Harpers Ferry, WV to Duncannon, PA 4/28/2009-5/3/2009

Photos: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2020129630104728652hsnzjx

4/28/2009 - 9:00 PM - Crompton Gap Shelter - 19 mi today - 1023.9 mi total

Woke up at 6AM this morning when my alarm went off. Said goodbye to the boys from Winchester (gave them a Jolly Rancher each) and hit the trail. Cruised in the morning. Took some nice pictures of the redbuds. Trees are getting leafy. Crossed the Shenandoah River and entered Harpers Ferry. Walked the short side trail through the old Stover College campus (now a National Park Service training center). When I arrived at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), I found Chert, Grizzly Adams, Wally and Pacman loading up their packs and getting ready to move on. It was a nice little reunion and we exchanged stories from the trail. Gary from the ATC came outside and took my picture for the yearbook. I am officially Class of 2009 Northbounder #16. Woohoo! I also picked up my packages (including my new boots) and stated organizing everything. Grizzly took my old shirt, but everything else got sent home. Those boots served me well! Stopped by the Post Office and Ariano's Pizza for lunch (really good!) before calling home. Said my goodbyes to the ATC staff and headed to the lower town to find the ATM. It was out of money, but the guy at the ice cream store let me get $40 using my debit card (minus $3 for an ice cream). Hit the trail at 2:30 PM about 3 hours behind the other guys. The C&O Canal was a nice easy introduction for the new boots. Took a video of some of the turtles (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHO1bFeFTzE). It was hot, so Harley went for a swim in the Potomac. Climb from there to Ed Garvey Shelter. Met "Highway Man" who is on the trail for the first day on his way to Katahdin (completing a flip-flop). Took a short break and pushed on. Pretty easy ridge walking, though I notice a difference without the Superfeet insoles. Will call home and have them sent to me in Port Clinton. Got water at Gathland State Park and thought I got stung by a bee, but nothing happened (I'm allergic so I was expecting it to swell up). Arrived at Crompton Gap Shelter at 7 to meet Craig (beginning a flip-flop) and two section hikers. Nice group. Didn't catch up to the "Fearless Five" but still got in a full days of hiking even though I had to resupply. Looking forward to the shower tomorrow at Dahlgren Campground and should get near the Pa?MD border. Can't believe that I'm in state #6 and will hit #7 tomorrow. Woohoo! No more Virginia Blues! Pleasant night. The temp has dropped to a nice level. Hopefully tomorrow will be cooler as well.

4/29/2009 - 9:00PM - Ensign Cowall Shelter - 20.7 mi today - 1044.6 mi total

Got up later than usual this morning. Was the first one out of bed at 7:45. Temp had dropped overnight with a short rain shower. Clouds stayed all day. Got on the trail just before 9. Took it pretty easy in the morning. Stopped in at Rocky Run Shelter for what was supposed to be a short break. Ended up spending 45 minutes there reading my guidebook and munching on teddy grahams. Got going again, but stopped to read the Civil War markers at Reno Monument Road. I have never really been all that interested in Civil War history, but for some reason I found it appealing today. Maybe I am starved for reading material. Harley found it quite boring. A mile later I took a free hot shower at Dahlgren Backpackers Campground. Thank you Maryland Park Service! Two miles later, I found a payphone at the Washington Monument State Park and was able to call Dad. He's going to send my Superfeet to Port Clinton. I decided to have lunch there as it was starting to drizzle. Got going again around 2:15. Just before Pine Knob Shelter, I crossed the I-70 footbridge. Its much nicer to cross over interstates than walk along roads underneath them. Much safer too. Between Pine Knob Shelter and Ensign Cowall Shelter was a long ridgeline walk with quite a few rocky sections. My feet started aching and I started to worry about the infamous Pennsylvania rocks to come. Hopefully they won't be as bad as everyone makes them out to be. After a couple of hours of walking through the drizzle, I decided to call it quits at Ensign Cowall. Got in at 6:30 with plenty of time to do all my chores before dark. Met a SOBO fli-flopper named "Footnote" who was a Blue Ridge Parkway Ranger for 12 years. Nice guy. Hear a Great Horned Owl just as I got in my sleeping bag. Looking forward to Pennsylvania tomorrow.

