BEC AND MARVIN IN THE WOODS

[itsfullofstars]

Truly one of the all-time great launch photos.

📸 Steven Madow

[rebeccamarvin]

Hey, friends/family! In case anyone was wondering what we're up to these days:

Originally we were planning on slackpacking each other through the last 600 miles of the Appalachian Trail. This would mean we'd hike stretches in opposite directions from one another, bouncing our car up and down the trail. This would avoid shelters, towns, and having to resupply too often (while staying in our tent near trailheads).

However, the ATC released this link a couple hours ago, so Marvin and I are headed home from the trail on Thursday. While our original plan does reduce risk, we decided it's better to wait and finish the hike another time...whether that's prior to August 21st, making us official "thru-hikers", or afterwards, making us "section-hikers". We're not too concerned either way.

Make good choices, y'all.

[rebeccamarvin]

13-mar-2020

Hey all! We're heading back to the trail! We spent most of winter visiting family, both in Michigan and also in Thailand! Got to see my (Marvin) grandma, as well as my mom's entire side of the family.

Expect a couple of posts in the upcoming month!

-Marvin

[rebeccamarvin]

16-Jan-2020

We got off trail last December to take a break for the winter! We’ll be returning in the spring to finish up, each hiking solo so we can spend some time discovering our own preferred way to hike!

As for where we’ve been and what we’ll be up to till then: We spent Thanksgiving with my mom, then skipped down to do some warmer weather hiking with my dad and brother (Nick) in North Carolina and Georgia. For the holidays, we helped Marvin’s mom out at the restaurant and caught up with friends and family. Soon we’ll fly out to Thailand to see the rest of Marvin’s family. We’ll follow that up with a couple weeks exploring Japan. In March, Marvin will start hiking again while I train for the Boston Marathon. Once I finish that I’ll jump back on the trail while he starts working again. -REG

[rebeccamarvin]

Helping out at Bangkok Bistro in Troy, MI (Marvin’s mom’s restaurant) meant we could eat all the delicious food during downtime. They even made Marvin’s off-menu favorite for him: Guay tiew!

[rebeccamarvin]

My dad absolutely loves Pepsi, so when a truck driver pulled off next to the trailhead for lunch, he and Marvin couldn't resist making a roadside transaction -REG

[rebeccamarvin]

There's a waterfall not far from Springer Mountain that's well worth the detour. I imagine in the summer time it's a nice place to cool off.

[rebeccamarvin]

We played a lot of pinochle on the trail once my dad and brother (Nick) joined us, oftentimes with the added light of Lilli's homemade candles :) -REG

[rebeccamarvin]

Sunrise at Blood Mountain, Georgia

[rebeccamarvin]

From Wikipedia:  Needle ice is a phenomenon that occurs when the temperature of the soil is above 0 °C (32 °F) and the surface temperature of the air is below 0 °C (32 °F). The subterranean liquid water is brought to the surface via capillary action, where it freezes and contributes to a growing needle-like ice column.

This stuff not only looked really cool, it was also quite soft to walk on!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needle_ice

[rebeccamarvin]

Smattering of pictures from North Carolina and Georgia with my dad and brother -REG

[rebeccamarvin]

Snow on the mountains in North Carolina! The north faces of the mountains often had a sprinkling of snow and ice. We took some pictures to show my 12-year-old sister back home that even southern states can get snow in December. -REG

[rebeccamarvin]

My dad was pretty displeased that North Carolina offered little respite from the cold and snow up north. We added a foam pad to his sleeping setup to help with warmth at night. -REG

[rebeccamarvin]

Walking up to the Fontana Dam “Hilton” Shelter - the most luxurious shelter on the trail. It had flush toilets in a heated bathroom nearby, AND potable water.

[rebeccamarvin]

We had the opportunity to go back home and do some real shopping. We didn’t carry all of this with us at once, but being able to pick out food from the amazing selection was great. Much better pickings than whatever we could find at many of the closest convenience stores to the trail, and a lot cheaper.

[rebeccamarvin]

We're in Virgina! State 11 of 14! Half of the Appalachian Trail is in four states basically! Whoa!

We had a nice couple of days where we got to see some friends that live near the trail! We got to meet up with our friend Alyssa at Boonsboro, MD! We got to chat over some coffee at Dan's Restaurant & Taphouse, which apparently was one of Al Capone's favorite places to eat!

The next day, we made our way into Harper's Ferry, WV! We were able to pick up some packages for us at the Appalachian Trail Center! We got some blaze orange gear and Gossamer Gear fanny packs!

Later that day a good friend from highschool who lives in the area picked us up! We stayed with him, his girlfriend, and her family for the next day and a half! It was a wonderful break from hiking, filled with great movies, lots of tea, and plenty games of Magic: The Gathering were played!

One of the movies we saw while staying with my friend was Parasite! It was amazing and moving!

Afterwards, we hiked and got a hitch into the town of Front Royal, VA! It's a super friendly town. Four of the stores in town joined together and run a little room where hikers can shower and do their laundry for free!

After a nice day in town, and lots of tasty meals, we're now in a Quality Inn for a nice night of sleep!

Tomorrow we head into Shenandoah National Park!

[rebeccamarvin]

The last time we posted, we'd just hit Pennsylvania. Now we're in southern Pennsylvania, and have hiked through the rockiest bits. While it's been said that PA makes your feet hurt with pointy rocks, and doesn't have any views, we didn't find that to be true at all. The boulder sections were fun and there were plenty of overlooks showing the woods, rivers, and farms below.

The toughest part of PA was hiking through trails that had become rivers after the entire area south of us was hit hard with heavy rain and high winds. We stayed in Port Clinton, just north of the storms, when they hit on Halloween night.

We got a care package in the mail from my mom in Bethel, PA and enjoyed some creative cookie flavors.

When we got to Duncannon, PA, they were having Halloween late due to the rain and the church we set up our tent at saw probably 2000 trick-or-treaters.

We put in 18 miles before 3pm the next day so we could catch a bus in to Harrisburg and I could take Marvin on a movie date (The Lighthouse).

My friend and former mentor at Hershey came in to visit us when we passed through Boiling Springs.

Now we're finishing up the last few days in PA! Soon we'll be in Maryland! -REG