AT Backpacking Adventure: Michaux Road to Penn Mar

The inspiration behind our Appalachian Trail adventure started back in March, 2021.   After completing a short backpacking trip with his Boy Scout troop, Andrew really got the bug for backpacking.  He said his favorite thing about the backpacking trip was the adventure of carrying everything you need on your back and surviving in the woods.  In a way, backpacking helped him to experience the fantasy world he enjoys playing on the Nintendo Switch in games like Minecraft and Legend of Zelda.  I am not sure to be happy or sad about this fact, but at least he has a desire to experience adventure in reality.

Shortly after the trip, Andrew asked if we could plan another trip and ask his cousin Luke to go along.  So, the idea was born.  To continue inspiring him, I bought a four foot tall map of the entire Appalachian Trail and began marking off areas of the trail that we have hiked.  We had a nice little gap between his scout trip and the Maryland / Pennsylvania Line, therefore we decided that would be the segment we would complete to tie the two together.  Andrew did his own investigating of trail information by calling the Appalachian Trail Museum in Pine Grove, PA.  

For final planning, I utilized several resources.  The most informative was The Appalachian Trail Guide - Pennsylvania - Tenth Edition.  This book breaks down every section of the trail into small segments and gives you information on the history, spring locations, topography, and other landmarks.  We also utilized the Appalachian Trail Maps compiled and published by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.  These are very detailed maps showing topography, profiles, and water sources.  You will see some scans of the profiles further down in this post.  Lastly, the interactive trail map provided by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy was a great resource to zoom right onto the trail using their GIS map which is the most accurate.  There are multiple layers to the map including shelters and parking areas.  In some cases, pictures of these items are embedded in the layer.  

Below is a map from the GIS map of the segment we planned to complete.  We initially had two itineraries, one would be leaving early Saturday morning and completing late Sunday evening.  The other would be leaving Friday late afternoon and finishing  Sunday late afternoon.  Fortunately, all worked out that we were able to leave Friday afternoon.  In hindsight, cramming the 35 miles in between Saturday and Sunday would have been a real challenge.  The rest of this little story would illustrate why.  Otherwise, we also planned a bail-out point on Sunday in case the last day of trekking proved to be to much.

Preparing for the trip is part of the adventure!  Developing a packing list, figuring out the nutrition and meals you want, planning the rest stops, managing water, and identifying where we want to set up camp for the night are all part of the fun!  With five days to go, the weather forecast looked promising, temperatures would range from the mid 60s at night with highs in the 80s.  This was a nice change in the weather pattern because it meant we did not have to pack clothes for cooler temperatures and lightened our loads.  Below is the packing list the we used.  I packed a few extra provisions including a first aid kit, water filtration pump, additional snacks, and extra meal packs.

The day to begin our trail adventure finally arrived on Friday, May 21st.  My dad (Pop Pop) was a sporting gentlemen and drove down from his home in Pennsylvania to our house in Maryland to drive Andrew and me to the starting point at Michaux Road at the border of the Pine Grove State Park and Michaux State Forest.  My wife's parents (Grama and Grampa) drove Luke from their home in Pennsylvania.  Overall, we both had about an hour and a half drive from our homes to the starting point.  

We met at 4:30 PM at the small emergency vehicle parking lot at Michaux Road to prepare to begin.  Luck would have it that a Pennsylvania DNR officer pulled up right as we were ready to begin.  He was very nice, gave us a few tips, and reassured the grand parents that we would be just fine.  At 4:46 PM, we began the first leg of our trip.

Our first segment of the trip was a little over seven miles from Michaux Road to Birch Run Shelter.  While planning the trip, I referenced the GPS files from our hiking with the scout troop to estimate what our paces might be for this trip.  Overall, I planned each segment based on 31 minutes / mile which would include any rest time and I estimated that our planned moving time would be about 22 minutes / mile which was 2.7 miles per hour.  At these rates, I estimated we would reach the Birch Run Shelter around 8:00 PM; this would leave just enough daylight to set up camp.

Shortly after starting on the trail, we reached the half-way point of the entire AT.  We briefly stopped to take a picture and sign the log book.  This was my first opportunity to explain the idea of a "thru-hike" to the boys.  I was very curious at the end of two and a half days of hiking what they boys would think about doing this for five straight months!  I'll save those thoughts for last.  

Shortly after passing the halfway point, we passed Toms Run Shelter area where Andrew and I camped with his boy scout troop.  It looked quite different since all the foliage had bloomed and the forest was green.  We were impressed by the number of tents we saw and Andrew checked on the rock dam he built in Toms Run with some friends in the stream nearby, of which I was not aware.  This was not a good example of "leave no trace" principles.  With everything in full growth mode, this shelter area is indeed a great spot and I would recommend it to anyone.  We did not linger long though and continued on our way.

After Toms Run, we began our first steady and reasonable climb on the trail.  This portion of the trail was lined with pine and deciduous trees.  The trail was tame with some rocks, but not at all challenging compared to the later portions of the trail we encountered.  The climb started around 1,300' and continued to just above 2,000' at Shippensberg Road and covered approximately 4.2 miles overall.  From there, we had a nice steady decline of about a mile to Birch Run Shelter.

