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Trekking with Connor, Andreas, PA (2026)

08/13/2026

Bennington VT to Rutland VT!
Passed the 1,700 mile mark and now have less than 500 miles to Katahdin!

We’ve really enjoyed our time in Vermont so far. The views have been spectacular, full of beautiful trees and massive mountains in the distance. It’s made us even more excited for what’s to come in New Hampshire and Maine.

Did a 4K foot climb up Killington Peak, the second highest summit in Vermont. We have been happy to have some larger climbs lately to help us prepare and get ready for the White Mountains in NH. They’re getting closer by the day!

Had to stop and take a moment to reflect when we saw the sign saying “500 miles to Katahdin”. It doesn’t seem long ago that we finally crossed the 500 mile marker. It’s a rewarding but scary feeling knowing how soon our time on the trail will be up.

Day 159: Woodford Hollow to Kid Gore Shelter
Length: 14.3 mi
Total Ascent: 3,946.9 ft
Total Descent: 2,516.1 ft
Total Grade: 451.9ft/mi

Day 160: Kid Gore Shelter to Winhall River
Length: 17 mi
Total Ascent: 3,050.2 ft
Total Descent: 3,575.1 ft
Total Grade: 389.7ft/mi

Day 161: Winhall River to Bromley Shelter
Length: 10.7 mi
Total Ascent: 1,764.1 ft
Total Descent: 1,466.9 ft
Total Grade: 302.9ft/mi

Day 162: Bromley Shelter to Big Branch
Length: 14.7 mi
Total Ascent: 2,572.2 ft
Total Descent: 3,646.3 ft
Total Grade: 423.4ft/mi

Day 163: Big Branch to Clarendon Shelter
Length: 16.9 mi
Total Ascent: 3,750.7 ft
Total Descent: 4,011.5 ft
Total Grade: 458.8ft/mi

Day 164: Clarendon Shelter to Churchill Scott Shelter
Length: 15 mi
Total Ascent: 3,910.8 ft
Total Descent: 2,556.4 ft
Total Grade: 431.4ft/mi

Day 165: Churchill Scott Shelter to US Route 4
Length: 1.9 mi
Total Ascent: 176.2 ft
Total Descent: 869.1 ft
Total Grade: 541.0ft/mi

08/07/2026

Great Barrington MA to Bennington VT.
We crossed 1,600 miles, completed Massachusetts, and now we’re into Vermont!

This was a decent stretch with longer days, definitely has wore us out! Really enjoyed this section and the beautiful views along it. Had a great time at Upper Goose Pond Cabin where we got to go for a swim and have pancakes for breakfast. Thankfully only had one day of rain, followed by a sunny day that let us dry everything back out. The biggest struggle this week was sleep. My sleeping pad had a leak I couldn’t get to patch. I had been dealing with it since Pennsylvania but it got to a point I’d have to blow it up 4 or 5 times a night. I sent it home and switched to a foam pad that has not worked well for me. Lots of sleepless nights getting “used” to it. Thankfully my parents were able to get the damaged pad exchanged and a new one should be headed my way soon!

Day 152: Guilder Pond to South Mount Wilcox Shelter
Length: 20.4 mi
Total Ascent: 3,636.5 ft
Total Descent: 3,941.6 ft
Total Grade: 372.1ft/mi

Day 153: South Wilcox Shelter to Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Length: 16.4 mi
Total Ascent: 3,026.6 ft
Total Descent: 3,292.7 ft
Total Grade: 385.2ft/mi

Day 154: Upper Goose Pond Cabin to Kay Wood Shelter
Length: 18.2 mi
Total Ascent: 2,783.5 ft
Total Descent: 2,537.7 ft
Total Grade: 292.4ft/mi

Day 155: Kay Wood Shelter to Mark Noepel Shelter
Length: 17 mi
Total Ascent: 3,773.6 tt
Total Descent: 2,875.7 ft
Total Grade: 391.3ft/mi

Day 156: Mark Noepel Shelter to Sherman Brook Campsite
Length: 11.5 mi
Total Ascent: 2,440.9 ft
Total Descent: 3,711 ft
Total Grade: 536.2ft/mi

