Helloo all!  We are currently at the Doyle Hotel in Duncannon, MA.  We have traveled 1,137.7  miles by foot to get here!!  Our timing was perfect, as we arrived this morning and USA played England in the World Cup today.  Several (20+) hikers gathered here at the Doyle today to watch the match, including a couple of British fellows.  The Doyle has great food and cheap beer...the game is now over after ending in a tie and we are about to hit the trail and hike just a short distance out of town, though a great time was had by all.  Sadly, we just said goodbye to our good buddy Upgrade, who we met right outta Hiawasse after 1 week on the trail.  We have been hiking with him ever since, more consistently than any other hiker.  His girlfriend got a job in Oregon starting in Late August so now he's in a hurry to finish before then...we will miss him dearly!  Since we last updated, we have hiked through West Virginia and Maryland and are now in Pennsylvania, aka Rocksylvania for its rocky terrain.  Only about 4 miles of the trail go through West Virginia, but it was great.  We really enjoyed Harper's Ferry, which has a rich history...we stayed with a wonderful trail angel named Bonzo for 2 nights and slackpacked one day (hiking without your backpack).  We had a great and interesting/unforgettable time at Bonzo's and met the coolest dog ever named Rio who will even retrieve a beer from the fridge  for you at your request. Maryland was great walking, it was about 40 miles, basically flat, and passed through several state parks that offered nice benches, potable water, soda machines, bathrooms, etc.  There was a ton of Civil War history around the trail in Maryland so we stopped to check out all the monuments, museums, etc.  In Maryland, Moonshine was hiking slow and very busy looking for Civil War artifacts, but came up empty handed.  Now we are in Pennsylvania and a couple of days ago WE HIT THE HALFWAY POINT...it was very exciting, but we still have a looong way to go!  Right around the halfway point there's a state park called Pine Grove Furnace.  A popular hiker tradition takes place there at the general store...the HALF GALLON CHALLENGE..in which a hiker eats a 1/2 gallon of ice cream in one sitting.  Moonshine was up for the challenge and prepared by eating a small breakfast and nothing else while we hiked 12 miles to the park.  He chose Neopolotin and COMPLETED the challenge in 1 hour, 2 minutes. I ate hot dogs and chips instead.   Everyone else there that day failed, so we were proud!  We actually just heard of a hiker that finished the challenge on a cold, rainy day in 10 minutes and some seconds...must be some sort of record!  This past Thursday on the trail has been our rainiest day in a loong time.  It rained on us all day and we were soaked to the bone on the way to Boiling Springs, PA.  We hadn't planned on staying, but we heard about a really cheap place to stay and decided to get a room and dry out a little.  The place was called the Allenberry Inn and Playhouse, and it was FABULOUS.  As we were walking in, drenched in rain and reeking of hiker, there were plenty of Mercedes and similar nice cars rolling into the parking lot...we felt very out of place.  We checked in and sure enough, the room was only $25 for hikers (we heard that a regular guest pays $109/night!).  The room was very nice, and the resort included a pool, hot tub, game room all on beautiful land with nice grass and trees.  There was a playhouse there, although we decided not to spend the money to see the show.  The resort also had a bar/restaurant with excellent food.  We checked out of our room the following day, and decided that it would be the perfect place to rest, relax, and take a zero...so that we did!  We unexpectedly took a day off, but we are just living life day by day, having fun, and takeing everything day by day...we told you about our little epiphany a few weeks ago.  So we are definitely having fun and taking advantage of as many opportunities as we can.  Well, it just began to rain/storm here at the Doyle Hotel, so we may be here waiting it out for a little while.  We are headed to Port Clinton next to resupply, we should be there in about 5 days.  I know that I mentioned the nickname Rocksylvania, well it's been a little rocky but not much worse than we've already seen...apparently the REAL rocks will be after Port CLinton, but we shall see.  Hope all is well with you, we love you all and are thinking of you often...until next time!

