We met Ben and Spencer on Friday night. It was a pleasure to finally meet them after following their travels on the webpage. Their tenacity and determination to finish by August 18th is unbelievable. We would have expected to see two guys to be dogged tired but they looked great and were anxious to get an early start on the trail the following morning.
We went to the Grille in Delaware Water Gap for dinner and a belated celebration of their birthdays. We had plenty of questions about walking the trail and after dinner they took all of us to the trail and showed us the different trail markings they follow. Unfortunately, the evening went by much too quickly.
We wish Ben, Spencer and Garrett good luck and Godspeed as they make their way up the Appalachian Trail to Maine.
The Harrington’s
Chuck and Marybeth
Tory, Kristen, Gavin and Dylan
July 13, 2007
2 comments:
Dear Harrington's,
Thank you so much for taking the trip up to see my son Ben and Spencer. I spoke with Ben the next morning and he said that they had a great evening with you and the same thing you said, "It went by much to quickly." He so enjoyed the Filet Mignon and all the trimmings. The conversation and fellowship with your family was so appreciated. I trust the traffic was better for your return trip home. Thank you for your support of my son and Spencer. The perserverance of these two men in awesome. Thank you for being a "Trail Angel."
Malinda
I've been aiming to jot down a line or two ever since I received a call from "The Spence" on Friday, July 13th. He was calling from Delaware Water Gap, PA where he and Ben had hopped off the AT, got a shower, discovered a local bakery (Spencer said he downed the tastiest chicken pot pie EVER while Ben scarfed up a big piece of pumpkin pie), but were most importantly looking forward to meeting extended family of Julie and Tim Harrington: Cousin Chuck, Marybeth, Tony, Kristin, Gavin, and Dylan.
I want to echo the comments of Bandana Ben's Mom in saying thank you so very much, extended Harrington Family, for taking the time to meet the boys off the Trail, treat them to dinner at The Grille, and cruise around town. They thoroughly enjoyed meeting you all and spending time together. Yes, indeed their thru-hike has
a very special purpose and to meet
some of Stephen's family along the way makes it all that much more meaningful. Thank you for making it
all happen, and I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your first session of the AT-101. I'm sure you learned a lot and got a sampling of the "hiking fever" and how exciting each day is.
Spencer reported that he and Ben
received their replacement hiking shoes. It sounds as though the rocks are taking a toll on the soles, but not the souls. Spencer
sounded glad to be taking a little break from the Trail yet spoke with enthusiasm about the states that
lie ahead and the fact that once
they leave Delaware Water Gap they only have 990 miles (give or take a few miles) before they reach Katahdin. That number looks real good when you think back on the beginning at Springer Mtn. and the
2,175 miles that was ahead of them.
Here's hoping continued safe travels for the boys, Zoe
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