Day 157: Sherman Brook Campsite to Woodford Hollow
Length: 16.9 mi
Total Ascent: 3,584 ft
Total Descent: 3,623.7 ft
Total Grade: 425.6ft/mi

07/30/2026

Since our last post, we’ve completed New York and Connecticut! Crossed both the 1,400 and 1,500 mile markers, as well as entered into Massachusetts. That’s 10 states completed and only 4 more to go😮

After Harriman we got to Pawling, New York. We stayed at the Station Inn and loved it there. It was a small town with everything we needed in walking distance (aka pizza and ice cream).

We found maybe the prettiest section of trail so far: Sages Ravine. When we walked through it was foggy and raining, which made it even more beautiful. It would have been such a perfect spot to camp at, but with the rain we wanted to go further to get into town the next day. Little did we know that 30 minutes later we would get soaked and have our tent flooded that night. We woke up to consistent rain that had flooded the trail. But we pushed up Mt. Everett and made it to a parking lot to get picked up safely into town. We were very thankful for a shower and a warm bed to sleep in that night.

Now we have the rest of Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine to go!

Day 140: Elk Park (Herriman) to Small Stream
Length: 10.4 mi
Total Ascent: 2,338.6 ft
Total Descent: 1,985.6 ft
Total Grade: 414.5ft/mi

Day 141: Small Stream to Stream
Length: 15.6 mi
Total Ascent: 3,399.9 ft
Total Descent: 3,788.1 ft
Total Grade: 459.5ft/mi

Day 142: Stream to Graymoor Pavilion
Length: 1.4 mi
Total Ascent: 230 ft
Total Descent: 231 ft
Total Grade: 323.1ft/mi

Day 143: Graymoor Pavilion to Raymond Torrey Shelter
Length: 14.9 mi
Total Ascent: 2,842.8 ft
Total Descent: 2,412.1 ft
Total Grade: 353.Oft/mi

Day 144: Raymond Torrey Shelter to Stream
Length: 17.5 mi
Total Ascent: 3,198.2 ft
Total Descent: 3,506.6 ft
Total Grade: 383.8ft/mi

Day 145: Stream to Pawling NY
Length: 7.8 mi
Total Ascent: 1,153.9 ft
Total Descent: 1,388.1 ft
Total Grade: 327.7ft/mi

Day 146: Pawling NY to Schaghticoke Mtn Campsite
Length: 15.7 mi
Total Ascent: 3,179.1 ft
Total Descent: 2,615.5 ft
Total Grade: 368.4ft/mi

Day 147: Schaghticoke Mtn Campsite to Cesar Brook Campsite
Length: 17.2 mi
Total Ascent: 3,823.8 ft
Total Descent: 4,035.8 ft
Total Grade: 456.5ft/mi

Day 148: Cesar Brook Campsite to Limestone Spring Shelter
Length: 16.5 mi
Total Ascent: 3,344.8 ft
Total Descent: 3,132.9 ft
Total Grade: 392.3ft/mi

Day 149: Limestone Spring Shelter to Race Brook Falls Campsite
Length: 15.7 mi
Total Ascent: 3,692.6 ft
Total Descent: 2,847.1 ft
Total Grade: 417.5ft/mi

Day 150: Race Brook Falls Campsite to Guilder Pond
Length: 1.8 mi
Total Ascent: 812.7 ft
Total Descent: 571.5 ft
Total Grade: 763.5ft/mi

07/18/2026

Our day in New York City! This is something Ally and I have both looked forward to since starting the trail. Neither of us have ever had the chance of visiting the city and knew it would be a side quest we had to do. I’ll admit we were both nervous as we got on the bus. After spending 4 and a half months in the woods, New York City had the chance of being quite overwhelming. We chose to walk everywhere and not take the subway or any taxis, we ended up walking just under 16 miles… and this was supposed to be a day off! We went through the south side of Central Park. Then over to 5th avenue where we made a quick stop at the Apple Store. Our next stop was Times Square, talk about a surreal feeling! Got to see the Empire State Building as we walked for almost 2 hours to get to the 9/11 memorial. Ended up doing the 9/11 museum as we had some extra time. Then stopped at the Ghostbusters firehouse on our way back to the bus station. We truly enjoyed our day in the city. We surprisingly adjusted very quickly to the crowds and had a blast people watching as we went about our day. The shear size of the buildings is something I don’t think I could ever get used to, we don’t have anything close to that in Kentucky. It’s hard to put into words what it’s like seeing it all for the first time. We will definitely be back sometime in the near future. But for now, we’ve got a trail to complete!

