You may be wondering what the actual trail is like. Surely, with its fame and thousands of volunteers it all wood chips and a light grade. I imagine you probably picture this:

Well that is exactly what it’s like, but only for rare stretches. The one above lasted less than 100 yards.

Frequently the trail is covered with rocks or water. It’s a special treat when you get both:

Hopefully you master rock hopping so your feet stay dry.

After hopping, you need to learn how to hurdle:

This tree actually isn’t too bad. The really fun ones are about chest high. Then they’re to high to go over and too low to go under.

The trees can be hurdled, but I haven’t figured out how to fly over the mud pits:

The trail gossip is that Pennsylvania is all rocks. It even has the nickname “Rocksylvania”. That’s scary considering how often I already see stuff like this:

In case that photo doesn’t show it well enough, that’s going down at about 45°.
Sure, I’ve had about 500 miles to collect these photos, but all of them came from a ~20 mile stretch! Maybe showing you isn’t the best way to get you to come hike with me…. Note to self: schedule this post for after the finish.