I enjoyed listening to the boys banter about as we made our way down the trail.  From school to scouts, they covered a ton of different topics catching up on their lives apart.  The most entertaining discussion though was about food.  For over four miles, the boys spoke nonstop about food!  Food at scouts, food at school, food at home, what kinds of food do you like, etc... it went on and on!  I was chuckling inside the entire time.  I asked several times if they were hungry during this discussion and they both said, "no."  This ended up being a common theme the entire trip.  They would discuss what meal they wanted to have at the next opportunity.  At home after the trip, I asked Andrew what his favorite part of the trip was and he said, "cooking our meals."  I guess making your own meals coupled with playing with fire is as exciting as it used to be for me as a kid!

We finally reached the bottom of the decent and crossed over Birch Run and entered the camping area.  Being that we arrived just before 8 PM, most of the prime camping spots and the shelter were already occupied.  We walked around a bit and went up a small hill to find a clearing and fire ring.  The ring had several nice sitting logs around it and served perfectly as our little private camping area.  The boy's scout training took over and without asking they began setting up their tents!  I am amazed at how well scouts has prepared them for things like this.  I also believe their excitement to cook their meal was urging them to get it finished quickly.

Below is a Relive video of our first segment:

Why stop now, let's talk more about food!  To make things simple for the boys (and ultimately me), I elected to purchase a variety of Peak ReFuel freeze-dried meals.  These were packed with protein and a great amount of calories for the cost.  One pack was two servings so generally the boys split one and I either ate one full pack or shared some with the boys.  The boys really enjoyed picking from the variety of meals and they made sure they tried every flavor.  They loved every one they tried and it did a great job of keeping us nourished.  Along the trail, we had a whole host of different snacks including Cliff Bars, Honey Stinger Waffles, peanut butter and jelly, mixed nuts, and beef sticks.  Ultimately, the boys were well stocked with snacks.  However, I was short by the end of the trip and wished I packed a little more for the trails.

Shortly after we finished eating, we packed up our bear bag and hung it on the nearby pole.  The boys were ready for bed and we retired for the night.  Unfortunately, we really did not sleep well due to the "wonderful" hooting of a pair of Eastern Screech Owls.  These two communicated all night long without rest.  I imagined them saying to us over and over again, "Welcome to our forest, you can not sleep!"  Ba humbug!  

Saturday morning felt like it would never come due to the hooting owls.  However, the boys awoke just before 6 AM as the sun began to rise.  Again, their scout training went straight into practice with them cleaning up their tents before starting breakfast.  They were very efficient and chatted up a storm about what they were going to eat... remember, it is hard for twelve year old boys to whisper... they need to add that to the Scout manual!  They dug straight into the strawberry granola breakfast package and I ate the breakfast skillet package.  Both meals were really good and we felt ready to go.  I was the slow one getting my pack together (I was never a boy scout) and held the boys up from starting... we hit the trail at 7:44 AM.  

Heading towards Quarry Gap Shelter, the trail remained fairly tame and had some nice areas of soft pine needle covering.  We made really good progress with a few breaks and felt really good overall.  The boys were cruising and definitely in full enjoyment mode.  We looked for a place to take a break and came upon a fallen tree which looked inviting.  However, after looking underneath it looked like a perfect area for snakes to hide, so we moved on.  Not fifty yards down the trail, we encountered a timber rattlesnake!  Fortunately as I approached, I saw it just in time and backed away as it partially slithered off the trail next to a tree.  Unfortunately, it did not continue all the way and left us standing there waiting.  I decided to toss a few small twigs at it's tail to see if it would move off.  Low and behold, it did not like that and coiled up into a defensive position with its head reared and ready to strike!  Now we were really stumped.  As we discussed what to do, several hikers came from the south toward us and I stopped them to admire our friendly fellow.  We all stood there looking at it trying to decide if it was worth running by it.  After a few minutes, that is exactly what we did.  We each took turns running by our snake friend and moving on.  

We continued into the late morning and the temperature was climbing along with the trail elevation.  The segment from Birch Run to Quarry Gap Shelter rises and falls several times and concludes with a rather steep descent.  This was the first time the boys experienced how trekking downhill can be equally or more taxing on your legs than going uphill.  

On approach to the shelter, the trail was surrounded by Rhododendron bushes which simulated walking through tunnels of foliage, it was one of my favorite parts of the trail.  

Quarry Gap Shelter was immaculate and well maintained.    Of all the shelters we encountered during the weekend, this was the most scenic and quaint.  The spring was also nicely kept and picturesque.  One might confuse an overnight stay here as "glamping".  It felt really good to sit down at the shelter when we arrived.