07/18/2026

Delaware Water Gap PA to Harriman NY!

We made it into New Jersey and completed the state in just a few days, finally crossing into New York. NJ has been the first state in a while that felt and looked different than previous states. The toughest part of NJ was the water. We would pass many ponds and streams, but they weren’t great sources for drinking. The ones that did work would still have a taste and be discolored after filtering due to the tannins. Surprisingly we’ve seen a lot of bears in NJ, more than the Smokies and Shenandoah. Our first day in the state we saw 7 bears. Thankfully they were all good encounters and the bears seemed to be more afraid of us than we were of them. This is where proper food storage and practices really come into play. We really enjoyed Wallkill National Wildlife Refuge and the Pochuck Boardwalk. They were both a good change of scenery compared to what we’re used to. Once we crossed into New York, we began to have sections of larger rock climbs. They’ve actually been really enjoyable and fun, much better than the ankle twisters we had in Pennsylvania. In some of the photos you will notice smoke from recent wildfires in Canada. It has affected the air quality and visibility, but seems to be getting better. We’re looking forward to seeing what the rest of New York is like as we continue on. We have right around 800 miles of the trail left!

Day 132: Delaware Water Gap to Campsite
Length: 17.2 mi
Total Ascent: 2,686 ft
Total Descent: 1,600.1 ft
Total Grade: 249.0ft/mi

Day 133: Campsite to Gren Anderson Shelter
Length: 14.5 mi
Total Ascent: 2,058.1 ft
Total Descent: 2,217.2 ft
Total Grade: 294.9ft/mi

Day 134: Gren Anderson Shelter to "Secret Shelter"
Length: 18.6 mi
Total Ascent: 2,262.1 ft
Total Descent: 2,910.8 tt
Total Grade: 278.6ft/mi

Day 135: "Secret Shelter" to Wawayanda Shelter
Length: 18.7 mi
Total Ascent: 3,510.5 ft
Total Descent: 2,962.6 ft
Total Grade: 345.7ft/mi

Day 136: Wawayanda Shelter to Wildcat Shelter
Length: 12.4 mi
Total Ascent: 1,693.2 ft
Total Descent: 1,809.4 ft
Total Grade: 282.1ft/mi

Day 137: Wildcat Shelter to Elk Park
Length: 10.4 mi
Total Ascent: 2,294.6 ft
Total Descent: 2,809.1 ft
Total Grade: 492.7ft/mi

07/11/2026

Port Clinton PA to Delaware Water Gap PA! Only 900 miles left, it’s a crazy feeling!

Great change of pace in this section. Finally escaped the heatwave and met up with our friends tootsie and crumb catcher. We enjoyed getting to hike and camp with them again. We finally understand why people refer to this state as “rocksylvania”. We had many long stretches of shark fin rocks just waiting to stub our toes and twist our ankles. It happened many times. I think walking on legos barefoot would feel better! I really enjoyed getting to go through Lehigh Gap, climbing and navigating the larger rocks was a nice new challenge. We took our time and made it through. Now we’re onto New Jersey!