Hello everyone from the Bear's Den Hostel near Bluemont VA. It is our last day in the wonderful long state. We have covered 540 miles in VA and are pleased to be approaching the 1000 mi mark as well as the symbolic halfway point in Harper's Ferry, WV.  The heat and bugs are on the rise and Sideways D is taking the brunt of it. Every biting insect that exists  is attracted to her, and she has bad reactions. We are happy that we don't have to worry about being cold anymore.

Shenandoah NP was totally different than we both expected. We were suprised at the amount of road crossings as well as the constant availability of food, sodas, and beer. Normally the lack of solitude would really annoy us, but since we don't normally have access to these comforts we were willing to let it go...it was like being on vacation!  The best part of the park was the wildlife sightings. We saw seven black bears and our first rattlesnake of the trail. Luckily we spotted it before we got too close. We didn't even get to hear it rattle which was dissapointing. Four of the bears we saw came at one time when we spotted a mother and 3 cubs right by the trail. Fortunately there were enough people that the mother sent the cubs up a tree and retreated. We were able to get a few good pictures of the cubs, but didn't push our luck too much. There were also countless deer sightings every day, and it was not uncommon to be within ten feet of them browsing without a care in the world. The day we left the park it was amazing how the wildlife sightings ended. It's sort of crazy if you think about it. More people and cars in the park, but much larger numbers of animals.

The day we left the park we hitched into Front Royal and got a room with some other hikers. The town had everything we needed. Just like always we milked the motel room until checkout time and mosied back to the road to thumb a ride to the trail. The humidity has been outrageous and temperatures have hit the 90's. It is now almost impossible to maintain any level of cleanliness now. It's like jumping in a pool of your own sweat every day. We eventually dry out at night though and are in good spirits. The most exciting part is stepping out of VA because it has a horrible reputation for making thru hikers quit. We might take a zero mileage day in Harper's Ferry to sight see. In the next week we will move from VA-WV-MD-PA. Hopefully we will be able to give an update there and get some pictures on. We are thinking of you all and appreciate your support.  Chad and Adrienne-we are thinking of y'all often and appreciate your support...keep your heads up, keep your faith and stay positive!!   Until next time.

WOW we are glad to be in Waynesboro, VA.  We arrived here this afternoon after a rocky 4 days back on the trail.  We are staying at the Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Hostel (which is free...donations accepted)...it is an awesome hostel with all the amenities we need including a stocked fridge!  Waynesboro has been a great town so far, very hiker friendly.  We got a free ride into town and a tour of town from a local trail angel.  We gorged at a Chinese buffet this evening...it always sounds like a good idea but usually doesn't have a good ending.  Got some AWESOME news today, which I will not yet disclose.  We will be hitting the trail again in the morning and  heading into Shenendoah National Park sometime tomorrow.

We have been on quite an emotional rollercoaster ride since leaving Lynchburg.  Our first day out it was rainy, foggy, pretty cool outside.  We got an early start and pushed ourselves really hard to make 25 miles that day.  Our bodies were in major pain after being off of the trail for a week and mentally we were not feeling well either.  We didn't make our goal of 25 miles, I believe we did about 23 that day and were completely exhausted-physically, mentally, and emotionally.  We were both feeling really bummed out, I was in tears (of course), and Moonshine even admitted to being bummed (rare).  The next day wasn't any better...it was raining again, foggy, I was in tears, Moonshine was still not feeling it.  We took it slower that day...about 14 miles...still completely exhausted.  

At this point on the trail, we feel that we can physically conquor anything that the trail hands us.  We are probably in the best shape of our lives and I can say for the first time ever that I can climb a mountain without being completely winded.  It is now the mental and emotional aspects of the trail that we must conquor.  To be in pain almost all day, every day is emotionally exhausting.  As is eating the same food for months.  As is missing all the little pleasures in life that so many people take for granted, such as a bed, running water, etc.  As is missing all that is familiar to you....friends, family, home.  Don't get me wrong, we are having the time of our lives...but just like in real life there are good days and bad days, or even bad weeks.  Just like you don't want to get out of bed and go to work every day, we don't want to get out of bed and hike everyday...and most of you probably get way more days off than we do!!  It is very easy to get down out here, and very difficult if not impossible to remain positive at all times. 

