A Family Adventure of the 2,185 mile hike from Georgia to Maine – 2014
June 26 – Siblings Closest of All
Ever since getting a chance to milk the goats at the Moeckel’s farm, RobinHood has been set on becoming a goat farmer (Mama Bear is on board as she’s wanted goats for a while now). Never long on patience, he has not been content to wait for his return; so instead, when the mood strikes him, he sets out trying to get his sister’s goat. He’s been quite successful of late. Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and you siblings closest of all (for you never know which they will be). Read More
June 25 – New York’s Unique
Cartwheel tripped and fell, not for the first time. She clutched her bruised and beat up knee with tears welling in her eyes, then paused mid sniffle to declare in a sage and serious tone, “we fall so that we can learn to get up again; that’s what Spider Man told me.” It’s amazing the aphorisms that sink in when they come from people other than their parents; and the trail has provided them with seemingly limitless such sayings.
June 24 – Wetland Wonderland
We woke up to the distinctive sound of a donkey braying at full volume. The braying came in response to Orion’s excited barking upon his discovery of the two donkeys in the field near by. And, of course, Orion had been sure to go stick his nose under the kids’ tarp to wake them up before he went exploring for donkeys. So the parents crawled out of their tent at 5:30 in the morning to find that the kids had already packed up their hammocks and were down trying to get the donkeys to eat wild flowers out of their hands. The braying continued. Read More
June 23 – highs and lows
Cartwheel paused at the edge of the field and looked back at me. She exhaled deeply and exclaimed with a loud sigh, “whew, my legs are BEAT!” Then she looked back at her brother drafting along behind Princess North Star, getting yet further ahead. She gave a little shrug, shook her head and sighed again; then she was off down the trail at a trot to catch up to the front two and crank out another four miles in an hour and twenty minutes. I could barely keep up; my legs were BEAT. Read More
June 22 – New Jersey
Back to his normal self, Orion seemed to enjoy his first full day of slackpacking (having someone else carry his stuff). Because we’re picking up his new custom-made lightweight dog pack on Tuesday, we figured we’d give him a few packless days to rest his toe, and he enjoyed the freedom. Read More
June 21 – a Productive Solstice
All In was up early and walked to the diner for some coffee. A few other hikers were up and about, but most in the hostel and out were still sleeping. As the area started to come alive with hikers we discovered that more hiking friends had rolled into town. Big hugs were exchanged when the kids saw Princess North Star, who they hadn’t seen in a few hundred miles (they were responsible for adding the title of Princess to his moniker, and were thrilled to see in Harpers Ferry that he had logged that portion of his name into the record books, alongside a picture of him doing a flying kick in front of the AT HQ sign).
June 20 – Delaware Water Gap
Cartwheel slept way in this morning (at least by trail standards). The rest of us woke up on the early side and went about our business. We had finished our stove fuel the night before and were prepared for a cold breakfast on our way into town, but Whitey graciously heated us some tea and coffee water on his alcohol stove. RobinHood and Mama Bear chatted with Whitey, Woodstock and Money Maker while All In packed up the tent and everyone’s gear. Cartwheel snoozed away. Read More
June 19 – It’s All About Timing
Today started with some welcome trail magic that included bananas, oranges, coffee, donuts and cinnamon rolls. Then we set off on some nice easy walking and were treated to both wild strawberries and wild blueberries along the way. To top it off, we had overcast skies to cool the temperatures for a steep exposed climb and ridge walk to come.
June 18 – Pennsylvania Rocks
The Pennsylvania AT is notorious for being rocky (in fact, our friend Rocky got his trail name just by admitting that he was from PA). In reality, the southwestern part of the state is some pretty nice walking: some rocks, but mostly smooth trail. The northeast part of the state, however, is truly rocky. And the rocks are varied. From small rocks studding the dirt path to large boulders covering the trail for miles, to large slabs at awkward angles. It is quite a workout for feet and ankles alike. Read More
June 17 – Last Day of School
When I was in third grade, we had to ask our parents for three additional spelling words each week that were added to our spelling test. The first time I asked my dad for some third grade words he gave me: prognostication, procrastination and defenestration. To this day, I believe their was an implicit threat in those selections. But, although I’ve (perhaps too) frequently left things to the last minute over the years (often to my dad’s dismay), I’ve yet to actually be thrown out of a window as a result. Today was the last day of school for the kids’ classmates, but we had yet to get their final assignments in.
A Family Adventure of the 2,185 mile hike from Georgia to Maine - 2014 
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