Day 126: Port Clinton to Tentsite
Length: 15.5 mi
Total Ascent: 2,651.2 ft
Total Descent: 2,487.5 ft
Total Grade: 330.5ft/mi

Day 127: Tentsite to Bake Oven K**b Shelter
Length: 16.8 mi
Total Ascent: 2,378.3 ft
Total Descent: 1,596.5 tt
Total Grade: 236.5ft/mi

Day 128: Bake Oven K**b Shelter to Tentsite
Length: 13.7 mi
Total Ascent: 2,048.9 ft
Total Descent: 2,302.5 ft
Total Grade: 317.5ft/mi

Day 129: Tentsite to Gateway Tentsite
Length: 15.3 mi
Total Ascent: 1,522.3 ft
Total Descent: 1,662.4 ft
Total Grade: 208.3ft/mi

Day 130: Gateway Tentsite to Delaware Water Gap
Length: 15.4 mi
Total Ascent: 1,681.4 ft
Total Descent: 2,268.4 ft
Total Grade: 255.7ft/mi

07/05/2026

In this section we crossed the halfway point and hit 1,200 miles. We officially have less than 1,000 miles to go!

We’ve officially had a taste of the well known Pennsylvania rocks. They haven’t been too bad, more annoying than anything. So far they have been the smaller ones that just slow you down and kill your feet (and shoes).

We had some of the most mentally and physically challenging days on trail so far. This heatwave has really kicked our butts and slowed our pace a little bit. Temps hit 101° here and we felt it. Water sources were also slowing down. We made sure to take breaks very often and drink plenty of water, refilling every chance we had. You don’t realize how much the heat affects you until you’re in it 24/7, there’s no going inside with the AC to cool off! I’ve never sweat this much in my life. And the nights were close to the same. Made it tough to get a good nights rest. We’ve been getting up around 4:00-5:00 to get as many miles in as we can before the super high temps. Fingers crossed it doesn’t last too much longer.

Overall we’ve really enjoyed Pennsylvania, we have less than 80 miles until we’re into New Jersey. The change in scenery has been great and besides some rocks, it’s been a very “easy” section of trail so far. We’ve been very lucky to have minimal elevation gain during this heatwave.

Day 116: Pen-Mar Road to Rocky Mountain Shelters
Length: 14.8 mi
Total Ascent: 2,756.2 ft
Total Descent: 2,426.2 ft
Total Grade: 349.5ft/mi

Day 117: Rocky Mountain Shelters to Toms Run Shelter
Length: 19.3 mi
Total Ascent: 2,694.6 ft
Total Descent: 2,927.2 ft
Total Grade: 290.9ft/mi

Day 118: Toms Run Shelter to Brook
Length: 18.9 mi
Total Ascent: 2,768.7 ft
Total Descent: 3,198.8 ft
Total Grade: 316.0ft/mi

Day 119: Brook to Darlington Shelter
Length: 18.4 mi
Total Ascent: 2,063.3 ft
Total Descent: 1,679.5 ft
Total Grade: 203.6ft/mi

Day 120: Darlington Shelter to Duncannon PA
Length: 10.9 mi
Total Ascent: 1,351 tt
Total Descent: 2,247.4 ft
Total Grade: 330.9ft/mi

Day 121: Duncannon PA to Spring
Length: 18.1 mi
Total Ascent: 2,651.9 ft
Total Descent: 2,356.3 ft
Total Grade: 276.8ft/mi

Day 122: Spring to Trout Run Creek
Length: 16.2 mi
Total Ascent: 2,109.3 ft
Total Descent: 2,283.1 ft
Total Grade: 271.8ft/mi

Day 123: Trout Run Creek to Applebee Campsite
Length: 13.4 mi
Total Ascent: 2,249.7 ft
Total Descent: 1,283.1 ft
Total Grade: 264.6ft/mi

Day 124: Applebee Campsite to Eagle's Nest Shelter
Length: 14.8 mi
Total Ascent: 1,564.3 ft
Total Descent: 1,466.5 ft
Total Grade: 204.2ft/mi

Day 125: Eagle's Nest Shelter to Port Clinton
Length: 9.2 mi
Total Ascent: 704.7 ft
Total Descent: 1,841.9 ft
Total Grade: 278.3ft/mi

06/25/2026

Harper’s Ferry WV to Pennsylvania State Line!

