I wanted to skip my planned zero today; Duncannon is too spread out to be a hiker base without transportation. But I was up all night with diarrhea and my feet hurt, especially my big toes and the balls of my feet. But it was the lack of sleep that hurt the worst. From 3am until daybreak I was wide awake yet desperately tired. So I took the zero anyway. I'll try to hike 10 miles tomorrow to Pete's Mountain shelter.
7/4/15 - Independence Day!
And I'm getting rained on. This sucks.
I got dropped off near the Susquehanna River bridge by Dwayne, owner of Molly's Stardust Motel, just before nine this morning in a light mist. Which of course turned into a light rain not long afterwards. So I put my rain jacket hood on my head and draped the jacket over my pack like a poncho. I still got wet, but the rain wet my arms and legs, my torso was wet from sweat. And the poncho drape kept me cool enough yet protected me from the cold rain.
The climb out of the valley wasn't bad, even though the trail was pretty badly cobbled. By the time I hit the ridge line, my glasses were fogged over, as they always are when walking in the clouds. I hit a small rock maze, and found myself heading downhill on an impromptu bushwhack. Good thing I use Guthook's AT app, the GPS function pointed towards where I'd missed a white blaze in the fog.
Just past Clark's Ferry shelter, PA 225 crosses the ridge and the AT. There's a parking lot and Slider and Red Pepper were eating lunch. I stopped as well, and an SUV pulled up and the driver propped up the cargo door with a tent pole. We thought for a second we were getting Trail Magic, but it turned out to be a couple from Harrisburg out for the weekend. They're here at Pete's Mountain shelter tonight. Actually, we are getting TM, they're passing around a flask of tequila!
Boston, Yeti, Dora, Leviticus, Prayer, the Harrisburg folks and myself are in the shelter, and there are five or six day hikers tenting. This shelter is huge, could easily sleep twenty people in here.
7/5/15 - I slept well last night and woke up at 5am as usual. I don't need to wake until 6, but.... So I rolled out at 5:30 and was on trail before 7am. The trail was rocky and sloppy all day and I had wet feet the whole time. Wasn't any point to changing socks.
I made Rausch Gap shelter shortly after 3pm, that's 18.3 miles in 8.5 hours, a bit over 2mph even with a 45 minute lunch break.
By 4:30, I'd seen one southbound (SoBo) section hiker and two overnight campers. About 5:30 I heard a tent flapping and realized Yeti was setting up at a tent spot about 50yds from the shelter. Boston, Gigglety Goose and Goose's girlfriend came in right after. Dora, Teachermon and Leviticus are probably back at the river where the shelter trail cut off the main trail.
At 7:30, the overnight campers, who are tenting about 50 or so yards behind the shelter, came to tell me they'd just had a bear walk into their campsite! I hope my food bag is hung well. I warned Boston, Yeti and Dora.
7/6/15 - The trail today was less muddy but more rocky. And there were several elevation changes, so it made for a tough day. But, the 501 shelter is a nice building with twelve bunk platforms and screened windows. And, I've gotten a phone number for a shuttle operator in Hamburg who'll pick up at the trailhead and take me to the Microtel hotel for $5. Bargain!
This place has a "solar" shower, kinda cold and dingy but I got clean and rinsed the salt out of my clothes. They might even be merely damp by morning.
As I got to Swatara Gap this morning, a man stepped onto the trail carrying a cooler. I immediately suspected Trail Magic, and I was right. Papa Shennanagins (2013) was bringing sodas! I scored a cold A&W root beer. We talked for a bit, he gave me some encouragement and off I went.
I got here about 3pm, and Hawkeye was here already. Tumbles and Scout, who had been ahead but had gone into Lickdale for a fruitless search for stove fuel (they couldn't even find any Heet for sale!), Leviticus and Waldo all showed up later. Boston and Dora went to town for supplies and stayed, but Yeti made it in and so did the Choirboys. The promised evening showers haven't yet materialized but I don't care.
And then I found out the Microtel in Hamburg is sold out through Thursday. The only hotel in town is booked solid. And it's going to rain Wednesday. Oh boy.
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