4/30/2009 - 9:00 PM - Rocky Mountain Shelters - 24.7 mi today - 1069.3 mi total

Woke up around 6:30 and had breakfast while chatting with Footnote. Really nice guy and a great story-teller. He got packed up and left before I even got out of my sleeping bag. Harley was especially sluggish this morning. Finally got on the trail at 8:15 under overcast and cool conditions. Stayed that way all day. Met a couple SOBO flip-floppers from Queens at the trail to Raven Rocks Shelter. Decided not to go down to the shelter as it was off the trail down a hill. Had a snack break on a log and took my jacket off. Couple miles later I took the side trail to High Rocks to check out the view. It's also a hand-glider launch site, so there was a steep drop off. Unfortunately, there was a lot of graffiti. Steep hike downhill through a rock field. Harley had no problem with it and flew down the hill. I took my time and picked my way down slowly. Mat a large group of prep-school boys. Some were inquisitive, some just stared at me, some made their opinions known (one shouted "animal cruelty" as I walked away!). Boys will be boys. Had lunch at Pen-Mar Park just before the border crossing. Took a video as I crossed the Mason Dixon line. There is also a pronunciation change at this point from App-a-lat-chun trail to App-a-lay-shun trail. So far the terrain in PA is super easy. Got to Deer Lick Shelter at 3:00 and knew I would be able to extend my day to Rocky Mountain Shelters. The shelters in Southern Pennsylvania tend to have 2 four person buildings instead of one larger one. At Tumbling Run Shelters, one was labeled "snoring" and the other "non-snoring." Took a picture of Harley outside of the "snoring" one. He didn't think it was very funny. Trail was pretty easy for the last 6 miles, though my feet were aching by the end. Didn't help that the shelters were a quarter mile off the trail and the water source was a half mile downhill. That adds a mile and a half that doesn't count! Met up again with Chert, Grizzly Adams, Wally, and Pacman. Good to catch up with them before they drop into Gettysburg to visit the battlefield. Another great day on the AT. Happy to be in state #7!

5/1/2009 - 6:30 PM - Toms Run Shelter - 19.2 mi today - 1088.5 mi total

Pinch and a punch for the first of the month. Today is my 70th day on the trail, which means that I have been out here for 10 weeks! It's funny to think what I would be doing if I wasn't hiking the AT. I'm glad to be out here with Harley. Woke up at 6:30 and got breakfast ready. It rained overnight. Some guy arrived late last night and set up his tent. He didn't realize that there were two shelter and plenty of room for him. Hit the trail at 7:45 and said goodbye to the Brits and Californians. They were planning on visiting Gettysburg today and resupplying. Got to Route 30 and promptly fell on my face. I slipped on a root and was on the ground before I knew it. Didn't hurt at all, but it must have looked funny to the people driving by. Brushed myself off and continued on my way. Easy walk through Caledonia State Park and then a bit of a climb to Quarry Gap Shelter. That place was beautiful! It was nicely landscaped, had a covered picnic table, and even some hanging flower baskets. It was so nice that I decided to have an early lunch. The sun came out for a bit, but ran away as soon as I got ready to leave. Got pretty wet on the way to Birch Run Shelter, but I just put my head down and cranked out the miles. Took a nice long break there and read an article from a current copy of the New Yorker that someone had left there. Reminded me of my semester in NYC. I prefer it out here. Got going again around 2:30. Easy walking all day long. Finished at 4:45 at Toms Run Shelters. I'm the only one here, so I had the pick of the shelters (chose the one without the birds nest). Made dinner, pumped water, toweled off the dog, and still have about 2 hours of daylight to kill. Guess I'll write my postcards and get caught up with my journal. Looking forward to the "half-gallon challenge" tomorrow. I'm currently 0.65 miles south of the midpoint of the trail (4.7 miles south of the midpoint marker). I'm hoping to hike 19 miles tomorrow, but we'll see what my digestive system says after all that ice cream. I'll be at the store at 10 AM tomorow.

