Going the Long Way

"You simply have to put one foot in front of the other and keep going." -George Lucas

Day 8: 4 miles Pine Grove Furnace State Park 

Stopped in Pine Grove Furnace State Park for lunch. Arrived about 11:30 and popped into the hostel to pickup my maildrop- only one of the packages was there, this one I mailed myself from Waynesboro. The mail wasn't due until 2 or 3pm, so I sat with TW and BC at the General Store and had some no-trail food. The General Store is home of the ice cream half-gallon challenge to commemorate the halfway point of the A.T. I didn't try it, but did get a good sized burger and fries. Delicious! Sunshine and Matt showed up around 1pm. Sunshine's foot was really bothering her. They had lunch while she iced it. I decided to stay at the Ironmaster's Mansion hostel for the night. With mail kinda late and greasy food, 7 miles to the next shelter is "meh". Yay for Nearo's!! 

Day 9: 7 miles James Fry Shelter

Another short day of mileage. Stayed at the hostel. Built in the 1820's. The Innkeeper and his wife were friendly. Did laundry, unpacked maildrops, showered. Quiet evening. Only girl, so I got the 18 bed dorm room to myself. Yesterday afternoon checked out the A.T. Museum- pretty cool exhibits. The curator showed me the progress in the children's area, looks like it will be a lot of fun once finished! Very tempted to buy a halfway patch- maybe if they have them for sale in Boiling Springs at the ATC office. Ended up calling in an order for larger shoes to L.L. Bean. Chose boots for hopefully some protection against the PA rocks. 

Hostel closed at 9 am this morning- realized at 9:30 that I had left my ipod behind charging. Knocked on the door and called the phone number, but no luck- hopefully can arrange to have it mailed. Sucks cause there is an 18 mile day coming after tomorrow (no camping allowed in the Cumberland Valley). Should be flat terrain though. Caught up with Matt about noon- at the shelter now together. Sunshine left the trail to get her foot checked out. We arrived about 2 pm. Now lounging in my hammock and reading. Dinner and another quiet night. 

Day 10: 8.5 miles Alec Kennedy Shelter

Didn't wake up until 8:30 today and didn't get on the trail until almost 12. We did 8 miles today, which started out deceptively easy. Absolutely flat ground paralleling railroad tracks for nearly 3 miles, but then some slight elevation. Not bad. The difficult section came after lunch with two rock mazes, scrambling in between, over, around and under boulders the size of fridges and small cars. A fun switch from walking straight, but tiring. Good practice for Mahoosuc Notch, I guess. After the rock mazes, the elevation got a bit crazy with a steep climb and then an immediate descent. My arch had been feeling much better to that point bit started getting sore quickly. I've been trying to stretch it out in the A.M. and P.M. and practicing not favoring my steps, but stepping fully. I think I had switched my gait because of a blisters on my toes. Planning to get out of camp by 7:30 tomorrow, visit the ATC office in Boiling Springs as I walk through town, get a Diet Coke and hike all day to the Darlington Shelter. Megamind rolled into the shelter about 7 last night along with TopKnot, Mambo and Woods. Ended up having a campfire and some good convo. 

Day 11: 18 miles Darlington Shelter

Loooooong day!!! I think it will be quite a while before I attempt a 20 mile day. The terrain was very flat, which was nice, but also made it hard to tell how far you'd gone. One hour I went 4 miles, the last few of the day I was struggling to do 2 mph. New blisters on all my toes and one on the bottom of my foot. I think because it was so flat the same friction point was getting rubbed all day. I pulled into the shelter about 8 pm, so just about a 12 hr day. I hiked an Italian sub and diet dr. pepper out of town and celebrated while I soaked my feet in the stream during lunch break. 

Day 12: 11 miles Duncannon, PA

Today was hard to get up and going. I was very grumpy by 4 miles in and wasn't sure if I would make it to town. I just kept plugging along though and reached the shelter 4 miles out of town at 2 pm. I had a nice long lunch break, called Mom for encouragement and updated my foot care with some Compeeds blister patches a thru hiker gave me during the morning. Just after lunch I met up with Screaming Steven and together we limped into town. (some crazy rock steps descending into the valley!) Now we have split a double room at a sketchy place called the Doyle Hotel, I have eaten a calzone bigger than my head and we did laundry. Tomorrow new boots arrive!

Day 13: 4 miles out of town

Town day was short, but it was okay because the Doyle was creepy AF! The shower was scummy, and I didn't even want to use the toilet. Got breakfast at Goodies Diner across the street then caught the Memorial Day parade from the balcony of the Hotel and headed out of town. Picked up my new boots and mailed ahead my trail runners. Almost 2 miles down Main Street and crossing the Susquehanna River. Lots of pavement, but not too bad- just hot.

Day 14: 6 miles Peter's Mountain Shelter

Short day today. Stopped at the shelter during the heat of the day to rest feet, with the intention of moving on another 5 miles. 3 hours later, I'm still here. People started coming in, and no one seemed to have much energy to move on. It is the largest shelter I've seen yet- perfect place if it was a rainy day. 16 people recommended, but you could probably fit 25 easily. I picked up my new boots in Duncannon- they worked well yesterday, but today are rubbing new places sore. I'm trying out wearing them without the insoles and laced loosely until Port Clinton in 70 miles.
The shelter is filling up- about 8 thru hikers just rolled in. S.S. is still with me, but I'm hoping to lose him. I wasn't too impressed on first meeting him, but we happened to walk into town at the same time. Normally, I would welcome the company, but he is constantly commenting about my pack weight, mileage average, amount of food I'm carrying, etc... He's been helpful at times, but I don't want to hike for weeks with him and he's already talking about NH. It's not the kind of company I need, especially when I'm in pain. Next shelter is 17.9 miles away- we'll see if I make it that far.

Day 15: 17.9 miles!!!! Rausch Gap Shelter

Arrived at the shelter about 30 minutes before the rain rolled in. I surprised myself with hiking so far so soon after the Boiling Springs debacle, but felt it was way easier than last time. Also, it took about 10 hours instead of 12. Left Steve behind about 2 miles in and didn't make an effort to meet up again throughout the day. The shelter is VERY nice- built in 2012, spacious with a nice overhang, stone foundation, cooking prep table, fire pit and a spring literally right out the door. I'm here with Pops and another flipflopper Linley, thru hikers Nova and River (from Canada) and Big Fudge. River plays the guitar, so there is live entertainment this rainy evening. Got some Memorial Day trail magic at the PA 325 road crossing from trail legend Bag O Tricks. He emptied out his coolers- sandwiches, popcorn, cold gatorade, and carrot cake. He also sent us off with a self written poem about catholes. :P