Sam starts his thru-hike 5/15/09

Sam graduated from MSU On May 2nd.(PTL) This past weekend he traveled to Duncannon, Pa. to catch up with his friend Dustin on the AT. They are now on their way to Mt. Katahdin, Maine about 1000 miles away. Once there, Dustin who began his trek in February on Springer Mountain in Georgia, will return to Starkville and the rigors of working for a living. Sam will backtrack to Duncannon and begin the trip south to Georgia. The entire trip is some 2,170 miles give or take a few. It takes five million steps to complete the journey. Sam and Sally (his devoted lab/collie mix expect to finish up in early October. Tonight, as I write this Sam and his buddies should be near Swatara State Park in northeast Pennsylvania about 10 miles north of Lebanon near Hershey and Lancaster. The temps the last couple of nights have been in the upper twenties and sixties during the day. We expect to hear from Sam this weekend. He will be updating his blog when he gets access to the web. You may want to check it out - http://sambomc.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html and bookmark it now so you can keep track of the journey. I will try to keep everyone up to date with timely emails as well. I know Sam will appreciate any emails you want to send his way as well. Contact him at mclemoresam@yahoo.com. We should all keep his darling wife Isabel in our thoughts and prayers as the next 4-5 months may be a trial for her. All for now.

Kmac

Good day to all!!! So Sunday the 17 we headed towards PA, where my awesome buddy Eric & his fiancé opened their newly purchased home to the 5 of us and fed us dinner and breakfast then showed us the way to a local outfitter to pick up last minute supplies. Then it was off to Duncannon where Dustin had gotten off the trail for "Trail Days", which is 1041 miles from Mt. Kathadin Maine. We began our trip walking through town, across the Juanita River, then the Susquehanna River, then up to the ridge top. The second day out someone passing us southbound told us there was some Trail Magic just 5 miles ahead at a road crossing. It was awesome! They fed us frozen fruit, Gatorade, hamburgers & hotdogs. One of them had a pet groundhog. It was an awesome start. We also met two other guys headed to Maine; one named Squeak & the other: WD-40, cool guys from Chicago. Anyhow, Jared and Ali hiked 3 days with us, then had to head back to other obligations, so Sallie, Myco (Dustin's trail name) & I headed north. We have had an awesome time stopping to take in views of PA farmland and even hiking with an Amish Family for a short distance. The flowers & trees blooming are wonderful. We always stop and take pictures of the ones we haven't seen yet, and attempt to identify them. If there is one thing to say about the trail in PA, it's ROCKS!!!-big ones, little ones, sharp ones, slick ones, red ones, black ones, grey ones, the moss covered ones are nice, but lookout on the Lichen covered ones, they are slick as _____!! We were climbing down from Wolf Rocks Overlook where it was too cloudy to look over when I took a spill, but caught the edge with my fingertips saving me from a good 10-foot drop. WHEW!!! I have loved almost every second of the trip so far, my feet have not loved it quite as much as I have, though. Sallie is just as excited every morning as ever to get started walking and she knows when we start putting our packs on that it's time to go and get her pack on. She was tolerating her booties for a while but when they were wet they rubbed her a little too much so she took them off. She has a pair of socks on the way. She loves chasing chipmunks, however she tried to chase a porcupine and wound up with 5-quills in her nose, but it didn't phase her. I am typing this message in the office of The Presbyterian Church of The Mountain in DWG (Delaware Water Gap) PA, we are 894 miles from Katahdin and enjoying the hospitality of the hostel here at the church. We will be back on the trail tomorrow in New Jersey, for the next 70 miles. I apologize for the grammatical errors as I am trying to type quickly. Thank you for your prayers and support!!! Remember, you can read my latest blog at the Blog archive section of http://sambomc.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html
"Inch by Inch, Life's a Cinch!, Yard by Yard, Life's HARD!!!
Peace, Love, & Happiness to all!!!"
Sambo on the AT