Lilian C. Cheung
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The End: NJ and Northern PA

10/15/2019

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AT Miles Hiked: 2000.3 - 2189.8

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May 2019: Clark's Mountain Road, PA to Little Gap, PA
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Port Clinton, PA
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Approaching Lehigh Gap
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Climbing up Lehigh Gap
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May: Ended at Blue Mountain Road/Little Gap, PA (1264.5)
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July: Fox Gap, PA to County Road 517, NJ
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July: Arrived at County Road 517 around 9 pm
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October: Blue Mountain Road/Little Gap, PA to Fox Gap, PA
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Rocksylvania
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Filbert B&B
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October: The End!
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New York: County Road 517 (NJ) to Hoyt Road

10/27/2018

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AT Miles Hiked: 1899 - 2000.3

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September 30, 2018 - October 7, 2018 | Pictures from the New York section of the Appalachian Trail
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Pochuck Boardwalk, NJ
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Pinwheel Vista
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NJ/NY border
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Prospect Rock
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Dad joined me for a couple days
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Fitzgerald Falls
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The Lemon Squeezer
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Somewhere in the vicinity of Fingerboard Shelter
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Drying out after a thunderstorm
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William Brien Memorial Shelter
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The AT cuts across the Palisades Interstate Parkway two lanes at a time, with a trail register in between
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After crossing the Palisades Interstate Parkway
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View from Bear Mountain
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Well-groomed trail at the summit of Bear Mountain
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Trailside zoo
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Crossing the Hudson
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The Hudson River
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Shenandoah Mountain
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RPH Shelter
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Water pump at Morgan Stewart Shelter
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Dover Oak
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Boardwalk
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Train station leading to NYC
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Closing in on the NY/CT border!
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2000 miles hiked!
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Green: Completed in 2017 | Pink: Completed in 2018
<< First  < Previous  |   New York: Miles 1899 - 2000  |  Next >  Last >>
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Connecticut: Housatonic River Road to Hoyt Road

10/27/2018

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AT Miles Hiked: 1861.6 - 1899 

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May 31, 2018 - June 2, 2018 | Father-daughter trip | Pictures from the Connecticut section of the Appalachian Trail
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Preparing to start from Housatonic River Road, CT
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Spring Wildflowers
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Hang Glider View
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Pine Swamp Brook Shelter
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Split boulder
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Stewart Hollow Brook Shelter
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St. John's Ledges
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Bull's Bridge
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Hoyt Road on the CT/NY border. Connecticut: Complete!
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Green: Completed in 2017 | Pink: Completed in 2018
<< First  < Previous  |   Connecticut: Miles 1861 - 1899  |  Next >  Last >>
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AT 2017 - 2018 Table of Contents

12/1/2017

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1861 Miles (2017) | CT and NY (2018) | NJ and PA (2019)


In 2017, I completed 1861.6 miles of the Appalachian Trail. I set out to see how far I could go, to test my limits, and conquer my fears. I decided to continue section hiking the rest of the trail in 2018, and have completed 2000.3 miles to date. These blogs record my journey.

Highlights
  • Roan Highlands, NC/TN - 80 mph winds
  • McAfee Knob and Spy Rock, VA - Sunrise
  • Mt. Katahdin, ME - The northern end of the AT
  • The Presidential Range, NH - Home of the "world's worst weather"
  • Mahoosuc Notch, ME - "Hardest Mile"
  • The Franconias, NH - Stunning views

Georgia
Day 0: Hiker Hostel 
Day 1: Amicalola Falls and Springer Mountain Shelter
Days 2-4: Horse Gap to Neels Gap
Days 5-10: Low Gap Shelter to Betty Creek Camp

North Carolina/Tennessee
Days 5-10: Low Gap Shelter to Betty Creek Camp
Days 11-12: Winding Stair Gap and Franklin, NC
Days 13-17: Winding Stair Gap to Fontana Dam
Days 18-23: Through the Smoky Mountains
Days 24-28: Standing Bear Hostel to Jerry's Cabin Shelter
Days 29-33: Weaverville, NC to Greasy Creek Campsite
Days 34-35: Roan High Knob and the Roan Highlands
Days 36-37: Zeros in Banner Elk, NC
Days 38-42: Moreland Gap Shelter to Damascus, VA

Virginia
Days 38-42: Moreland Gap Shelter to Damascus, VA
Days 43-47: Lost Mountain Shelter to Chatfield Shelter
Days 48-54: Quarter Way Inn to Angel's Rest Hiker Haven
Days 55-59: Pearisburg to Four Pines Hostel
Day 60: A Trail Family Reunion at McAfee Knob
Days 61-69: Daleville to Spy Rock
Days 70-72: Maupin Fields Shelter to Waynesboro, VA
Days 73-79: Through the Shenandoahs to Mountain Home Cabbin
Days 80-83: Front Royal to Harpers Ferry, WV

West Virginia
Days 80-83: Front Royal to Harpers Ferry, WV
Days 84-90: Harpers Ferry, WV to Pine Grove Furnace, PA

Maryland
Days 84-90: Harpers Ferry, WV to Pine Grove Furnace, PA

Pennsylvania
Days 84-90: Harpers Ferry, WV to Pine Grove Furnace, PA
Days 91-95: Alec Kennedy Shelter to Clark's Mountain Road
Interlude

Note: I hiked northbound from Georgia to Pennsylvania, then flip-flopped several times in Maine and New Hampshire to finish those two states before continuing south.