We were able to secure a picnic table at the shelter and made our lunch.  Again the boys enjoyed picking and preparing their meal while I made my first attempt to replenish our water supplies.  Dad lent me his Katadyn pump water filter (similar to this one) which worked great to fill our bottles and bladders.  I also tested out an integrated filter straw from Epic Water Filters that fits in a Nalgene bottle.  This was a really convenient option to fill and go.  The only downside was that it only allowed you to drink about 18 ounces out of the 32 ounce bottle due to the filter vents sucking air into the straw.  This would force anyone to have to carry two bottles or have a regular water source to fill up. In the heat, 18 ounces for an adult only lasts a couple of miles.  Another lesson learned on this trip was that bladders are not the most convenient way to carry water as you need two people to filter the water and fill the bladder.  If I was out there on a solo hike, I would have trouble refilling the bladder regularly.  Luke carried two 32 ounce Nalgene bottles and that seemed to work fairly well for him and it would be a good solution if you have a way to carry them easily.  

Here is the Relive video of this segment:

After lunch and refilling our water supply, we continued our hike towards Caledonia State Park and eventually Rocky Mountain Shelter.  The trail leading from the shelter was really nice and flat including more Rhododendron tunnels, pine tree lined trail, and a steady descent all the way to Caledonia State Park.  What we didn't anticipate was the pounding on our feet making the descent, the rising temperatures, and the toll it would take.  When we reached Caledonia, we needed a good break after only two miles.  That is exactly what we did.  We found a nice picnic bench area, took off our shoes and socks, raised our feet and relaxed for a good 45 minutes.  After the break and on our way out, we snapped this picture while we crossed the bridge over Conococheague Creek and then made our way across Route 30.

The rest break worked but we knew we had a tough hill to climb ahead of us.  You can guess by the name of the shelter, that the next segment was going to be challenging.  Rocky Mountain Shelter is nestled into a peak of 1700' of boulder formations.  This was slow, technical, and tiring climbing for all of us.  We traveled very slowly, rested frequently, and just kept putting one foot in front of the other while marveling at the rock formations.  Andrew and I reminisced about our climb up Camelback Mountain in Phoenix a few years ago.  This was one of the only sections that we saw very few people hiking in either direction.  I think crossing Route 30 from Caledonia kept people from going this way, not to mention the terrain.  

It was a pleasant site to see the sign to the connecting trail to Rocky Mountain Shelter.  However, that was quickly flipped on its head when we realized we would have to hike back down the mountain a quarter mile to the shelter!  

When we arrived to the shelter, we learned there was a scout troop taking up most of the camping areas and one of the shelters was already occupied.  We were also low on water and needed to refill.  The spring was located another quarter mile down the mountain and we would have to hike back up.  We made a mistake at this point and actually carried our packs all the way down to the spring, rather than leaving them in the unoccupied shelter to reserve our space and lighten our load.  In my worry that we would not find a place to set up camp, I told the boys that we would regroup at the spring and decide what to do from there.  Andrew suggested we try hiking to the next shelter which we did contemplate.  I was actually hoping to walk along the road located at the spring to find an easy way to potentially hike to the next shelter at Tumbling Run.  However, that plan quickly dissipated when I looked at the map and saw it was another 6.5 miles away!  Based on how bad our feet felt, there was no way, we were beat.

After refilling all our water supplies, we headed back up to the shelter.  With the short break at the spring, we felt much better and the hike back up felt shorter than it felt going down.  Fortunately for us, the shelter was still unoccupied and we found our home for the night.  

We settled down a little bit after 4 PM and stuck our legs up on the shelter to relax.  I taught the boys about the benefit of elevating your feet and they learned for themselves how great it feels on the back and legs!  I knew the boys were feeling better because their chatter turned to food again and they began making their dinner.  I was not really hungry so I waited and continued to rest my feet. 

 Having a shelter was really nice because we did not have to make camp at all.  This was a huge savings of effort for the afternoon when we arrived and for Sunday morning when we wanted to get going again.  The shelter fit us very comfortably and we actually offered to share it with a group of three other hikers that came through later that evening.  They elected to hike to the bottom and squeezed in among the scout troop.  We also had a few critter friends in the shelter.  We had a very large spider that we "swept" out of the ceiling.  After looking it up, it was a very large dark swimming spider.  

After eating, Luke and Andrew caught a second wind and wondered if we should try to hike to the next shelter again.  I knew that would totally bury us and convinced them that the additional recovery would help us for the fifteen miles ahead of us on Sunday.  They settled down and made a small fire in front of the shelter to occupy themselves while I finally made my dinner.  

Shortly thereafter, we laid down and tried to fall asleep.  It took a bit of time, but we were soon asleep before the sun went down. While we were sleeping in the middle of the night, a small mouse began making a mess of a roll of toilet paper.  I am not sure whether the mouse was eating the paper or just taking pieces of it to make a nest somewhere.  I ended up chasing it off with the light of my head lamp.  Otherwise our food and trash were safely stowed away in a bear box down the hill from the shelter.

Here is the Relive video of this final segment on Saturday:

Like Saturday morning, we were awake as the sun rose around 6 AM.  The boys went straight into breakfast mode and we were packed up ready to go around 7:15.  We had to make one more trip to the spring down the hill (this time leaving our packs behind) and then we were off for the final fifteen miles at 7:44 AM.