Maryland is complete!
Thankful to my mom and dad for driving out to visit us! Mom hiked the first day and a half of this section before joining dad back in town. It was great having her on trail and she enjoyed getting to see all we do in a day. Ally and I continued on and they picked us up after crossing into Pennsylvania. Maryland was pretty good overall! We enjoyed not having as much elevation gain and loss but were surprised at the rocky sections (practice for northern Pennsylvania I suppose). Took a couple of days off with them, lots of relaxing and eating good food! Ready to get back on trail and take on this second half! Just wanna say thank you to all who are supporting and following along. We definitely miss everyone back home and can’t wait to see you all again!

Day 111: Harpers Ferry to Ed Garvey Shelter
Length: 7 mi
Total Ascent: 1,168 ft
Total Descent: 526.9 ft
Total Grade: 240.9ft/mi

Day 112: Ed Garvey Shelter to Pine K**b Shelter
Length: 16.8 mi
Total Ascent: 2,932.7 ft
Total Descent: 2,630.9 ft
Total Grade: 331.2ft/mi

Day 113: Pine K**b Shelter to Pennsylvania
Length: 18.5 mi
Total Ascent: 2,974.4 ft
Total Descent: 3,154.5 ft
Total Grade: 331.3ft/mi

06/20/2026

From Waynesboro VA to Harpers Ferry WV!
Finally completed Virginia! The longest state of the Appalachian Trail.
*I’ve been behind on posting.

Almost 2 weeks straight on trail. We started this section with our longest day to date… 20.9 miles. It took everything in us to push and make it to camp that night. And we’re still feeling the results of that. Entered and completed the entire section of trail through Shenandoah National Park. Ally’s mom got to join us for a few days and it was a blast. Saw our first bear! Completed the “Roller Coaster”. A 13.5 mile section crossing around a dozen mountain ridges. The we crossed the 1,000 mile mark!! Also made it into Harpers Ferry WV, which is known as the “mental” halfway point of the trail. Got our “halfway” picture taken at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy! They keep a photo book of every hiker who makes it to this point. A lot has happened through this section but it’s hard to remember it all when I don’t post often. It’s bitter sweet making it to the “halfway” point. We have given this trail everything we’ve got so far, and we’re excited to keep going and see it through. I’m so thankful to have Ally by my side through it all and to get to make this dream into a reality together. Only 1,171.5 miles to go! (My trail weight loss so far is 33 pounds… bringing me to a whopping 152 pounds... Hoping to not lose much more. But feeling strong as ever!)

Day 98: Rockfish Gap to Blackrock Hut
Length: 20.9 mi
Total Ascent: 4,900.6 ft
Total Descent: 4,188 ft
Total Grade: 434.2ft/mi

Day 99: Blackrock Hut to Pinefield Hut
Length: 13.5 mi
Total Ascent: 2,517.7 ft
Total Descent: 2,719.8 ft
Total Grade: 387.0ft/mi

Day 100: Pinefield Hut to Tentsite
Length: 10.9 mi
Total Ascent: 2,710.3 ft
Total Descent: 2,419 ft
Total Grade: 469.Oft/mi

Day 101: Tentsite to Bearfence Mountain Hut
Length: 10.2 mi
Total Ascent: 2,238.5 ft
Total Descent: 1,845.8 ft
Total Grade: 402.1ft/mi

Day 102: Bearfence Mountain Hut to Rock Spring Hut
Length: 12.7 mi
Total Ascent: 2,465.9 ft
Total Descent: 2,168.3 ft
Total Grade: 363.5ft/mi

Day 103: Rock Spring Hut to Skyline Drive
Length: 7.9 mi
Total Ascent: 1,409.1 ft
Total Descent: 1,749 ft
Total Grade: 400.8ft/mi

Day 104: Skyline Drive to Pass Mountain Hut
Length: 7.8 mi
Total Ascent: 1,611.9 ft
Total Descent: 2,002.3 ft
Total Grade: 465.7ft/mi

Day 105: Pass Mountain Hut to Gravel Springs Hut
Length: 13.6 mi
Total Ascent: 2,682.1 ft
Total Descent: 2,887.5 ft
Total Grade: 410.1ft/mi

Day 106: Gravel Springs Hut to Tom Floyd Wayside
Length: 10.7 mi
Total Ascent: 1,862.9 ft
Total Descent: 2,384.8 ft
Total Grade: 397.5ft/mi

