July 2, 2009

At Pinefield Hut, after a 26.2 mile day they met a section hiker who built wastewater treatment plants in Suriname and textile mills in Montreal. Later they met Willow, a woman in her late 50s who was on her second thru-hike in 12 years who shared hot dogs with them. She was wistful that so much time had passed since her last thru-hike. From Pinefield Hut, VA Jack and Chris hiked about 32 miles north (of course!) into Rock Spring Cabin yesterday. They stopped at Loft Mountain campground and purchased Philly Cheesesteak Hot Pockets at the campstore. They met the assistant to the head basketball coach at Florida State as well. Today they hiked another 28.6 miles and are now on schedule to reach Mt. Katahdin, Maine by the end of August. By next week they will hit day 50, the half-way mark both time and distance-wise.

They hope to meet up with one of Chris' old friends from UDallas in Front Royal any day now.
Next major stop: food and family in Harpers Ferry!