The final day of hiking was going to be our longest and most difficult.  It included multiple steep climbs, large descents, and tough terrain.  I would be lying if I did not admit I was a little worried we might end early based on our performance on Saturday.  I suggested that we take frequent five minute breaks and catch our breath regularly on the climbs.  Every time I asked the boys if they were "ok", they said, "yes" and continued on.  I was ready to throw in the towel at the first sign they were finished.  To their credit, they stuck it out and just kept going.  

We enjoyed a quick break at Tumbling Run Shelters which had a nice spring to fill up and some cool shade.  We continued down the descent into the Old Forge Picnic Area in time for lunch.  Antietam Creek was wide and swift moving.  We took our shoes and socks off and soaked our feet for several minutes.  This was a wonderful relief and rejuvenated our spirits!  Again, the boys ate like kings and were high on their horse again to get going.

Before venturing off, we looked at the map and decided to break up the last few elements to give us small goals to count down to the finish.  We decided to do it by the number of climbs left, which was four.  The first was up to Deer Lick Run Shelters and then a small one at Baily Spring.  Just past Old Route 16 would be our biggest test of the trip.  Then the last one was a short punchy climb up to Penn Mar just after crossing Red Run Falls Creek.  This was a really useful way to stay focused and help the boys count down to the end.

We arrived at Deer Lick Run Shelters around 2:00 PM and with more than four miles to go, I knew we were not going to make our 4 PM meet up time.  I texted my wife Tammy, to let her know that we would be running late.  I made another mistake at this shelter in my effort to refill our water.  As we approached the shelter we crossed Deer Lick Creek which was a fast moving creek and sufficient to fill our reserves.  As we laid our packs down a "sectional" hiker came up from the South.  She asked about the creek and whether it looked safe, which I obliged.  However, I was stubborn and wanted to find the spring head rather than following my own advice.  I also did not consult my guide book and just set on the trail to the spring following the blue blazes.  Low and behold it was more than a quarter mile away and a royal pain to get to!  This did not help at all to keep us on track, but it did give the boys a much needed long break.  Despite my frustration, in hindsight this turned out to be a blessing as the road ahead was still challenging.

Shortly after leaving Deer Lick Run Shelters we encountered another wildlife friend, a very large black rat snake!  I must have been day dreaming because I nearly stepped on it lying in the middle of the trail.

We trudged along the trail and made it over the second small climb past Bailey Spring and approached the largest of the climbs in this last section.  Red Run was a river running along Old Route 16 and we refilled our water supplies again.  We rested for a good bit and started our way up.  Ahead of us was a 500' climb over about a mile... it was steep.  We stopped several times to catch our breath and just kept chipping away at it.  There wasn't much talking so I knew we were all suffering.  Andrew had a sore back, Luke's hips were rubbed raw from his pack, and my feet were in agony.  We nearly reached the top and I decided to pull an audible and breakout some caffeinated energy gels and give them to the boys.  When I packed them, I decided it was only if we were feeling rough and if I felt we needed them.  This was definitely the time.  The boys excitedly tore into them and off we went.  It wasn't even five minutes later when Andrew started talking about Star Wars theories... at that point I knew we were going to finish this thing!  From here on out, the last thing on my mind was taking pictures along the way... we were focusing on the effort to finish.

After finally summitting, it was an immediate steep descent into a gorge carved out by Red Run Falls Creek which was absolutely beautiful.  The trail was right on the edge of the river and it was a little unnerving, but the view was terrific.  We crossed the bridge to the other side of the river and prepared to climb out of the gorge towards Penn Mar.  This turned out to be a real challenge as it was really steep!  But the boys and I knew we were close to the end and just kept chugging along.  We reached the flat railroad bed at the top and knew we were nearly finished!

We made our way to the Mason-Dixon line and stopped for some pictures.  At that moment, I was feeling a bit disappointed that the boys did not get to meet or see a thru-hiker.  Just as I was thinking that, a gentlemen approached after we took our picture at the sign and I saw him pull his phone out to take a selfie at the sign.  I asked him if he wanted me to take his picture and he obliged.  He then said, "Another state down."  Right then I knew he was a thru-hiker!  He started his journey from Springer Mountain, Georgia on March 8th and here he was at the Mason-Dixon line at the same time as us, just 33 miles short of his halfway point on the trail.  The only regret I had in that moment was I forgot to ask him what his trail name was!  Anyhow, the boys got to see someone with the determination and courage to take on such a task.  For that I am grateful.  

Along the way to the park, I asked the boys what their favorite part was, and they both said, "the food!"  Geesh, what a perspective!  Andrew also said he would only do another trip if the trail was flat.  I am guessing after some time, he will change his mind.  Something also tells me that in five or ten years from now they will remember this trip for a whole lot more reasons.  