Day 107: Tom Floyd Wayside to Manassas Gap Shelter
Length: 13.8 mi
Total Ascent: 2,963.3 ft
Total Descent: 3,103 ft
Total Grade: 438.4ft/mi

Day 108: Manassas Gap Shelter to Ashby Hollow
Length: 16.2 mi
Total Ascent: 2,919.6 ft
Total Descent: 3,790.4 ft
Total Grade: 414.4ft/mi

Day 109: Ashby Hollow to David Lesser Shelter
Length: 17.9 mi
Total Ascent: 4,563.6 ft
Total Descent: 3,957.3 ft
Total Grade: 475.1ft/mi

Day 110: David Lesser Shelter to Harpers Ferry (ATC)
Length: 9.1 mi
Total Ascent: 1,045.6 ft
Total Descent: 1,907.8 ft
Total Grade: 323.3ft/mi

04/28/2026

From Erwin TN to Hampton TN. We saw lots of beautiful views and balds throughout this section. Overall it wasn’t too bad but definitely had some steep climbs. The 4 mile incline up to Cloudland Mountain was long and wore us out! We took a long lunch that day to avoid hiking in the super hot temps. I stepped on a snake (thankfully just a rat snake) just before the climb up to little hump mountain, definitely not something I want to do again. It jumped out onto the trail as I stepped down and I couldn’t avoid it. Enjoyed lunch at Bradley Gap looking up to Hump Mountain, it was hard for our brains to process just how large of a mountain it was. Enjoyed a quick few hours in Roan Mountain, ate breakfast and lunch at Smoky Mountain Bakers and Wood Fired Pizza, we definitely recommend. Met and spoke to some really amazing people while in town. That’s always our favorite part, the people have been so great everywhere we’ve went. Got back to the trailhead just in time for the rain on Day 55. Walked 7 miles and the rain didn’t let up any, our shoes were absolutely soaked, well everything was. Was a tough night setting up camp and getting to sleep. On the bright side, we crossed the 400 mile mark and completed North Carolina in the same day. We’ve been lucky to avoid hiking in the rain up until this point. Sadly it looks like there’s a lot more in the forecast. Had much better weather on day 56 and was able to hang everything up at lunch and in the evening to let it dry out. Be glad you didn’t have to smell the wet socks… Did a shorter day into Hampton where we stayed at our first Hostel. It was a really neat place with lots of character. We enjoyed the change of pace from a hotel.

Day 51: Erwin TN to Tentsite
Length: 13.2 mi
Total Ascent: 4,349.4 ft
Total Descent: 1,070.5 ft
Total Grade: 410.6ft/mi

Day 52: Tentsite to Clyde Smith Shelter
Length: 13.4 mi
Total Ascent: 2,901.2 ft
Total Descent: 3,438 ft
Total Grade: 474.Oft/mi

Day 53: Clyde Smith Shelter to Dan Murray Shelter
Length: 14 mi
Total Ascent: 3,757.2 ft
Total Descent: 3,003.9 ft
Total Grade: 481.6ft/mi

Day 54: Dan Murray Shelter to Wilder Mine Campsite
Length: 10.7 mi
Total Ascent: 1,692.6 ft
Total Descent: 3,788.4 ft
Total Grade: 512.4ft/mi

Day 55: Wilder Mine Campsite to Sugar Hollow Campsite (Resupply)
Length: 7 mi
Total Ascent: 1,407.8 ft
Total Descent: 1,778.2 ft
Total Grade: 452.9ft/mi

Day 56: Sugar Hollow to Tentsite
Length: 14.4 mi
Total Ascent: 3,160.8 ft
Total Descent: 2,157.5 ft
Total Grade: 370.5ft/mi

Day 57: Tentsite to Hampton TN (Nero)
Length: 7.5 ml
Total Ascent: 634.2 ft
Total Descent: 2,479.3 ft
Total Grade: 414.9ft/mi

Trekking with Connor

08/13/2026

08/07/2026

07/30/2026

07/18/2026

07/18/2026

07/11/2026

07/05/2026

06/25/2026

06/20/2026

04/28/2026

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