hike

Why I LOVE REI

danaelizabethx Backpacking, Camping, Hiking , , , ,

So you may know that REI has an incredible return policy – they will basically take ANYTHING back as long as you have proof of purchase, the item is in fairly decent condition and it’s within a year since you bought it.

In July I bought a new pair of Merrell hiking boots online because my Keens were pretty worn out.  I wore them on a few day hikes and the 30 mile backpacking trip on the Old Loggers Path.  The shoes seemed a bit narrow (I do not have wide feet so this seemed strange) but I figured they would stretch out after I broke them in a bit.  Well they didn’t – after my trip on the Old Loggers Path, I NEVER had so many blisters on my feet in my life.  It was awful – the entire inner sides of BOTH of my feet had massive blisters on them – from the tips of my big toes to my heel.  It was nuts – and painful — and coincidentally how I decided on the name of my blog – I said to my family when I was done with the hike “I have never had so many blisters and bug bites in my life!”  Then I thought – ‘Hmmm…that’s kinda catchy….sorta gross, but catchy!’ and TA DA!  My blog was born!

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Just because you buy the same brand of shoes as Bear Grylls, DOES NOT make you Bear Grylls :/

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St Peter’s Village

danaelizabethx Hiking , ,

JoJo and I decided to check out St Peter’s Village today.  Every time I think of St Peter’s Village I think of the time my best friend, Jen, took me there YEARS ago (it was actually the only other time I had been there).  We were hiking around and I kept feeling like there was something on my head.  I had the front part of my hair pulled back in a clip and I just kept feeling a lump where the clip was.  I kept asking Jen if she saw anything and every time she would say no.  When we were done hiking and got back in the car I looked in the rearview mirror and I see these tiny arms and legs frantically moving around and peaking out from my hair – tiny little buggy legs.  LOL!  It was like it was saying, “HELP ME!!!”  Of course I did the only rational thing I could think of – jump out of the car and start screaming.  haha.  I may like nature, but NO ONE said I have to like bugs!  So Jen comes running over and helps me get the bug, which turned out to be some kind of beetle, untangled from my hair.  Poor little guy!  I will NEVER forget seeing those little legs waving for help!

ANYWAY, we drove over and I couldn’t remember where you park – I saw a lot of parking areas but I didn’t see any trails so we kept driving around.  Finally, I decided to check out the lot that had big boulders sort of framing it.  I got out and saw a trail next to a sign that said the lot closes at dark.  Jo and I set off for some exploring!

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Ridley Creek State Park

danaelizabethx Hiking , ,

It was a beautiful day so I decide to go hiking – JoJo and I headed over to Ridley Creek State Park in south eastern PA.  I have only hiked there one other time YEARS ago.  There is a beautiful mansion that has been converted into the park office.  I figured today was a perfect day to check out the mansion and the trails again.

We got there a lot later than expected due to a TON of construction on some of the roads to the park.  I was trying to listen to my audiobook (The Martian) but couldn’t really hear it because the GPS would cut it off to tell me directions – so sadly I couldn’t finish my book – oh well!

We stopped to check out the mansion/park office first.  It was as lovely as I remembered it!  The stone walls around the yard which contained formal gardens and fountains were amazing to look at!  I can’t even imagine that people used to live in such a lovely place!

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Just beautiful!

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Backpacking Blunders (part 3)

danaelizabethx Backpacking , , , , ,

When you are taking someone backpacking for the first time, you want their experience to be pleasant so that they will want to go again.  When I took my friend Laura on her first backpacking trip, it was ANYTHING but pleasant….

I used my Backpacking Pennsylvania book to pick out an easy trail – I decided on the Pinchot Trail in Lackawana State Forest.  In the book it was listed as a 24 mile loop hike that is typically done in 2 days.  The loop also has a section of trail that goes through the middle in case you need/want to cut your trip short.

We set out in September of 2010 with my trusty side kick at the time Kira.  Kira was an adorable dog I adopted from the pound in 2001, she had a few emotional issues as she was abused before I got her, but as long as you played by her rules, she was perfectly fine – more about this later.

signing the trail register

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Backpacking Blunders (part 2)

danaelizabethx Backpacking , , , , , ,

Back in 2008, after I saved up and bough some decent gear, I talked my best friend Jen into coming on a backpacking trip with me.