During this past week, we were forced to remember that we are on the Trail by CHOICE.  We don't have to be out here.  And we are doing this to enjoy ourselves, to have fun, to make (good) memories.  We are, at least for now, going to slow our pace a little and try to enjoy ourselves, and each other, and this journey to the fullest.  Our buddy Tup told me "it's not about the destination, it's about the journey"...hopefully we can strive to live life on the trail by this motto.  Since we decided to slow down a bit, the weather coincidentally cleared up and has been beautiful.  We did a couple of 15 mile days...took our time, stopped and smelled the roses.

We are heading into SNP feeling very positive.  We still have pain, there's still going to be rain and thunderstorms, and everything is not going to go our way.  Hopefully we can find the strength to overcome negativity.  We plan to take 7 days to do about 105 miles through the park, and will resupply again in Front Royal, VA.  Apparently the terrain flattens out quite a bit throughout the park, but we won't get our hopes up...that's not the first time we've heard stories like that...but the trail is NEVER easy!  We hear that we can get hamburgers and milkshakes every day in the park if we want (right on the trail!)...surely that will boost our spirits if we happen to be feeling down.  We're hanging in there and still truckin'....until next time, y'all take care!

Hey y'all. Sorry it's been so long. We've still been hiking, but unfortunately have not had any opportunities to have internet access in about three weeks. I guess a lot has happened since Damascus, so we will try to fill you in the best we can. I will also say that VA is not living up to its bad reputation as a long boring state. We have been enjoying ourselves thoroughly, and are happy to be visiting family here in Lynchburg.
Soon after leaving Damascus we hiked into Mt Rogers national forest. We were looking forward to seeing the famous "wild" ponies since we had never gotten to visit before. We passed a dayhiker who informed us that there was about six of them walking down the trail just up ahead, so we figured that we were sure to see them. We kept our eyes open, but no ponies. When we got to the shelter everyone was showing each other pictures of their pony encounters and we were the only ones left out! The next day we were hiking into Grayson Highlands which is also known to have a lot of ponies so we were hopefull. We found out later in the day that 10 minutes after we left the shelter that morning the ponies came right up to it. It was ok though because we got our chance and saw about fifteen of them at different times of the day. The scenery was also beautiful. It is very unique for the region. The terrain is very rocky, and there were wide open views all day. Those couple of days were definitely highlights of our trip so far. Towards the end of our jaunt to Atkins from Damascus we made it a point to stay at the famous partnership shelter where you could order pizza from a phone at the visitor center .1 mi away. We hiked 20 mi to get there that day, and were surprised to hear a lot of voices as we approached. It turned out to be about 15 thru hikers that informed us that we came to the right place because there was a party for some hikers getting off the trail that night. They had bought burgers, beer, sodas, and all kinds of other junk food. Fortunately the people that the party was for ended up showing up at about 8 and they had a good send off. We were excited to get out early the next day because we were meeting Sideways D's mom and brother Kathy and Freddy in Atkins. They were bringing us our warm weather gear, and we were getting rid of some extra clothing. They took us to a nice hotel in Wytheville and we relaxed and celebrated Sideways' birthday early at a nice restaurant. It was a quick stop, but also a good one.