Final Relive video for our Sunday hike:

Overall Statistics for the Trip:

Total distance traveled = 35.23 miles

Total elevation climbed = 5,489'

Total Moving Time = 14 hour 13 minutes

Average Moving Pace = 24.3 minutes / mile

Total Elapsed Time Hiking = 19 hours 17 minutes

Overall Pace = 32.4 minutes / mile

A big thank you to everyone who supported our adventure including Pop Pop, Grama, Grampa, and especially the mothers, Tammy and Heidi.  You two were good sports letting us chase adventure!

2020 Year in Review

Are you sick of hearing 2020 was NOT the year we expected... well, I am.  However, it was probably just fine and has been lined with many blessings.  At least that is what I am trying to do with this post.

On the training and racing front, there were zero "real" races.  I mocked up my own races, participated in a whole host of virtual events, and enjoyed virtual racing on Zwift including team time trialing.  I would have never considered some of these things if not for COVID.  Here is the list of virtual events and challenges that I took on this year:

I was fortunate to stay healthy and set a few new personal records for multiple distances and disciplines.  I set a new 5k, 10k, and half marathon personal record.  I set and then beat my 40k time trial personal record.  Granted, I had never done a stand alone 40k, but out of the five attempts this year (standalone or part of the Ironman VR series), I improved over five and half minutes from my slowest to fastest effort.  Last and certainly not least, I beat my 10 hour goal time to tackle the Appalachian Trail from the Pennsylvania border, through Maryland, West Virginia, and to the Virginia border.  Both my half marathon and AT efforts were supported by my dad.  I really enjoyed the extra time with him, especially now due to quarantine keeping us separated.

As expected, every in-person race I registered for was cancelled and immediately deferred to 2021.  The only exception was the ITU Age Group World Championships in Edmonton, AB.  That was a roller coaster of developments from July to December.  At first it was all moved to Bermuda, so I declined my position on Team USA.  Then, it was back on and moved back to Edmonton, so I quickly emailed wanting to change my decision.  When it came to register, low and behold they did not have me on the list because of my initial response.  Therefore, I acted swiftly and was reinstated.  Therefore, we are trying to go back to Canada again next year!  We'll see!

On the home front, life with my wife and kids has been very eventful trying to manage virtual school and maintain our health.  Fortunately to date, we have not caught the virus and continue to self quarantine and follow as many precautions as possible.  It is very difficult socially because everyone has such divergent views.  We are managing our responsibilities to my employer (thankfully I still have a job), our family members, and the family members which are relying on us to keep our kids safe and healthy so they can still participate in some social activities.  It is quite the juggling act and I know feelings have been hurt.  Hopefully, we can all repair our relationships when all this is over.  

Lastly, and not as much along the lines as blessings, my older brother was diagnosed with ALS this past summer.  This has been a big blow to the family and we are certainly doing our best to rally around him.  It is difficult because he lives in California and none of our family lives there.  With all the COVID restrictions on travel and quarantines, it is a delicate balancing act to provide support.  Maybe the blessing is we are all trying to work together to support one another in this crisis.  2021 will have a lot to say about this situation.

Anyhow, no need to prolong this 2020 recap... it has already been a long year!

AT Four State Challenge - My COVID Challenge

Like so many of us committed to racing this year, our dreams of personal records and new events were squashed by COVID-19.  My season had one focus and that was representing Team USA at the ITU AG Standard Distance World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  Unfortunately, like all my other races, it was cancelled.  As of mid-June, there was still no word from Team USA as to what they are going to do with us who qualified.  Will we be the 2021 team or will they make us re-qualify?  So with all my motivation thrown out the window, I needed another challenge.  For the past sixteen weeks of COVID quarantine, I have struggled to find something that would inspire me to train hard.  I have maintained my training discipline, but it has just not been the same.

While hiking on Memorial Day (May 25th) with my family on a trail near my house, the inspiration hit me.  I decided to attempt the Appalachian Trail Four State Challenge on June 20.  My goal was to do it in under ten hours including breaks.  This is an average of twelve minutes per mile for the anticipated 42.5 miles. 

Prior to setting out to do this, I have never run more than seventeen miles in a single effort.  However, I have built up a ton of mileage over the past five years of racing so this was not outside of the range of possibility.  Fortunately, for the several weeks prior to making this decision, I had been logging between ten to fourteen miles on my Sunday long runs so I had some distance under my belt and just needed to continue to build.  With only four weeks to prepare and log some serious mileage, I knew this would be exactly the challenge I was looking to do! 

My father, John, agreed to support me along the way.  He and my mom, Ruth, have been amazing supporters for all my races in the past and they both stepped up big time again!  He was as excited as I was because he is very familiar with this part of the AT.  Many moons ago, he did the solo challenge unsupported over the course of a weekend backpacking his way.  He had never backpacked before at this point in his budding passion for hiking and it was indeed a challenge for him. In a way, I wanted to relive that story with him.  Below is the breakdown in how we approached the effort and planned our rest/refuel/reload stops.

This was my packing list of nutrition and gear:

During the work week, my training remained much the same although I added volume to my Tuesday / Thursday rides and reduced their intensity.  These were steady zone two for 1:30.  My Wednesday runs ranged between 1:15 and 2:00 and were all trail specific runs.  I would run these efforts faster than my target pace for the challenge.  On the weekends, I ramped up my bike volume on Saturday and attempted to find hilly terrain.  I kept the rides fairly easy, rarely venturing more than tempo and mostly aerobic.  Again, I just wanted to build endurance. 

