Adventure Girl’s Trail Tales: Update #10

Adventure Girl has updated her journal! I repeat, Adventure Girl has updated her journal! This post will be filled with Adventure Girl’s own words.

When we last left Adventure Girl, she was somewhere along Wilkes-Barre Turnpike and PA State Route 115. Since last Saturday, she’s continued pushing forward and covering several miles each and every day. She ends her update, which I’ll share with you shortly, letting her readers know she finished a shortish day of 15 miles. If 15 miles is a shortish day, I guarantee you – I will not be doing longish days, should I ever get into hiking. (I could probably up the guarantee to say that I will never get into hiking, except I like shortish tiny hikes.)

Okay, okay. Enough from me. Enjoy the latest update (as of May 31st) from Adventure Girl.

May 31, 2011. “Hey guys sorry for the serious lack of entries…

There is way too much for me to catch you up on so I’m just going to tell you what stands out most vividly.

1. It may be Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but that isn’t the case for the rest of the state. A major chunk of Pennsylvania was spent in the rain… Kinda disappointing considering rocks mixed with rain is not exactly ideal hiking conditions. Luckily though the rain has stopped for the past few days, which has made the hiking, so much more enjoyable.

2. From the 501 Shelter I hitched into Pine Grove to resupply and I went to the road to attempt getting a ride at 7:25 a.m. and I was back at the 501 Shelter completely resupplied at 8 a.m. It was amazing! It really couldn’t have gone any better.

3.It has started to get really warm and the bugs seem to be coming out in full force. Its going to take some getting used to.

4. A few miles before the MOC I was just walking along enjoying the day when I hear someone yell “Adventure Girl!”. I turn and I see two faces that I recognized from Trail Journals. It was Tempest and Tim – the Tool Man – Taylor! They gave me an orange and some fantastic jelly beans. It was so unexpected and magical! I stayed and talked to them for a while and then continued on my way, thinking that would be my only encounter with them, but later that night I got a text from Buttercup and in it she gave me their numbers, so I texted them to thank them and they asked if I would be interested in going to get pizza and ice cream the next day. I jumped all over the offer (obviously) as who can turn down two of the most magical foods? It was so much fun talking, eating and just hanging out in a town with them. They even treated which was so nice! I definitely feel lucky to have met them.

5. I SAW A BEAR! They do exist! We had a running joke that bears are a myth they don’t actually exist, because there was a big group of us they still hadn’t seen one. I am glad to know that my use of the bear boxes are valid.

Today was a shortish day at only 15 miles and now I have time to relax! AHH! I can’t wait!”

On Sunday May 29th, Adventure Girl’s SPOT Messenger indicated she was within the Stokes State Forest, located in New Jersey. Today, Adventure Girl is calling it a day somewhere off the Taconic State Parkway in New York. Based on what I entered on the Appalachian Trail Distance Calculator, Adventure Girl has traveled just over 124 miles since last Sunday.

Soon, Adventure Girl will be heading back to Georgia (temporarily). She has to attend a mandatory orientation for her college. After orientation, she’ll step back on the trail, picking up where she last stepped off, somewhere in the big state of New York. Hike on, Adventure Girl!