Adkins Update from Two Weeks In

The Charleston (WV) Daily Mail shows up with a trail update from Leonard and Laurie Adkins ... and Mac, their dog. Dated 20 March 2007 under the headline "On the Trail: Hikers often given new names once their journeys begin" Adkins mentions a number of hikers that they've met already.

The trio are hiking intentionally slowly this time, partly in order to meet more thru-hikers as they pass by.

One of particular note is PawPaw, a retired pharmacist from Florida. He's a mere 89 years old! So if PawPaw makes it to Katahdin, be ready to make a change in your record books.

Meanwhile, Adkins is keeping an eye on the shelter registers and keeping track of hikers he's met. "Although they may have dreamed of doing the trail for years, some were just not mentally prepared for its rigors, such as temperatures dropping into the teens at night, a gain and loss of several thousand feet in elevation day in and day out, cold air being blown about by 25 mph winds, and walking through rain storms that last more than 24 hours.

"Mary Ann has been laid up in a low-cost motel for close to a week waiting for infected ingrown toenails to heal. Jim, a missionary who had just returned to America from Tanzania, appears to have dropped out two days into the hike, while Robert, who was carrying close to 90 pounds on his back, has not been heard from in more than a week."