Sundays were all focused on trail runs at my target pace, testing my equipment, and practicing my nutrition plan.  I did all my Sunday runs on the Merryman Trail at the Loch Raven Reservoir.  Each week was either two or three loops of the trail.  These efforts were 18.3, 19.5, and 17.5 miles, respectively.  I simply did not have enough time to ramp up higher than this without risking injury.  I am not necessarily going for a record here, so all of these efforts were at a zone two heart rate.  During my final long run the Sunday before, my lower left leg below my calf and above my Achilles tendon started aching in a weird way.  Taper week was devoted to rest, repair, and praying that this tenderness would not impact me on the big day.  I alternated ice, heat, and electric stimulation to the area all week and I am happy to say it did not pose a problem!

The day before I was energized and feeling the pre-race nerves that I have so longed for this year.  Albeit to say, they were a bit higher for this effort than my last few races!  I was hardly able to sleep like usual before a race and I was wide awake long before my alarm at 4 AM.  Dad arrived right on time as always and was ready to go.  We loaded my gear box and cooler in his truck and headed off to Pen Mar.  I was pretty much packed for a weekend of camping for a single day effort!  The weather forecast in the morning was predicting scattered storms all day long.  I certainly prayed that it would hold off until late afternoon giving me a chance to finish before the heavy stuff started.

 I chose to start on the Northern side because it is a net elevation loss.  Although, there was still over 7,000 feet of elevation to climb.  The drive to Pen Mar was routine and took about an hour and a half.  We arrived around 6:30 AM.  As we pulled in, I began drinking my pre-workout shake of UCAN with protein, caffeine, and oat milk.  I did a bit of a warm up to loosen up and pulled my gear together.  We did the obligatory "selfie" at my starting line which was about 0.1 mile from the Mason-Dixon Line to be sure Pennsylavnia was logged properly on my GPS.  This also allowed an opportunity to be sure my LiveTrack was working and that Dad could see me on his phone as I circled back to Pen Mar Park.  I officially started at 6:52 AM, about 8 minutes ahead of plan.

My research on the first segment really had me concerned that this would be the hardest part of the run as I would be climbing to the highest part of the trail in Maryland called Quirank Mountain.  Despite being about 608' of climbing over 1.2 miles (9.0% grade), the climb was far easier than I was anticipating although it was populated with large boulders and a lot of slow scrambling.  The vast majority of this segment was rocky but still comfortable in finding decent footing and a good rhythm to my stride.  I was feeling good and all indications was that the taper treated me well and I was ready to go!

The last part of this segment had a variety of terrain including farm land, stream crossings, and interesting rock outcroppings.  I am happy I brought my phone/camera along as it really helped to pace myself and not go out too hard.  You'll notice as this report goes on though, my pictures become less and less, I wonder why?

I finished the first segment of 9.66 miles in a time of 1:59:54.  My plan was to finish this segment and start the next in a total time of 2:31, so I was pretty far ahead of schedule.  I was not concerned as I knew I really took my time to pace well and just benefited from easier terrain than I originally anticipated.  My rest stops were all pretty much the same.  Dad had my chair and UCAN shake ready to go when I arrived.  On this first stop, I had to change my shoes and socks as I was soaked through.  I had hoped not to have to change shoes this early, but I did the right thing to keep my feet dry.  I had four 500ml water bladders, so two were in my vest and two were filled, chilling in the cooler for the next segment.  This worked well.  I took one GU Roctane tablet at each rest stop.  In hindsight, two might have been better than one.  Otherwise, the Honey Stinger Gluten Free Waffles were a great solid food option on the trail.  Occasionally, I would mix in a Science in Sport gel for added boosts of electrolytes or caffeine.

The next segment was one that I was looking forward to as I was going to take a small detour to witness the view off Annapolis Rock.  My wife Tammy and I visited here when we camped at nearby Greenbrier State Park.  Overall, this section was fairly tame with mostly rocky terrain with decent foot holds.  I felt fairly good during this segment as it was essentially in my training wheelhouse.  However, as I knew from training, running downhill is far more strenuous and this segment concluded with some large earth steps for nearly three quarters of a mile and my legs were talking a bit heading down.

I texted the above photos to Tammy and she replied, "Lookin' good! Hope the heat is tolerable!"  Indeed it was!  Additionally, she sent one more text telling me I forgot to bring my Dad's Fathers Day gift.  I remembered his card though.  Can you imagine my eye roll!?

Segment 2 went down in 1:34:77 for 8.77 miles.  I completed the segment at 10:35AM which was still ahead of my plan and I was feeling fairly strong.  This part of the trail dumps out at Route 40 and I-70 and was really the most exposed area of the trail to the sun and it was hot.  At just over 18-1/2 miles, I was approaching the longest distance I have ever run in a single effort.  I knew I was about to journey into the unknown of what my body was able to do. 

