A brief & dirty summary of the last few weeks, with GIFs!

BROOKLYN, NY-

Hello. It's me. I was wondering if after all these years, you'd like to hear how Katie and Michael are doing.

I'm a little behind on my blog posts, it's true. So, I thought it would be fun to catch you up to speed through the magic of Gifs.

Katie and Michael were happy little hobbitses tramping through the wilderness, or more often along roads and through muddy, which is what the recently-completed Te Araroa trail sometimes looks like.

via GIPHY

Unfortunately Katie began suffering from repeated foot trauma caused by walking too much. (This happened to Michael on the PCT, too. His feet turned purple.)  Michael tried to help carry her pack for a while:

via GIPHY

But then Michael fell into a big pool of poop.



via GIPHY

There was no way getting around it: they both needed to rest. So, they went back to a farm to spend some time woofing.  


via GIPHY

This wasn't all bad, as it allowed Michael to get up and start drinking one day at 5 AM in order to catch the Rugby World Cup (Australia vs. New Zealand).

via GIPHY

The two of them also visited a bird sanctuary, where they learned about the bar-tailed godwit, which migrates from Alaska to New Zealand without stop- an eight day flight!!!!!!

via GIPHY

Then they learned about racism against Maori people, and now they are going to go canoeing down a river for a little while before returning to the trail. 

via GIPHY

That is my version of what the past few weeks have held. The other thing that is pertinent is that my dad has been pretty sick, and we've been with him in the hospital for the past two weeks. But he was discharged last Friday and is getting stronger every day. Go Dad go!

As for Katie and Mike-- here's Katie explaining the whole misadventure in her own words.



24 hours traveling in NZ from Michael Hanley on Vimeo.


... Oy. You can do it, Katie and Michael! Have a great time moving through space without relying on foot transport for a few days. We are rooting for you.

With love,
Megan

More than halfway there!

Friends, please pardon my long absence. This is what I have been doing this summer: 

Photo credit: Kym Bernazky

From the first showing of "I wondered why," a one-woman show based on my Dad's memoirs as compiled for me by my Mom and Dad.

Here, in the other hand, is what my beloved siblings have been doing:

Photo credit: Tom Glass

So, as can see, we are all completing activities of comparable difficulty.

Here are some updates from the trail, in no particular order!

Tom/Teddy has returned to notPCT land in one piece, albiet heavily bearded, after a month and a half on the trail. I am stealing all of the photos today from his facebook page. They are stunning photos, and also, Erin and Michael don't send me photos because when they get into town they are too busy repairing their heavily traumatized feet and eating every calorie they can get their hands on to send e-mails. I have not yet talked to Tom/Teddy, but i promise a full report soon.

Photo credit: Tom Glass

Teddy, Longlegs, and Erin (no trailname yet) reached the halfway point! Annnd Legs and Erin are stiillllll in California. It's a big state. They just passed through Castella, CA this weekend:

Almost to Oregon...

With Tom gone, it seems that the intrepid Hanleyettes have either started to run into more mishaps, or they have fewer heartwarming stories to tell and are therefore telling the truth about how hard it is to walk thousands of miles. Michael was stung by a bunch of bees. Erin's toes swelled up so much that they broke through the tops of her shoes. There was an unfortunate poop episode that i hope to make a claymation movie about soon. Some packages failed to arrive on time. The Hanleyettes march on.

Photo credit: Tom Glass

Photo credit: Tom Glass

I should hear from them next weekend, but in the meantime, know that they are safe and (more or less) sound. And at least the view is good from wherever they are!

Photo credit: Tom Glass

Yours,

Megan