The next section we hiked was to Pearisburg VA and we were excited to be on schedule to arrive on Sideways birthday. Unfortunately a couple of days into the run she was afflicted with some sort of stomach virus or bacterial infection. Being sick in the woods is a miserable experience. Luckily we crossed a road that had a little market on it our second day in when her symtoms were bad and we hung out there for the rest of the day. We had access to gatorade and a bathroom which made her a little more comfortable. I got to get a burger and fries so I didn't mind waiting. Eventually we left and hiked 2 mi to a waterfall where we planned to camp. The hike there wasn't bad and we rested for the rest of the evening. We got a beautiful spot on the bedrock at the top of the falls. Her physical symptoms subsided but her energy and appetite were still low. We got to Pearisburg the day after her birthday. I saw my first bear on the trail on the way to town that day. Unfortunately there weren't many choices of motels in town and the better option had no vacancies. We got a room at by far the worst motel I have ever stayed at. We were one of only two rooms in the whole place who were people that didn't live there. Everything was filthy and had burn holes in it. Shag Carpet.... Unfortunately the illness had not passed because sideways d was up all night and we knew we had to stay another day. Fortunately we were able to move over to the other motel which was newly remodeled and very comfortable. She was able to recover there for the most part, but continued to have discomfort for the next week. A lot of hikers had the mysterious illness and I don't know if there's any way to pinpoint where it came from. From Pearisburg we were on our way to Daleville for a quick bite and re-supply in town and then on to Glasgow to meet Sideways  family. On the run to Daleville we went over some beautiful and challenging terrain around the Dragon's Tooth and Tinker cliffs. We had heard through the grapevine that some of our hiker friends would be partying at a shelter and we hiked 22 mi to get there. We were exhausted but we saw some friends that we hadn't run into for a few hundred miles. The night was dubbed the 700 mi party since the shelter was the mile marker. We all had a good time and parted ways the next day. We took a short 10 mi day which allowed us to have a leisurely pace over McAfee Knob which is one of the most photographe spots on the entire AT. We made it to Daleville and had an excellent lunch and a kroger to shop at. We had 3 days to Glasgow where we were getting off. We met some new faces on the way, but were isolated for the most part. The night before we caught our friend Tup from Scotland that we started the trail with. We invited him home with us and he accepted. We had an excellent dinner and breakfast with family and Tup got to do his laundry and shower. We took him to Glasgow to get his picture taken at the city limits sign because that was his hometown in Scotland on the way back to the trail that day. We were being taken up the trail that day to do an 11 mi southbound slack pack back to the footbridge. We got a bunch of double cheesburgers from mcdonalds and put cokes on ice to hand out to hikers we passed going northbound on the trail. It's really fun to suprise someone like that. Unfortunately we got pinned down in a horrible lightning storm on the ridge that day. Expecting to do the hike quickly we didn't care about getting rained on but didn't plan on having to hunker down and bear the brunt of wind and driving rain. We were soaked and cold and felt like sitting ducks as lightning struck the mountain all around us. The high wind drove the storm out in less than an hour and we were extremely relieved. That is one situation that we never want to be in again. We made it back late to dinner last night, and were happy to see all of sideways d's family. We had planned on another slack pack today, but the weather is bad and we don't want  to get into another situation. We're gonna have a party on Friday, and then head to Damascus for Trail days on Saturday morning. If any of  y'all out there want to come out we will be there until sunday evening then back on the trail on monday. It will be a good break and we look forward to healing up and being ready to go after the weekend. So far we have hiked about 790 mi and are headed for Harpers Ferry where we will be half way. We love reading all of your coments and are sorry that we have not updated more frequently. I hope hope hope that all the pictures will be on the web before the weekend because we have lots. We miss all of you and hope you are doing well.

