Unbound Routes – AT thru

Virginia, may the trail ahead be always welcoming! Wishing you good times, good health, and lots of good food…

What a wonderful thing to say, Valerie–thank you!

We are in Millinocket, Maine now, and getting very excited to begin. Thanks for the support :)

Currently in Stratton, Maine. Finished the 100 Mile Wilderness in 5 days–Woo!

New blog post as well :)

Awesome. I didn't see this thread earlier, but figured you already left since i haven't seen you around lately.

Hope it's all going well, and that you're both having fun.

Well done on completing the 100 Mile Wilderness! I hope the mosquitoes/blackflies left some parts of you intact, LOL.

I'll definitely check out the new blog entry — I love me them literate folks! :^)

Thanks Justin! Yep, we are 188 miles in and definitely looking forward to the next 1,990 miles!

Valerie, the mosquitoes and black flies are quite tormenting, but I made some bug dope that works pretty dang well. Coupled with head nets and using our wind jackets & pants as a last resort, we've been mostly sane. :)

Made it through our first state crossing a few days ago and have been hunkering down through some storms before heading into the Whites. Here’s a new post with photos from our first few weeks in Maine:

Unbound Routes

Enjoy! :)

Got my email today, read it, enjoyed it!

Keep it up.

A very good pictorial on the first part of your journey, Virgina!

The blackflies should be abating as you move south through NH, and the mosquitoes should wane during August. By September, you'll no longer need your headnet (what a wonderous relief).

The NH Whites are wonderful (though crowded), and you'll be "prime time" to meet up with all the NOBOs, which should be fun/overwhelming. IMHO, the highlight of the White Mountains is the traverse of Franconia Ridge… but if you're really hungry, you may think it's the restaurant on top of Mt Washington, LOL!

Again, thanks for sharing the adventure. :^)

Great posts and photos …, keep us updated.

Again, thank y'all for keeping up with the journey :)

Valerie — We fortunately made it through the Whites before the NOBO 'bubble' hit, so the huts were open and the experience was grand! We DID indulge at the restaurant atop Mt. Washington (we couldn't help it!), and we both agree that Franconia Ridge has been the most beautiful part of the trail thus far! We have now crossed into Vermont, but are hanging out in Hanover for a couple days to pack in the nutrition from the amazing health food Co-Op, and enjoy all of the free food and trail angels here.
Can't wait for a time when the mosquitoes, gnats, black flies, and ticks won't be a problem!

On November 20th at 9:30 PM, after hiking a 32 mile day, we officially arrived at the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail on Springer Mountain in Georgia. This makes our thru-hike a success!

3 months and 3,500 miles of bicycling across the country from California to Florida, followed by 5 months and 2,185 miles of hiking the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia…a total of 22 states for the year 2014! Wooo!

Now, time to be plops! :)

Congrats

Yay! Good for you, Virginia! Hope you'll update the blog and share some of the highs and lows with us.

Hope the journey was everything you'd hoped (and more). :^)

CONGRATULATIONS, Virginia!

Thanks for sharing your journey with us!

What great experiences. I like your blog, too.

Thank y'all so much!! We're working on a new blog post, so that is to come in the near future.
After our last post, we found that we were really cruisin' along and didn't get on the computer much, so apologies for the delay.

Y'all are amazing for being so darn supportive :)

Congratulations Virginia! Sounds like you guys have had an awesome year.

Ryan

Thanks, Ryan! It's been amazing and transformative, for sure!