get away from everything. Jack and Randall watched a little bit of Mission Impossible with them, and then they went back to sleep!

Dalton, Massachusetts

Jack called tonight from Dalton, Massachusetts. I didn't talk to him long because he had little cell phone reception but he did get to tell me a little bit about where they are staying. The trail runs through the town of Dalton. There is a man that lives on the trail and Jack heard word of mouth and read it is his "AT Bible" that this man (and a few others townfolk) allow hikers to camp in their yards when they are walking through town. Jack and Randall walked up to his house and saw some other hikers out front. Jack asked if they thought he would let them camp in his yard and the other hikers said "He'll probably let you sleep in the house." Jack spoke to the man and he said they could stay in the house and to put their dirty clothes in a pile and he would start a wash!

His cell cut out before I could get this man's name or any details about what they've been up to. Hopefully he will call me back tomorrow.

The Today Show

I talked to Jack Monday night and he said they were trying to hitch hike to a small town outside of the city in order to take the train to New York Monday night. The plan was to be on the Today Show. He even told me not to tell our mom because he didn’t want her to worry about them walking around NYC all night. At 2:45am I got a text message from Jack that read “We’re walking around Times Square”. At 5:11 he sent a message that said “We’re second in line for the show”. He called me about 6:40 and said that last night they found a bench to sit on and some cardboard to make signs out of. The signs said “We walked 1450 miles to get here.” At 7:00 am I turned on the Today Show and when they scanned the crowd I saw the foursome with their signs and rain gear. I also got some text messages from people that I told to watch and they saw it too. I just talked to Tyler’s mom and she called their local news station and told them about the show. The station said they are going to air it on their news if the boys get any air time.

New York, New York

Jack called home today. They have completed the New Jersey section and are now in New York state. Jack said the terrain of New York State was very difficult compared to Virginia and New Jersey, which were like sidewalks. In NY, they climbed over one granite boulder after another. One night they camped near West Point and could hear the practice artillary fire of the cadets. They crossed the Hudson River on the catwalk of a four lane suspension bridge. Supposedly the hikers can get a view of the NYC skyline but because of the haze, they missed seeing it.
Jack hasn’t used much trail food up because he said there are so many snack bars where they can get hot food. They passed through Bear Mountain New York which is a recreational park for the city people to visit. Since they were there on a Saturday it was packed with people. Jack said he felt like he had walked into the World’s Fair.
Before the boys made it to Bear Mountain, Tyler met some trail workers who said they were doing work on the trail at Bear Mountain. He got their numbers and the boys called them when they got there. Jack and Tyler hung out with the workers and saw their progress. They have been working for 5 years to re-route this section of the trail and it is supposed to open next Spring. Jack and Tyler were the first hikers to actually walk on this new part.
They spent a night at the Greymoor Spiritual Life Center. The monks allow the hikers to sleep at the picnic shelters near their baseball field. They also have a crude outdoor shower rigged up for the AT hikers.
On Monday the boys are catching a 12.00 train ride into the city. They are going to call Jason Russell, another Holly Hill native and try to meet up with him if his work schedule allows it.

Jack's 2 week visit to the South Carolina Low Country

Some of the stuff Jack did at home.

Jack's Visit Home

On June 26^th, after Jack had walked 1000 miles, he caught a ride from Harper’s Ferry to Anderson, SC with Mr. and Mrs. Hollingsworth, Tyler’s Parents. Mom went to pick him up and they stopped in Gray Court for a night so Jack could see our grandparents. Saturday Mom dropped him off in Columbia where his truck was. He spent time with friends from college and began his binge eating that would last for the next two weeks. Wednesday he headed to Holly Hill and Thursday and Friday he did major yard work for my mom and grandma. We also went swimming at a friend’s pool and pulled Jack on his skateboard behind the golf cart. On the fourth a big group of us from Holly Hill went out to Morris Island which is right off the Charleston harbor. We stayed out on the island all day where we saw lots of friends. July 6^th our dad’s side of the family moved into a beach house on Folly where we stayed the week. My mom’s brother and his family were staying at Wild Dunes so they came over for dinner and we went to see them on Isle of Palms for a day. My mom’s sister came down from Laurens on Thursday and stayed until Saturday. We also met up with a lot of friends throughout the week that lived downtown Charleston since we were so close. Jack did lots of surfing, eating, and catching up with family and friends. Saturday we left Folly and went home for the big Stephens- McClure wedding in St. George. This was especially fun because we saw most of our friends from high school, indulged in an open bar/ free food, and danced to a live band. Then Sunday morning we began the journey of dropping Jack off on the AT at the Delaware Gap in New Jersey, visiting family friends in Pennsylvania, and getting my dad to Cleveland, OH for his last appointment (which went VERY well!). My mom, dad, Jack, and I piled in my grandmother’s Impala where Jack and I sat in the back with a cooler and some other small bags! Both our knees were hitting the seats! We drove for about 11 hours and then we finally made it to PA where we stayed the night. Sunday morning we were just taking our sweet time while we waited for Jack to talk to the other guys. When Jack got off the phone with Randall we realized they were very close so we rushed out the hotel to go find them. We didn’t really know where we were headed and we were in a slight hurry because the boys were waiting for Jack on the side of the road. We were so worried about finding this spot that we forgot to fill up with gas so halfway up the mountain the gas light turned on! We all started to panic because we didn’t know where we were or where we were going and we were on a deadline. Luckily we turned down the right road and saw Randall, Tyler and James just standing there and waiting. Jack jumped out and unloaded his stuff. Our Hellos and Goodbyes were very quick because the car was steadily running out of gas. We left them there and went to the nearest outfitter where we got directions for a shortcut to some gas. On the way back out we passed the boys again. Jack was waiting on us to come back by so he could give us his camel pack which he decided he didn’t need anymore, so mom snapped a picture real quick. We left there and finally got gas, ate lunch, and we were on our way to Pennsylvania. Of Course I needed a bathroom break so we stopped at a rest area about 30 minutes from our destination. Wouldn’t you know that the car died and we had to have AAA come out and save us.