New Hampshire and Maine
Day 96: Mt. Katahdin, ME
Days 97-105: The 100 Mile Wilderness, ME
Days 106-110: Zeroing

Days 111-114: The Presidential Range, NH
Days 115-116: Zeroing, with a Sunrise Drive up Mt. Washington, NH
Days 117-119: The Wildcat-Carter-Moriah Range, NH

Days 120-121: The Mahoosucs Part I, NH/ME
Day 122: The Mahoosucs Part II - Mahoosuc Notch, ME
Days 123-125: Slackpacking from The Cabin, ME
Days 126-127: South Arm Road to Rangeley, ME
Day 128: The Saddlebacks, ME
Day 129: Camped at the Carrabassett River, ME
Day 130: The Crockers, ME
Day 131: The Bigelows, ME
Days 132-133: To Caratunk, ME
Days 134-136: To Monson, ME

Days 137-141: Zeroing
Days 142-144: Franconia Ridge, NH
Days 145-147: The Last of the White Mountains, NH
Days 148-151: To Hanover, NH

Vermont
Days 152-159: Vermont Part I
Days 160-165: Vermont Part II - to Massachusetts 

Massachusetts
Days 160-165: Vermont Part II - to Massachusetts
Days 166-175: Massachusetts
Days 176-180: Connecticut - from Massachusetts 

Connecticut
Days 176-180: Connecticut - from Massachusetts 
Connecticut: Housatonic River Road to Hoyt Road

Finishing up:

New York
Connecticut: Housatonic River Road to Hoyt Road
New York: County Road 517 (NJ) to Hoyt Road

New Jersey
New York: County Road 517 (NJ) to Hoyt Road

New Jersey and Northern Pennsylvania
The End: NJ and Northern PA
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​Days 176-180: Connecticut (Brassie Brook Shelter to Housatonic River Road)

11/1/2017

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1861 miles on the Appalachian Trail


​I return to the trail two days later, after the storm ravages western Connecticut. Blowdowns litter the paths, and large puddles still pay tribute to the past two days’ rain. As I hike up Mount Everett toward the Massachusetts-Connecticut border and Bear Mountain, I run into Shaker, a section hiker.
​“I dove into music - really put my all into it...Ten years down the road, I realize that I can’t retire on it, or support a family. But those ten years were some of the best in my life.”

- Shaker, 2000-miler (section hiked the whole trail)
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View from the trail
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View from the trail
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View from the trail
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Every so often, he pauses for a smoke before continuing on. We reach the border at the same time. Shaker lights a couple incense cones, rolls a cigarette, and recites a poem by Oriah Mountain Dreamer:
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“It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
...
It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.”
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We summit Bear Mountain in the dark, clambering over boulders almost reminiscent of Maine. The full moon lights our way. It's freezing outside.
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Fall colors
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Blowdowns
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Mt. Everett
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View from Mt. Race
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View from Mt. Race
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View from Mt. Race
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Shaker looking out from Mt. Race
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The MA border sign...
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The CT border sign!
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One river crossing...
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Shaker standing atop Bear Mountain
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After weighing the risks and benefits of continuing, I decide to end my hike. I came to the trail to test my mental and physical limits, and I have found them. I have pushed myself farther than I thought I could go, confronted my limits time and again, and found friends who became family.

A jumble of memories echoes through my mind.

"If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together," Tom had said, many months ago. "Man is the sum of his adventures." Silas.

The mountain ranges of Maine and New Hampshire, each seared into my mind. Difficult, yet breathtakingly beautiful.

My trail families. The fun times down south. The hard times up north. Facing my fears alongside Nighthawk and Tenacious.

Adventure has challenged me. Adventure has changed me. If nothing else, it brought me face to face with people from all walks of life and forced me to work through situations that took me to the brink of my capabilities. Nowhere have I felt more acutely aware of human striving than on the Appalachian Trail.

I completed 1,861.6 miles of the Appalachian Trail. If I decide to section hike the rest of it over future years, I will have 328.2 miles left.

For now, this adventure has come to an end. It is time to start the next chapter of my life: time to start a career.

I couldn't be more ready for it.
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Dawn
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Interesting rock
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View near Housatonic River Road
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“Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.”

- Mark Jenkins, writer and climber
 
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