The pack I eventually ended up buying was an Osprey Ariel 75 – since my previous pack seemed to small to carry everything I would need, I was unsure about what size to get so naturally I bought the absolute biggest bag I could find – I figured it would be good to have the extra room and it had a ton of compression straps so that if I didn’t fill it up it wouldn’t be a big deal.  Unfortunately what they say is true about packs – if you have the space, you will find something to fill it up with – and boy did I ever.  Since this was my 1st backpacking trip I wasn’t sure what I would need – so I brought EVERYTHING, literally!  We planned on making it a 3 day/ 2 night trip so I brought a change of clothes for each day plus an extra pair and clothes to sleep in- all were cotton as I didn’t have any moisture wicking clothes.  I brought tons of extra batteries as that is what I read online, even though all my gear was new, my pocket rocket backpacking stove to cook food with and 2 fuel canisters as again I read you should bring a spare in case you ran out.  I hate to admit I even brought makeup, a razor, 2 books, a deck of cards, a mug, headlamp, flashlight, AND lantern, a pillow, plus the tent, food, and my sleeping bag – my pack easily weighed 55lbs – if not more.  It was packed to the BRIM with things – more than I would need for a WEEK on the trail, but again we had no idea and wanted to be prepared.  Jen ended up using the LL BEAN pack that I bought as that was the only spare I had.

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If you look really closely I think you can see the kitchen sink I packed peaking out – HOW DID I CARRY THIS???

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NJ/ MA/ CT state high points

danaelizabethx State High Points , , , , , , , , , ,

I have to say I just came back from an absolute wonderful weekend road trip with my Dad!

As we were heading to the NJ state high point, somewhere in PA, we happened to see a guy standing on the side of the road wearing a backpack and holding a cardboard sign– all I saw on the sign was a stacked A T written in black sharpie— the famed symbol for the APPALACHIAN TRAIL!  I yelled for my dad to stop!!  “He’s an Appalachian trail hiker!  Should we give him a lift??”  My dad quickly replied “SURE!”  So I hopped out and flagged him over.

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RI/ NH/ VT/ MA State Highpoints

danaelizabethx State High Points , , , , , , , ,

Kevin and I had a 3 day weekend so we decided to try to knock out a few state highpoints.  I wanted to do the same trip the Summit Chicks did and snag 5 highpoints in 3 days – CT,MA, VT, NH, and RI.  Piece of cake right?  Honestly it was a bit harder than I thought to try to plan everything and where we could stay.  MapQuest is AWESOME and I love that you can put in your route and click a button so it shows you lodging and campsites along your drive.  I planned to do the exact same route the summit chicks did, but Kevin said that he didn’t want to drive his giant truck up Mt Washington on a Saturday when there would be tons of traffic and people to deal with.  I agreed- there is actually some rules about how big and wide your vehicle can be for Mt Washington – Kevin’s was ok- barely, so if you are planning this trip and have a larger vehicle you may want to look into this!  So we ultimately decided to do the loop of highpoints the Summit Chicks did, but in reverse.

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Harney Peak, South Dakota

danaelizabethx State High Points , , , , ,

When our vacation to South Dakota was approaching we would have one of the following conversations with people:

“What are you doing for vacation?”

“We’re going to see Mount Rushmore.”

“Where’s that?”

“South Dakota.”

OR

“Where are you going for vacation?”

“South Dakota”

“What is out there?” in a totally confused tone of voice

“Mount Rushmore”

“OH! I never knew that’s where that was!”

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Mt Davis, PA and other Pennsylvania adventures!

danaelizabethx State High Points , , , , , , , , , ,

I have to say, I have never really been to Pittsburg or the surrounding area before, but my parents were talking about how they always wanted to see the Frank Lloyd Wright house Falling Water.  I read online that Falling Water is pretty close to the PA state highpoint Mt Davis- so let’s make this trip happen!  🙂

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