Jack is now hiking through New York and he and James will be catching a flight to Memphis for Blake McManus’ wedding on August 8^th.

PS Jack also went through a slight transformation from the time he came off the trail to the time he got back on. The evidence is below!

New Pictures from Virgina

Jack's Visit Home!

Jack is taking a break from the trail and will be visiting Gray Court, Columbia, Holly Hill, and Charleston from June 26 until July 11! Please give him a call! I know he wants to visit with all his family and friends before he heads back to finish the last leg of the trail!

Hike the trail....Everybody else is!

My roomate, Lauren, called me this morning and said that Mark Sanford has been missing and they found him hiking the AT! This is the report from The State paper..


http://www.thestate.com/local/story/836552.html

Almost to 1000 miles!

Jack called about 7:30 Sunday night to wish Dad Happy Father’s Day. He said he had tried earlier today from a little picnic area but the service was bad. He is at a hostel in Front Royal, VA which is at the end of Shenandoah National Park. He said the Shenandoah’s were a cinch. It really rained on him only one day. He did 3 twenty mile days this week. The AT basically follows Skyline Drive and there are lots of picnic areas and snack bars run by the park. He said that beer actually cost less than water at some of the convenience stores there—Natural Lights for .65 a can.

Sunday was not only Father’s Day and the first day of summer, but Dad read that it was Hiking Naked Day. He asked Jack if he had seen any naked hikers, and Jack told him that one guy hiking with them today said he was going to drop back and try it. Jack didn’t actually see him, but heard a few whoops from some who did.

Jack finally saw a bear. He said he was hiking by himself and when he went around a bend, there was a full-grown black bear sitting up on the hill. He said that some people have seen 4 or 5 bears by now, but he’s glad to finally see one. He said deer are everywhere and that they will come within 15 ft. of you.

By Friday he should be at Harper’s Ferry, which is the 1,000 mile mark. If everything works out, he plans to catch a ride back to SC with Tyler Hollingsworth’s parents who are going to visit Tyler on the trail. Jack said that after 1,000 miles, he would like to take a short break with the family at Folly Beach for the Wiggins’ Family annual beach trip.

Waynesboro, VA

Last Friday Jack left Buena Vista, VA and headed to Waynesboro. A girl named Logan who is a friend of a friend that he knows from college hiked with him for the weekend. 3 miles into their journey they came upon a hiker party. Some hikers (that do this every year) were cooking a bunch of food and they even provided a keg. Needless to say Jack and Logan stayed for the night. They had a great time and met a lot of other hikers who were also enjoying the festivities. The day after the party they hiked 20 miles including the last big climb until they reach Massachusetts. It was 3000 vertical feet out of the Tye River.
Jack is currently in Waynesboro, VA with James and Tyler. They are planning on sleeping in the YMCA parking lot because they don’t charge the hikers for sleeping there. Unfortunately Jack’s tent is broken so he may be staying the night in a hotel near the YMCA. When he got into Waynesboro he and a trail friend went straight to a Chinese restaurant and as Jack worded it “did damage” at the all you can eat buffet.
They have had good weather, but Jack is ready for a couple zero days in Waynesboro. It is also exciting that the guys are only about 150 miles from Harper’s Ferry which is the half way point!

New Picture Slideshow

Pictures from Virginia thus far

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmk699JXOx0

Mount McAfee and the Hives

Today Jack hit the 702.5 mile mark at Mount McAfee. He stopped to admire the view and he ended up drinking all his water. He went to the closest shelter to get water from the spring that ran behind it. When he came out of the woods that surrounded the stream he was covered in hives and his whole body was itching. He panicked and quickly hiked to the next town. The whole way he said he could feel the itch climbing up his body and before he got to town he said his beard started to itching to. He is hoping a shower and good nights sleep in a hotel will get rid of the itch before tomorrow.

Trail Marks

"And so we walked. We walked up mountains and through high forgotten hollows, along lonesome ridges with long views of more ridges, over grassy balds and down rocky, twisting, jarring descents, and through mile after endless mile of dark, deep, silent woods, on a wandering trail eighteen inches wide and marked with rectangular white blazes (two inches wide, six long) slapped at intervals on the grey-barked trees. Walking is what we did." Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods

All along the trail trees are marked with white paint. These markings help hikers make sure they are on the AT. Jack said that when they went through the open fields that instead of trees there are poles lined up very close together to take you across. He wasn't sure why this was necessary until he went through one when the fog was heavy. He said if he didn't have the poles to look at he would have been totally lost.