My next segment highlighted Washington Monument in the last few miles.  It was also the shortest segment of the day.  It featured a series of punchy hills venturing up and down in quick succession.  I was starting to get hot during this segment and felt like hydration might be lacking.  I squeezed in an electrolyte and caffeinated gel and was feeling better rather quickly.  I only stopped at the monument for quick photos and moved quickly out of there.

I finished segment three in 53:56 and arrived at Turners Gap at 11:46 AM.  My total elapsed time at this point was 4:53:04.  I was just over half way home and I texted my coach Sierra at that point, "More than half way.  Feeling ok, getting tough now."  She encouraged me with, "Nice.  It's mental now.  You got it!!  Praying."  Little did I know...

I began the next segment from Turners Gap to Crampton Gap with optimism that I would start trending downhill from here (literally, not figuratively).  I failed miserably to research what I was in for over the next 7.2 miles.  This segment started off with some reasonable ups and downs and I was able to keep a decent pace initially.  I was excited knowing that I was going to log my first marathon ever and clocked it at 5:44:07.  Obviously not a Boston qualifying time in the slightest, but I doubt many people would use a course like this to qualify. 

"Lambs Knoll" is a climb that I renamed, "Soul Crusher".  This was a 755' climb over 1.52 miles which is an average 9.0% grade.  It had many grades steeper than anything I had seen all day and I felt it.  On top of that, any flat section was littered with large rocks and there was no where to step with flat footing.  Every step felt like a lottery that I would lose with a twisted ankle!  Amazingly, I only stubbed my left and right big toes twice each and went down to my hands twice and left this section with my confidence in tact (tongue firmly in cheek).  I was convinced that I had done that section so slowly that all the the time I was ahead on my plan was lost.  Not to mention, I was starting to doubt this was a good idea. 

As I completed that segment, I forced myself to stop and take a picture of an old ruined building and regroup.  As I trotted down the hill to the car my dad asked me how that section was and I said, "It sucked!"  I was tired and beat down.  This rest stop was the most critical to get my head on straight.  To my surprise though, I had lost little time on my overall plan and that helped to raise my spirits.  Dad also helped me focus on the next segment.  I finished in 1:35:27 for 7.12 miles and I was still over twenty minutes ahead of my plan. 

Crampton Gap started off with a small climb up a road past a monument to the "Press" and to return to the trail.  I was immediately greeted with a sign that read, "6 miles to Weverton Cliffs" defining what I had next to do.  I knew the descent after the cliffs was going to be steep and slow so I was hoping to plod along smoothly along the flatter sections towards the cliffs.  Fortunately, the terrain was more reasonable and my tired legs were holding up.  Unfortunately though, the rains came!  A steady downpour drenched the trail and I was running through inches deep of water for several miles.  Mentally I was beginning to struggle to remain focused and worked hard to remain in the moment.  Knowing I only had two 10k's left helped.  I run that distance and more every single training run, so I know I can manage it.  I started having to walk a fair amount to navigate the deep puddles and rocks.  At this point, every step was forward so I remained calm. 

I reached the top of the switchbacks of Weverton Cliffs and I was immediately greeted with super weak legs trying to hold my position climbing down.  Fortunately the rain had stopped as this portion would have been treacherous with water pouring down it.  It is hard to describe these switchbacks.  They were not flat except for the mid-sections.  At the sharp turns, it would drop five or six feet and you had to ease your way down.  My quads wanted nothing to do with this!  To add insult to injury, mid-way down I wanted to take a picture of the upper levels to show how far I had traversed down.  I pulled my phone out, started repositioning it for the shot and it flew out of my hands and off the side of the switchback!  I stood there and watched it tumble thirty feet down the embankment which was nearly vertical.  I deliberated with myself for a moment before I decided to try and slide down and get it.  The adrenaline rush that ensued was nice for a brief moment.  Amazingly, the Spigen Armour Case it was in held up and there was zero damage to the phone.  The waterproof bag it was in was a different story as the bottom had torn.  I did not notice this until later though and fortunately my phone did not suffer any water damage from here on out.  I climbed back up and proceeded to inch my way down.  As I approached the bottom, I came upon two hikers and one was sitting on a rock and clearly in pain.  I paused and asked if she was alright and if she needed first aid.  Fortunately, her hiking partner had a kit and they said they were good to go.  The switchbacks at Weverton Cliffs descend 807' in 1.38 miles which is a 10.8% average grade!  This was as hard as the majority of the climbs of the day.

I recorded the 6.7 miles from Crampton Gap to Weverton Road in 1:30:48 and I only had 5.5 miles left to the finish.  My total elapsed time at this point was 8:45:00, I had more than an hour to reach the finish and my sub-ten hour goal.  As I was getting ready to head out of my rest stop, Sierra texted me "go jay go", then another "go".  I sensed urgency in her text as I began to realize that she was right!  I have one more big climb to do.  I headed out and fortunately was on flat road for the first 3.3 miles of this segment.

