近距离内射合集

Editor鈥檚 note: This story is part two in a series written by Placitas resident Jeff Buell as he returns to the Appalachian Trail to complete 150 miles left unfinished from his 2023 trek of the 2,200 mile trail.

I鈥檒l hazard to guess that I was singing the old jingle for Bumble Bee tuna for at least an hour before I became conscious of it. I don鈥檛 know why it popped into my head anymore than I know how to make it pop back out. That鈥檚 just the way it is when you walk through Virginia鈥檚 Green Tunnel, also known as the Appalachian Trail, mile after mile with no one to talk to.

My old hiking companion HD joined me in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, on Aug. 31, driving up from his home in Tennessee. He volunteered to keep me company for at least a portion of my mission to fill the 150-mile gap in my 2023 thru-hike, necessitated by a household relocation to New Mexico.

I made my way by air on Aug. 31 from Albuquerque to Baltimore Washington International Airport, landing around 3:40 p.m. I waited anxiously for my checked bag full of hiking gear, then hopped on the free airport shuttle to the train station about 15 minutes away.

From there I took a southbound Maryland Area Regional Commuter train to Union Station in Washington, D.C. I had about 35 minutes for a quick dinner before boarding another MARC train heading west to Harpers Ferry. From my driveway in Placitas to the train station in Harpers Ferry, my total travel time was 10.5 hours. Ease of travel is one of a litany of reasons to consider a 鈥渇lip-flop鈥� format for your AT thru-hike.

Flip-flopping

More than half of the folks who start an AT hike never reach Harpers Ferry. But a growing number actually begin their hikes here, opting for the so-called 鈥渇lip-flop鈥� format rather than a more conventional northbound (NoBo) or more challenging southbound (SoBo) thru-hike.

A flip-flop approach has a lot of advantages in addition to transportation options to the trailhead. One of those is avoiding the 鈥渂ubble鈥� of NoBo hikers who start in Georgia each spring. It鈥檚 not uncommon in the first weeks to share a camping area with dozens of other hikers, jockeying for a decent tent space and waiting in long morning lines for your turn in the privy.

Those crowds diminish somewhat with time 鈥� some 20% bail out after the first 30 miles alone, and the varying hiking paces stretch and thin the remaining bubble over time and miles.

Starting in Harpers Ferry in April or so may avoid the frigid, icy weather that the tail end of winter can bring in the Georgia high country. You鈥檒l have to wait until June to safely start a SoBo hike in Maine.

Hiking from Harpers Ferry to Maine, then coming back and hiking from Harpers Ferry to Georgia, positions you nicely for the weather and starts you in the easiest terrain of the entire trail, giving your body a long on-ramp to get conditioned with a lower risk of injury.

Making the thru-hike in a contiguous line from one end to the other is far more romantic, but a flip-flop is more practical.

Hiker鈥檚 log

Day 1 鈥� 10.5 miles: After a decent night鈥檚 sleep at a nearby Quality Inn, HD and I hit the trail at 9:30 the next morning. Tropical heat and humidity made it a struggle, but we managed to get to a camping shelter by 3 p.m.

Day 2 鈥� 11.3 miles: More high heat and humidity. We entered 鈥淭he Roller Coaster,鈥� a 13.5-mile section of ups and downs, just as a thunderstorm broke and soaked us with heavy rain. We huddled under a rocky overhang until the worst of the weather passed. We stopped at Bear鈥檚 Den Hostel, where for $40 we each secured a bunk, a hot shower, a frozen pizza, a pint of Ben & Jerry鈥檚 and a pancake breakfast. I鈥檇 gladly have paid double that.

Day 3 鈥� 10 miles: At mile 6 in the middle of The Roller Coaster, HD decided he鈥檇 had enough of this ride. When the trail crossed a gravel road, he sat down on a log and called for an Uber.

Day 4 鈥� 13 miles: I hiked a few miles in the morning to U.S. 55, where I stopped at a nice country store. The owner gave me a free doughnut to go with my coffee and apple. I laid out my tent, soaked from overnight thunderstorms, to dry in the parking lot. HD drove from Harpers Ferry, where he鈥檇 left his truck, and met me here. He decided he鈥檇 hang around the area for another day or two, so we planned to meet in Front Royal the next day. I pressed on to a shelter and camped.

Day 5 鈥� 10.2 miles: I skipped breakfast and hustled 2 miles to a road crossing where HD picked me up. We had a hot breakfast at a nearby diner. Then he took me back to the trail and we said our goodbyes. The weather was overcast and threatened to rain, but I made the remaining miles without a soaking. I checked into a bed and breakfast just off the trail at about 2 p.m.

Day 6 鈥� 16 miles (anticipated): I鈥檓 writing article over a pancake breakfast at the Mountain Home Bed & Breakfast near Front Royal. I鈥檒l enter the Shenandoah National Park for the last 100 miles of my hike. I鈥檓 hoping to ramp up my daily mileage to 15 or 20 now that the hardest climbing is behind me.

Hiking my own hike

One of the endless AT aphorisms thru-hikers bandy about is 鈥淗ike your own hike.鈥� I sometimes find these ATisms tiresome but find they are all steeped in hard-earned wisdom. A hiker needs to have their own clear reason for taking on even a small 150-mile section of this trail. It鈥檚 not all sunshine and gorgeous views. Not by a long shot, and especially not in northern Virginia right now. My reason is a compulsion to finish what I started. But HD already completed his thru-hike. He was hiking my hike, not his.

True to the mantra, I did not judge him or try to change his mind when he jumped off The Roller Coaster. Hiking shoe on the other foot, I wouldn鈥檛 have made it past Day 1.

Shortly before my friend made the fateful Uber call, we had a moment. I was walking about 10 paces ahead when I heard HD exclaim, 鈥淗oly (expletive) (expletive)!鈥�

Suspecting something was amiss I turned around and followed HD鈥檚 rather bug-eyed gaze to a point just off the trail between him and me. There, inches from where my left ankle had just been, were two copperheads entwined in what I assume was the act of making baby copperheads. Both had raised their heads about 10 inches off the ground and were swaying hypnotically back and forth. That鈥檚 not something you see every day, and my guess is it can鈥檛 be unseen. Lord knows I鈥檓 trying. Possibly that had some influence on HD鈥檚 decision?

Whatever HD鈥檚 reason for ending early it鈥檚 left me alone with my thoughts. I鈥檝e been surprised by the lack of other hikers on the trail. Aside from a trio of SoBo hikers who are moving fast and are already days ahead, it鈥檚 been just me and an occasional trail runner or day hiker. It鈥檚 very different from the large band I shared the trail with three years ago, at least so far.

Overall I鈥檓 enjoying the hike and the solitude. Occasionally, however, my imagination gets the better of me. I鈥檝e fallen into a grim habit of writing headlines to describe my demise at the slightest hint of danger.

Bear scat on the trail: 鈥淣M man dies on AT, bear attack suspected.鈥�

Thunderstorm rolling in: 鈥淟ightning strike kills NM hiker.鈥�

Tree branch crashes in the forest: 鈥淣M man goes out under a limb.鈥�

These are irrational fears. I鈥檝e hiked alone many, many times and with just an ounce of common sense have avoided issues. But imagination is a powerful thing when combined with isolation.

I think that鈥檚 part of the value of this sort of experience. There is no social media or streaming service to distract me, so when a fear, no matter how silly, pops up, the only option is to confront my amygdala with a healthy dose of prefrontal cortex.

Couldn鈥檛 we all stand to do a little more of that?