4-10-05 -- Karen returned to the trail today!  She is resuming her hike where she left off last November, Port Clinton, PA.  Her friend, Dan Coleman, sent us this report -- “...she departed Port Clinton at 9:15 a.m.  I hiked the first two miles with her. The terrain was steep and rocky, but her legs and lungs seemed to be in good shape and the weather was perfect - sunny and in the mid 60's.  There doesn't appear to be any rain in the forecast for the next week and the temps seem comfortable for hiking and not to cold at night- high 30's to mid 40's.”  Karen has a cell phone with her now and called this evening to say she had covered 18 miles.  (Not bad for the first day back!)  She didn’t make it to the shelter as planned so she’s spending the first night in her tent at Dan’s Pulpit.  (I didn’t see that on the map, but it’s probably near the Hwy 309 road crossing.)  She said the Pennsylvania rocks are rough, but it was a gorgeous day.  She has a 21 mile day planned tomorrow through a particularly dangerous rock section.  Karen never seems to just ease into anything.

4-12-05 -- Karen called today at 10:00 a.m. from atop a ridge near Lehigh Gap.  She had a grueling hike yesterday, and even worse this morning.  Yesterday’s “Knife Edge” rock climb was tricky, but today’s uphill rock climb over boulders was “very scary” she said.  She climbed for two hours covering only one mile, mostly upwards.  Also called Palmerton Cliffs, she said this was by far the most difficult part of the trail so far and actually quite dangerous.  She had to pay close attention to each step while avoiding the sheer drop offs on both sides.  “It was NOT fun at all”, she said.  On a positive note, the weather was excellent with clear sunny skies and 60 degree temperatures.  She only saw one person today, a trail maintenance worker.  It’s too early for the northbound hikers starting in Georgia to be in Pennsylvania yet, and, it’s too early for the southbounders to start in Maine.  So, she is quite alone on the trail.  Sunday, she did run into some day hikers.  As they rested on a ledge with her feet dangling over, a kid sitting next to her paused, then reached under the ledge behind Karen’s dangling feet, and grabbed a six foot long black snake.  That will get your attention.  Today she plans to cover 15 miles and spend tonight at the Leroy Smith Shelter.

4-13-05 -- Karen called today about 4:30 p.m. from Wind Gap, Pennsylvania.  She has decided to end her hike.  One reason is, she injured her foot last evening just before reaching the Leroy Smith Shelter when a rock shifted and jammed the toenail on her big toe.  Her toe swelled greatly and she was in much pain as she came down off the mountain today.  But the main reason for her decision to leave the trail is that she feels that this northern half of the A.T. requires rock climbing skills beyond her abilities.  She feels that the last few days she has placed herself in too great a danger.  Although Karen certainly has an adventurous spirit, she has decided that at least for her, the risks have now begun to outweigh the fun and adventure of the trip.  She was sad at the prospect of ending her hike, but seemed confident that she was making a wise decision.  I’m proud of her either way.