Due to a train incident last year, the pedestrian bridge over the Potomac River on the AT was damaged and closed.  This required me to plot a detour and run along Route 340 across the Potomac.  The night before this challenge I realized I never looked at aerial photography to see if the bridge was even cross-able on foot.  To my surprise, it looked like the walkways were blocked off with steel cribbing holding the jersey walls in place.  So unfortunately, I was planning on not being able to cross on foot and arranged with Dad to pick me up on the MD side and drive me over and drop me off immediately afterwards in a scenic pull-off lot.  As we approached the bridge in the truck, to my surprise you could walk across as evidenced by the hiker I witnessed crossing.  Dang nabit!  We pondered for about half a second of turning around and having me run, but I just said, "no way."  In the car though, I was able to set personal records for the 400m, 800m, 1k, and 1 mile that would probably break world records!  Ha ha! This unfortunately disqualified me for the Fastest Known Time segment that I had registered for online.  The record was never in danger though.

Anyhow, after being dropped off I proceeded to run along the shoulder of Route 340.  This was the DUMBEST part of the entire day!  This road is extremely busy, the shoulder is almost nothing, and it was sloped with gravel.  I was already in pain and it was extremely exposed and sunny.  I was baking!  I finally reached the West Virginia line and snapped a picture from across the street.  Amazingly, I kept plodding along at a reasonable 11:00 per mile pace and reached the bridge into Harpers Ferry where the AT connects.  I hopped the jersey wall and went down the steps to cross back under Route 340 and begin my last ascent.

The climb up from Harpers Ferry to the Virginia border includes the overlook called Loudon Heights.  This climb was 834' in just over 1.34 miles which is an average grade of 11.4%.  Again, ignorance was not bliss in this case as I did not look closely at this prior to doing this challenge.  Step after step was excruciating at this point and I simply just kept hoping the VA border sign was just ahead.  Not to mention I was trying to think about what it would be like walking the 2.5 miles back to Harpers Ferry where Dad was parked.  Halfway up, I crossed Chestnut Hill Road and I knew I was going to ask that someone pick me up there because there was no way physically that my legs would make it down that first part.  It did not get easier from there and I simply just kept trying to keep moving.  Things started leveling out and I was looking at my watch as time was ticking away and my sub-10 hour goal was looking like it was in danger.  I clicked my watch over to my route map for the first time all day to see how many miles left and I nearly gave up when I saw I still had over a mile to go.  I found some energy to try running again and surprisingly when the ground was flat it felt better than walking but my heart rate was maxing out and I just could not sustain it.  I was teased by a sign that was pointed the opposite direction on the trail as it was for announcing the border of the Harpers Ferry Historic Park.  However, this encouraged me that the Virginia border had to be just ahead.  About 200 yards down the trail, I reached the Virginia border.  I had nothing left and just simply raised my hands up to celebrate alone in the woods. 

 

Unfortunately, it was at least twenty minutes before I had a phone signal to get any contact out.  I texted my mom as I slowly descended back down the trail.  My mom and her friend Ted drove up for the finish and I asked if she could pick me up at Chestnut Hill Road.  I sent her the dropped pin using Google Maps and made my way back.  Shortly after that, my dad had made it up the climb from Harpers Ferry to join me.  We had hoped to do this portion going up together but he was delayed while parking and was not able to make the rendezvous point in time.  Despite missing him going up, I was so appreciative of his company coming down as it lifted my spirits and distracted me from the pain.  I had never wished for a stair railing more than that hobble down.  After a wait of some time, Mom arrived and it was the best taxi ride I have ever had! 

The stats:

Total miles: 42.8

Total time: 9:55:52 (13:54 / mile)

Total moving time: 8:36:52 (12:04 / mile)

86,117 steps

7,434 feet in elevation Gain

7,470 feet in elevation Loss

746 floors climbed

1,843 feet in maximum elevation

323 feet in minimum elevation

5,375 estimated calories burned

3,158 estimated calories ingested

7,478 ml estimated sweat loss

7,500 ml estimated water ingested

Average heart rate: 138 bpm

Max heart rate: 171 bpm

Average temp: 76.0 degrees F

Max temp: 89.6 degrees F

Total training stress score of 381

Link to my Relive Video of the Run

 

During times like the ones 2020 has brought so far, I am so blessed to even have the opportunity to do such a challenge.  Many people in this world are not afforded the time, resources, support, or health to do even a portion of this trail.  I thank God for every blessing given to me and owe it all to HIM!  The AT Challenge was a symbolic gesture that connected me from the North (PA) to the South (VA) and represented my own personal commitment to work on bridging the gap between our communities.  I am committed to improving my outlook and vision of the bigotry and racism that exists and not to stand silent when I witness it.

A huge thank you to all my support in this endeavor including my patient and tolerant wife Tammy, my adorable and loving children Andrew and Natalie, and my amazingly supportive mother Ruth, and father John.  They have always supported my adventures and I am forever thankful for the guidance, prayers, and love they have provided me in life.  I would have no clue how to even try and attempt such a challenge without the wisdom of my coach Sierra.  She always knows when to prod just enough to make me move!