My brother fixing my hair for easy maintenance on the trail!
Getting on the AT at Marion, VA.
The finished product! Cool and easy to take of on the trail! Thanks, Val!
Getting on the AT at Marion, VA. Dan getting the food bag ready to "hide" from possible bears and animals that might get to it.
In our tent for the night!
The first shelter in which we spent the night!
Thanks to my brother, Joey & his wife, Cathy, we were able to stay on our schedule to get to the trail on March 31st. They drove us 2 hours to Charlottesville, VA to catch a greyhound bus that we were suppose to catch in Springfield, VA! Thanks Joey & Cathy! I'm sure that's not the way you wanted to spend your Sunday-driving us 2 hours out of your way so that we could catch a bus!
We are currently in Pearisburg, VA for the night. It's been mostly misty, rainy, and cold on the trail. We've hiked almost 100 miles! Yea! During the first 3 days of hiking with the aches and pains in our feet, legs, and shoulders climbing up and down mountains we were thinking, "What did we get ourselves into?" But we know the aches and pains (ever moving to different parts of our bodies) are for a good cause! Thanks to all of you who have donated and pledged to the Children's Hunger Fund we know that with God's graces upon us that we can get through this as the children/families are being helped through all of us! The needy go through the pains everyday! We're glad that we can help in some small ways!
We've seen and mostly heard many birds, a deer, a snake, and a rabbit. Yesterday was the first day that we could see the valley below us because of all the mist. It was beautiful. We've met many friendly people on the trail and hear there will be a ton more as we get closer to summer (and the weekend campers).
We celebrate our 28th anniversary this week, April 12 and my birthday (Debbie) April 23. One of the hikers we've met said that you bake a cake on the trail...just need cake mix, dehydrated eggs, powdered milk, and freezer bag and boil it in water in our pot. Maybe we'll get to do that for one of our celebrations...celebrations? That would be hiking! Happy Trails!
Oh, our trail names...Dan is known as Snickers (his favorite treat & I say for his sense of humor) and my name is Energizer Turtle. I picked Spunky Turtle (slow and steady with my usual spunk and I do like turtles candies, too) but Dan says it should be energizer because I keep going and going and going. Though going up the mountains I don't always feel too energized! Anyway as a couple we are "The SET Couple" (that's Snickers & Energizer Turtle-initals!)
Our next town stop will be Waynesboro, VA. Think we'll be there in about 10 days, depending on how many miles we decide to put in each day. If you'd like to send us a note you can send it to us at
Keep us posted on your "doings" through email or comment on our blogsite.
Thanks to my brother, Joey & his wife, Cathy, we were able to stay on our schedule to get to the trail on March 31st. They drove us 2 hours to Charlottesville, VA to catch a greyhound bus that we were suppose to catch in Springfield, VA! Thanks Joey & Cathy! I'm sure that's not the way you wanted to spend your Sunday-driving us 2 hours out of your way so that we could catch a bus!
We are currently in Pearisburg, VA for the night. It's been mostly misty, rainy, and cold on the trail. We've hiked almost 100 miles! Yea! During the first 3 days of hiking with the aches and pains in our feet, legs, and shoulders climbing up and down mountains we were thinking, "What did we get ourselves into?" But we know the aches and pains (ever moving to different parts of our bodies) are for a good cause! Thanks to all of you who have donated and pledged to the Children's Hunger Fund we know that with God's graces upon us that we can get through this as the children/families are being helped through all of us! The needy go through the pains everyday! We're glad that we can help in some small ways!
We've seen and mostly heard many birds, a deer, a snake, and a rabbit. Yesterday was the first day that we could see the valley below us because of all the mist. It was beautiful. We've met many friendly people on the trail and hear there will be a ton more as we get closer to summer (and the weekend campers).
We celebrate our 28th anniversary this week, April 12 and my birthday (Debbie) April 23. One of the hikers we've met said that you bake a cake on the trail...just need cake mix, dehydrated eggs, powdered milk, and freezer bag and boil it in water in our pot. Maybe we'll get to do that for one of our celebrations...celebrations? That would be hiking! Happy Trails!
Oh, our trail names...Dan is known as Snickers (his favorite treat & I say for his sense of humor) and my name is Energizer Turtle. I picked Spunky Turtle (slow and steady with my usual spunk and I do like turtles candies, too) but Dan says it should be energizer because I keep going and going and going. Though going up the mountains I don't always feel too energized! Anyway as a couple we are "The SET Couple" (that's Snickers & Energizer Turtle-initals!)
Our next town stop will be Waynesboro, VA. Think we'll be there in about 10 days, depending on how many miles we decide to put in each day. If you'd like to send us a note you can send it to us at
Dan & Debbie McMonigle
c/o General Delivery
Waynesboro, VA 22980
Please hold for AT thru-hiker!
You would need to send it before our arrival or we may miss it.
c/o General Delivery
Waynesboro, VA 22980
Please hold for AT thru-hiker!
You would need to send it before our arrival or we may miss it.
We've been hiking between 10 and 15 miles each day. We want to enjoy it and have time to recover our aging bodies. We've heard there is a group of 5 guys doing 25-35 miles a day! That's insane! We want to still be able to walk and enjoy the rest of lives when we finish this hike! We'll probably have many pass us-the ones that have started in GA and have worked to condition their bodies for the last month or two. After only 9 days for us, we have gotten stronger and are able to get up and down the mountains going longer than when we started last week! Don't get me wrong, it's still been work we're still huffing and puffing but at least our muscles are feeling stronger and we're able to go a little longer without stopping as much!
Keep us posted on your "doings" through email or comment on our blogsite.
