5-6-04 -- Karen called at 10:12 a.m. today from Travel Lodge in Troutville, Virginia, where they spent last night. The last 6 days have been good weather with rain only on the first day they left Pearisburg.  Unlike what Karen had heard about Virginia being easier to hike, she said the terrain so far has been quite rugged.  Much of this last section has been along knife edge, rock covered, ridge tops with shear cliffs on both sides.  “A little unnerving”, she said.  One place, called Dragon’s Tooth, was especially tricky and tough climbing.  Other places had huge boulders and rock outcrops which made them have to twist and turn their way along the trail.  With that 40 pound pack, and the constant maneuvering, her back is hurting a bit.  Wild flowers are blooming everywhere and the scenery is spectacular - “like walking through a garden”, she said.  While on top McAfee Knob they could see the cityscape of Roanoke in the distance, “quite an incredible view”, she said.  Her feet are doing much better.  One day, near the end of a 16 mile day, she tripped on a root only one fourth mile from the shelter.  She was unable to break her fall and fell face first, the full length of her body striking the ground full force, all at once.  She was not seriously hurt, but did end up with a knot on her head.  Today, Nails has arranged for a 14 mile slack pack day.  They are leaving shortly to ride to a point 14 miles north, then walk south back to town by tonight carrying only enough food and water for the day.

5-6-04 10:30 pm -- Karen and Nails finished today’s slack pack hike.  Karen said it is so much more enjoyable to travel without that heavy pack.  As they slack packed southward today they ran into some of their hiking buddies still heading north.  They were quite jealous of Karen and Nail’s small day packs.  Karen was amused at their confused expressions when they first saw her and Nails - expressions which seemed to say, “Wait a  minute!.... someone’s going the wrong way here!”  That does happen,  Karen says.  There are stories of hikers waking up one morning at a shelter and heading the wrong direction.  “Yes, I climbed Roan High Knob twice”, so the horror stories go.  So far, Karen has had only one such episode in Georgia where she got up one morning and went the wrong way for about one quarter mile before she began to recognize things and turned around.  Karen said to thank everyone for the many birthday gifts she found in her packages at this mail drop.  Her and Nails just returned from an all-you-can-eat buffet.  They plan to head out in the morning, first catching a ride 14 miles north to the same place as this morning... but this time they will head north (hopefully!)  The next mail drop is 5 days away, Montebello, VA.  They have past the one third point having now covered 727 miles.  The days are getting hotter and Karen says she finds herself getting tired more quickly and needing much more water.  Unfortunately, water sources become less frequent on the A.T. as you travel north so they are going to have to start carrying more water -  which means more weight!  They have an 18 mile day tomorrow if they want to make the next shelter.  But, if not, she said tenting is much more enjoyable now with the warmer weather.  Rich, Nails’ husband, is meeting them on the 14th to get off the trail for a couple of days and drive back to Damascus to be part of “Trail Days”, an annual festival held for A.T. hikers.  Karen said many hikers within driving distance take a break to attend this festive event.  Then Rich will drive them back to continue their adventure.  I wonder if Daniel Boone had this much fun?

5-12-04 -- Karen called today at 10:00 am from Montebello, VA.  They picked up mail drop supplies this morning from the post office and are planning to continue on the trail by noon.  Last night they missed an opportunity to stay at a nice hostel due to a mix up in directions.  They were to wait at a particular gate for some other hikers to lead them to the hostel location.  It turns out, there were two gates.  Karen and Nails waited for hours at one gate, finally just setting up their tents.  Meanwhile, their friends kept coming to the other gate looking for them.  To make matters worse, Karen said last night was the worst storm since she’s been on the trail.  Lots of lightning, thunder, rain, and wind.  She said the lightning flashes all around her made her nervous, especially with those titanium treking poles in her tent!  A dry hostel and bed would have been nice.  Much to her surprise, Virginia continues to be one of the hardest states so far.  They climbed three 3000 foot peaks this week and will be climbing The Priest mountain next at over 4000 feet.  Springtime scenery continues to be beautiful.  One night they pitched their tents in a field of trillium.  A fellow hiker, Mountain Man, was joined this week by his mother, appropriately dubbed Mountain Mom.  Although Mountain Man is a trained opera singer, so far they have been unable to persuade him to sing.  Their new tactic will be to get his mom to make him sing.  Karen stayed on the trail on her birthday, May 9.  She decided that’s how she wanted to spend it.  She celebrated it with five hiking buddies by lighting two candles and cutting her Snickers bar (saved just for this occasion) into six pieces.  They expect to be in Waynesboro on Friday.  There, Rich will pick them up to go to Trail Days in Damascus for the weekend.  She is looking forward to the festivities which include friends, hiking vendors, barbeque, a talent show, and lots of free stuff for hikers.  They plan to return to the trail on Sunday afternoon.

