Ailments Alter their Arrangements :(

It is 9:00 pm on Sunday ~ this officially marks the end of Scarecrow and Dakota's hiking trip.  Yes, you are reading this correctly.  Let me catch you up on the happenings of the last 24 hours. Actually, let's start further back, so you can see some of their adventure as it happened.

Back on day 1, they walked along a wooden foot bridge through a meadow of cows.  Of course, the cows could not care less that there were people around.  This picture was taken right after lunch, with still about 6 more miles to walk before setting up camp.

 The cows were contained by barbed wire, so in order to get out of the meadow, a little bridge was constructed to get hikers out.  They would climb up these stairs and over a set of railroad tracks to continue on with the trail.

So away they went, onward to the second half of their hiking day.  Way to go guys. Scarecrow had to teach Dakota what a "cow patty" was here during their stroll through the meadow.  Dakota saw one and thought it was gross, of course.  An important, but gross lesson, I guess, as you have to be aware of your water supply being contaminated by these said cow patties.  I am sure they were both happy to move along.


A new addition to the trail since Teddy's thruhike was this wooden path footbridge that allowed you to hike through marshland without sinking in.

11 years ago, there were just random planks like seen in the cow meadow - I am sure they were thankful for the hard work of the volunteers who created this.



Not much explanation is needed for the next picture ~ a father and daughter about to rap up their first successful day of hiking on the Appalachian Trail.

9 miles in and still smiling... LIFE IS GOOD

Around 6:00 pm, Scarecrow and Dakota arrived at the shelter where they would set up camp for the night.  They had hiked 12 miles on day 1. Very impressive. They met up with other hikers there, and Dakota tried beef jerky for the first and last time (she said it tasted like wet cardboard that was dried, salted, and rolled in dirt).  They slept in the shelter, and like I mentioned previously, they froze through the night.  I am sure they could not wait to get up and start the next day.

Here is another picture of Dakota catching a nap, day 2, during their lunch break at Jim Murray's Secret Shelter.  I think this is when her cold started to take its toll.  She developed a head cold, and a stuffy nose.  She HAD to be exhausted to have been able to find comfort on a wooden step with no blanket and her pack as a pillow.

Off we go after a restful lunch...

After lunch, Scarecrow and Dakota continued on, hoping to get another 12 miles in and actually hiked 14.1 miles.  They were picked up by our Trail Angels and brought back to the house for resupply, rest, and relaxation.  Teddy and Dakota had a wonderful time visiting with Ronnie, Liz, Brittany and Zachary.  After a restless night sleep, battling a stuffy nose, cough and cold, they woke up this morning to an Easter Egg hunt  and a yummy egg and hash brown breakfast, and were back on the trail in High Point by 9:00 am.  Dakota had been battling a head cold for a few days, and today it decided to rear its ugly head and knock her down.  She developed such a painful ear ache and sinus infection that she could not even continue walking.  I received a call at 11:00 am that they had made the decision to step off the trail and end their trip.  Fortunately they did not hike too far into the trail (2 miles) so they turned around and walked back to the recreation center in High Point and were going to wait there for me to come and collect them.  Extremely disappointed does not even cover their feelings of not being able to continue.  Teddy and I talked it over and decided she was in need of antibiotics and rest more than being able to continue her trek.

Once they settled at the rec center, Dakota was able to get some rest, while waiting for me to arrive.  So, in record time, 2 hours and 45 minutes, I made it from home to High Point, New Jersey and gathered my family.  The picture to the right is how I found her when I drove up.  Poor Bubba.  We packed up their stuff into the back of the jeep, posed for their last picture of this adventure, and were back on the road on our way home by 3:30 pm.  We drove straight to Brookhaven Hospital, here on the island, Dakota received treatment, and is now home resting on the couch.

 This trip did not include their anticipated finish line, but did include some awesome pictures and wonderful memories.  This story is not over, it is "to be continued..."

Until Next time,
~The Thruhiker's Wife