A lot has been going on since we last updated, everything is going great!!  We've walked 463.5 miles thus far.  The weather has been phenomenal...highs in the 60s-70s and lows in the 30s-40s (we still have our winter gear so we've been toasty at night) with lots of sunshine!  The wildflowers are blooming and the trees are beginning to get leaves and wonderful scents of spring are filling the air...life is good.  We've discovered ramps (wild onions) and have been adding them to our dinners...mmm y'all know Sideways loves onions.  The day after leaving Erwin, we got some awesome trail magic up on Beauty Spot...lots of hot dogs, Mountain Dews, cookies, chips...thanks BillyGoat and Momma Goat!  We crossed over Roan Mtn the following day, which was a heck of a climb, and the last time that we will climb to over 6000 feet until Mt Washington in NH.  April 11th has by far been one of our favorite scenery days on the trail.  After the descent from Roan Mtn, we walked over a series of 5 or more grassy bald mountains known as the Roan Highlands.  We don't know how we lived fairly close to this beautiful place and never went to check it out...all you East Tennesseeans reading this better get there!  The trail runs along the NC/TN border for many miles.  We finally crossed into Tennessee officially and have completed the section of the trail that runs through the state.  The terrain seemed to flatten out once we got into Tennessee, which we are thankful for, and the trail has been much more rolling and gentle.  We saw our first waterfalls on the trail in TN, Jones Falls in particular was amazing.  We got off the trail to resupply near Hampton, TN, but were without internet and cell service so we were unable to update.  We stayed at the well-known Kincora Hostel-a great place that has been host to many trail "celebrities".  After leaving Kincora the trail winds around Watauga Lake...we sat on the beach by the lake for awhile and waded in...the water was freezing.  Yesterday we crossed over the VA state line...woohoo.  We are now in Damascus, VA..."the friendliest town on the trail"  they say.  We are taking a zero here and hopefully will be able to get out of here early in the morning and without a hangover this time.  We are staying at Dave's Place, a small hiker hostel.  Hoping to eat large amounts of good food here, as well as take care of our usual chores.  Hope all of you are doing well...we are thinking about you!  Take care...

I was distracted by conversation and dogs  when I wrote this so I will attempt to make it a bit more informative.
So you all know that we get up in the morning, walk a little bit, go to bed and do it all over again the next day.  We figure that some of you are probably wondering about the details of our everyday lives out here, so we will attempt to fill you in.
We wake up pretty early, about 6 or 7.  Moonshine always wakes up first.  Those of you who know me well know that I am not much of a morning person, so it usually takes me a few minutes to get going.  We decide what to wear based on the weather, not that we have many options.  We do have long underwear and rain gear for cold and wet conditions.  We pack up our things.  We usually eat a cold breakfast to save on time, we eat pop tarts, high calorie breakfast pastries, honey buns.  We sometimes have Carnation instand breakfast as well.  In all, it takes us about an hour (on a good day) to an hour and a half.  If we are at a shelter, we try to "take care of business" if you know what I mean, before we leave.  Most of the shelters have a privy, which is an enclosed  platform with a toilet seat over a hole in the ground.  Otherwise we have to dig a "cathole"...We have been trying ot get on the trail as early as possible since it has been hot out, so we can get some hiking done before sunrise. 
Once we set out, we usually are hiking about 2 miles an hour, depending on the terrain and how we are feeling we may hike a little faster or slower.  We stop every hour or 2 and take a break to eat a little snack (trail mix, nuts, little debbies, candy bars, etc) and get a break from our packs.  Since it has been hotter, we have been stopping mid-day for a LONG lunch break (1-2 hours or more), we usually so that at a shelter somewhere along the way in the shade.  For lunch we usually have bagels with pepperoni or summer sausage and cheese.  We also get more water on our lunch break if we need it.  Conveniently, there is a water source very close to all or most shelters.  We usually hike for about 8 hours a day, we have been hiking about 15 miles a day or so.  We are always glad to get to our destination.
We mostly hike to shelters, although that does not necessarily mean that we stay in the shelter.  Since the weather has been nice, we have preerred to stay in the tent, most often outside of the shelter.  The shelters offer the convenience of, like I said-water, as well as bear cables, and fire pits.  The shelters also most of the time contain what is called a register, most thru-hikers sign the regiter as they come through so you can keep up with your friends.  We wetup our tent if need be, and then setup our beds.  We sleep on 2.5inch thick sleeping pads which we blow up by mouth and lay our sleeping bags on top.  We then find the water source and collect our water for that night and the following day.  We have a pump water filter to ensure  that we don't ingest any dangerous trip-ending parasites..lately we have been getting a little lenient when it comes to filtering water.  Our water filter has been malfunctioning and giving us problems on a daily basis...so we may consider switching to another water purification method.  This is a chore that usually requires both of us.  Then, it's usually dinner time, which is always exciting.  We make whatever we can cook with boiling water.  We carry a small stove and a canister of fuel and a cook pot.  We usually eat pasts/rice sides, ramen, instant potatoes, etc with a packet of chicken or spam thrown in for some protein if we are lucky.  Unfortunate for me, I don't like tuna or salmon, which is commonly found in packets.  Lots of socializing takes place at the shelters, but we try to do a bit of journaling when we think about it.  We gather all of our food, dishes, odorous items, place them into bags and hang them on the bear cables, if they are not available we have to hang the food with a rope.  We are not so much worried about bears, but moreso mice and other rodents.   Bedtime is pretty early, around 9:00, also referred to as hiker midnight.  Since it is light later, bedtime is gradually getting a little later. 
Our packs weigh about 26-28 lbs with very little food and water up to 35-ish lbs with full food and water.  We have been resupplying about every 4-5 days.  When buying our food we mainly look at the calorie content and consider the weight.  We are not eating very nutritious food out here!  Moonshine's waist strap of his backpack is pulled as tight at it will go so he can't afford to lose anymore weight!  We have both lost about 5 lbs we think, but my body mass has decreased and I have gained a lot of muscle in my legs, which look like tree trunks now in my opinion.  Often times I am the only female around, there are very few females on the trail.  I don't mind at all most of the time, I probably can get along with men better than most women.  There are usually many people around in the evenings at the shelter, which is another (possible) advantage of staying at the shelters-the socialization.  If one is really looking for solitude out here, it is not difficult to find.  Most days we don't see many hikers on the trail until we stop for lunch...there are usually hikers congregated at shelters around lunchtime.  Some days on the trail we see many people, sometimes we are made a spectacle and have our picture taken and are asked lots of questions.  The sense of community out here is unlike anything we have ever experienced and we are loving ever second of this adventure!

