Whenever I am with my partner at his home on the East Coast, I also like to get some time in a city. Washington, D.C., is one of my favourite places to spend the day. But at some point, I realised that Philadelphia is also only a relatively short train ride away. So, shortly before Christmas, I decided to go on a little trip and visit the city where the US-American Constitution was born, and which is the home of the famous Liberty Bell. I booked two nights in Philadelphia and got tickets with Amtrak via Baltimore.
Spending time in the shoulder or off-season in the Appalachians is much more appealing to me than hiking there in summer. Summers under the canopy of the Appalachians‘ mostly deciduous trees are pleasant and shaded, but it is also quite humid and stuffy. Having hiked the Benton Mackeye Trail in April and June back in 2019, and having done numerous day hikes along the US-American East Coast in summer, gave me a pretty good impression of the specific challenges hiking in this region, beyond the continuous ups and downs of the rolling mountains.
The further north we got in Vermont, the more the landscape changed: pine trees became deciduous trees and hilly forests eventually made room for flat farming areas. It was a dreary day when we passed into Canada. Our passports were quickly checked and soon we were on our way to Montréal.
After a stressful week in Bonn, I made my way from the conference center to the airport the night before my flight to Boston was scheduled. A few hotels are conveniently located next to Frankfurt Airport, so I checked into my 8-hour flight with Condor relatively relaxed. Being used to flying long hours as I am giving in New Zealand, these 8 hours felt like a quick hop over the Atlantic.
Not far into our road trip, we came up with the idea to go to the Adirondack Mountains in the north of New York State to check out some hiking trails. Neither John nor I have ever been there, and now is the time to go eventually!
Having left southern hemisphere winter behind me for several weeks and made it to the US. We planned to go hiking for a week in the Appalachians in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, my partner strained his ankle so badly that we had to bail. Instead, we decided to go on a little road trip. Road trips are a fabulous way to explore, especially the US: there are vast networks of roads, motels, restaurants, and grocery stores to secure the logistical side of such an endeavor, and of course plenty of exciting places to see and visit.
I am very enthusiastic about riding trains. Not the ones with which people commute to work. I am in awe of the long hauls. I have already ticked off the box of riding trains in Russia, Kazakhstan, India, New Zealand, and China. In the U.S., I have crossed the country four times by Amtrak already. Now, with being back in the U.S. for some time and wanting to catch up with friends in Portland and in Idaho, it is the perfect opportunity to close a little gap of the „Empire Builder“ route in the Northwest (between Portland and Sandpoint, ID) and to eventually ride on an Amtrak train in winter.
The train routes in the US have names. Train travelling is something I love to do! However, the train network in the US is old, needs a lot of maintenance, is unreliable …. but you get to see the country, you get to meet the people and it is a fantastic way to truly experience the size and vastness of the US.
Season’s changing! Probably one of the best times to visit Shenandoah National Park is fall. The air is crisp, the humidity that usually lies sticky and heavy on your skin is mostly gone, and the leaves change their color.
It doesn’t take long to leave the metropolitan corridor that connects Washington DC and New York City. These roughly 250 miles are full of highways, interstates, interconnecting routes, and you never really know where a city ends, and a new one begins.