5-14-04 -- Karen called at 10:05 p.m. from Abingdon, VA, near Damascus.  Rich picked them up today about 15 miles from Waynesboro to attend the Trail Days festivities for the weekend.  Abbington is the closest they could get a room near Damascus since everything is booked for the celebration.  Karen says the trail continues to be rough.  One day was 15 miles of all rocks, a section called Three Ridges.  The difficult terrain is the main reason they were unable to make it to Waynesboro by today.  Karen’s left foot is swollen although she does not remember injuring it.  They are constantly thirsty now and their packs are heavier due to carrying extra water.  Tomorrow’s hiker parade is at 2:00 p.m., followed by Trail Stories, and then a video entitled “Circle of Dreams” tomorrow night.  Sunday morning they plan to attend a church service led by Bill Irwin, the only blind person to ever walk the entire A.T.  Also, musician Tachoma Ted will be performing songs based on the poetry of Earl Shaffer, famous for his poems about the A.T.  After Sunday morning services, they planned to have Rich drive them on to Mt. Katahdin in Maine.  But... with gasoline prices so high... they decided to just continue walking instead.

5-16-04 -- Karen left a message at 7:45 a.m. this morning that they were heading out to the church service where Bill Irwin will be speaking.  Sounds like they enjoyed their weekend at Trail Days in Damascus but she did not leave any details.  After church, they plan to hit the trail again.  They should arrive at the next mail drop location, Linden, VA, later this week.

5-20-04 -- (Listen to Karen)  Karen is in the Shenandoah Valley.  This week she has seen a Black Bear and large rattlesnake.  They have encountered a lot of rain but the trail is nice and graded although still quite hilly.

5-21-04 -- Karen left a message at 9:00 a.m. to say she was about half way through the Shenandoah National Park.  They have had much rain the last few days and her foot problems are starting to return.  She hopes to be in Harper’s Ferry by Wednesday.

5-24-04 -- (Listen to Karen)  8:16 a.m.  Karen is at Linden, Virginia.  She called while picking up her mail and eating “store bought food”.  She will be hitting the trail again later this morning.

5-24-04 -- (Listen to Karen) 9:08 a.m.  Karen left another message before heading for the trail.  Her next opportunity to call will not be until Harper’s Ferry.  The next stretch is called the “roller coaster” because of ten ascents and descents in a 13 mile section.  The terrain varies 500 to 600 feet in altitude each time.  The weather has been hot but no rain.

5-26-04 -- Karen called at 2:30 p.m. today from Baltimore. (Baltimore? ...isn’t that a little off track?!)  Actually, she arrived in Harpers Ferry, WV, about noon today for her scheduled meeting with some friends who live in Baltimore.  She plans to spend a couple of days with them, then meet us (brother & wife, and mother) for the weekend back in Harpers Ferry.  Today she passed the 1000 mile point and crossed into West Virginia.  She said the last few days the cicada bugs have been deafening on the trail.  The ebb and flow of their sound is so loud she said you could not talk over them.  It gave her a headache.  This year is supposed to be the big year in the insect’s 17-year cycle.  From an overlook yesterday the air was so clear she could see the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., about 20-30 miles away. But most of the week she has been greeted with a rain shower every afternoon.  Her boots are again soaked and causing foot problems.  She did encounter some unexpected Trail Magic this week.  Her friend and former hiking buddy “Bill Cooker Hiker” read the previous trail log entry about Karen approaching the “roller coaster” section.  Knowing where this was, he loaded his backpack with fresh fruit, drove over two hours, and surprised Karen and Nails on the trail with a load of fresh, juicy fruits -  the ultimate treat for thirsty hikers tired of dehydrated foods.  This was actually Cooker’s second attempt at Trail Magic for Karen and Nails.  A few weeks ago he had a great meal prepared and waiting at the next shelter.  But Karen and Nails, unaware of his plans, were unable to make the shelter that night.  Some other hikers enjoyed a great meal.  Sometimes you’re just in the right place at the right time -- sometimes, you’re not.

5-31-04 -- Karen decided to get off the trail at the Maryland state line on 5-28-04.  Read her letter dated 6-1-04 in the “Letters from Karen to her Support Group” below.  (We will continue to post pictures on the web site for the next few weeks.)