Leaving out of Hot Springs was pretty rough, the booze was flowing freely, and needless to say we were feeling a little (or a lot) under the weather when we left out of there.  The walk out of any town is usually unpleasant, as it is always coming out of a valley which means a lot of UPHILL, and our packs are fully loaded with food, which equals heavy.  We had an amazing time though...thanks Bryan, Nicole, John, Maggie and Jordan for coming to see us...it meant the world and our throwdown is still the talk of the trail :)  Oh yeah, amidst all the boozing, Robin obtained a new trail name...Sideways D (because she smiles all the time and her smile looks like the letter D sideways).  We had a great trip from Hot Springs, excluding the hangover.  The weather has been excellent, though it seems that we had skipped spring and gone right into summer.  We've pretty much been hiking along the Tennessee/NC border and we've gone over some awesome balds and gotten some great views, every day has been clear and HOT.  
We are now in Erwin, TN.  We got in yesterday about an hour before rain hit...rained all day and woke up this morning to sunny skies.  Forecast looks great for the upcoming week, and it's going to be a little cooler than it has  been which will be much appreciated.  We are now at the Nolichucky Hostel and Outfitter, aka Uncle Johnny's, on the Nolichucky river as well as right on the trail!  We stayed here last night in the bunkhouse...out of the rain!  We gorged at a pizza buffet yesterday for lunch, ate Mexican for dinner, and a large cheap country style breakast this morning.  Of course we had to do all of our obligatory chores here as well, laundry, shower, grocery shopping, post office.  Wehave been full and happy here and we will be heading back out onto the trail in the next hour or so.  We're going to do a short day today probably, about 4 miles to the first shelter.  Should be a small party going on there, several of our hiker buds grabbed some beer before heading up there and we have done the same...sounds like another day in paradise!    We plan to take 6-7 days to Hampton, TN to resupply.  We are both happy, safe, and healthy....hope all of you are the same!!  Take care, until next time...