5/2/2009 - 8:45 PM - Boiling Springs Campground - 22.8 mi today - 1111.3 mi total

Got up at 7:30 this morning and got moving slowly as I knew that it was less than 4 miles to the store. Hit the trail at 8:30 under overcast skies. It rained a little overnight, so the trail was quite wet. Stopped and chatted with some weekenders. Lots of people on the trail today. Arrived at the Pine Grove General Store at 9:45 and signed the register while I mentally prepared myself for the challenge. The "half-gallon challenge" is a thru-hiking tradition. Hikers are supposed to eat a half gallon of ice cream to celebrate reaching the halfway point on the AT. Not everyone can do it, but i felt that with my previous experience as an scooper at Bill Wahl's Ice Creamery, I had a pretty good chance. The store opened at 10 and I purchased a half gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream. 26 minutes and 25 seconds later, it was gone. Easy! That was 2240 calories of bliss! Took a load of pictures and a couple videos. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnXJ_hdvheA and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWNEskLA5Ng) Afterwards, I still felt a bit hungry, so I ordered a cheeseburger and grilled cheese sandwich. Took a little while for my stomach to get acquainted with everything, but I kept it all down. I know my limits after that Chinese buffet in Waynesboro! Hit the trail again and enjoyed an easy stroll through Pine Grove Furnace State Park. Took a bunch of pictures at the midpoint marker. Woohoo!I've hiked half of the AT! Easy hike from there to James Fry Shelter, where I had my normal lunch (I'm a metabolic machine!). Pretty easy hike from there to Alec Kennedy Shelter, though there was one ridgeline that they made us zigzag over about 10 times through rock crevasses and over crazy obstacles. Harley had a blast. Decided to move on from Alec Kennedy as I hope to make it to Duncannon tomorrow, and I wanted to get a couple more miles under my belt. Last mile was litterally through a farm. Flat! Got to the little hiker campsite South of Boiling Springs. It's right next to the railroad tracks (less than 30 yards). One just went by and Harley nearly had a baby. Could be a long night... Dinner was great (tofu lasagne, Kit Kat, and Powerbar). Pretty sure I ate more than Michael Phelps today. Hope it doesn't rain tonight. Wet tents are never fun.

5/3/2009 - 11:00 PM - Doyle Hotel - 26.0 mi today - 1137.3 mi total

There were 7 or 8 trains that went by the tent last night. Most of them between midnight and 4AM. I thought I was a heavy sleeper, but there is no way that anyone can sleep through that noise. The dog got used to it after the second or third train. Finally at 5:30 AM, I decided to get up as yet another train went by. It rained a bit overnight, so I had a wet tent to put away. Stopped in the ATC office in Boiling Springs to get water and sign the register. Was on the trail before 7. The first 12 miles today were literally flat. The trail traverses across the Cumberland Valley, crossing the Penn Turnpike and I-81 to skirt around Harrisburg. The easy terrain allowed me to crank out the miles. I reached Scott Farm (the ATC work crew headquarters) at (;45AM, which means that I hiked 10 miles before 10 AM! It was drizzling rain all morning, so I was happy to get out of the rain and have my lunch on the porch. My socks and shoes were soaked from walking through the tall grass. Talked to a guy from Ukraine who had a lot of questions about the trail. Got back to the trail at 11 and met a women two miles north who was sitting in her tent by the side of the trail. It was the same $20 Walmart tent that Dad bought. She had a candle lit (open flame inside a tent is a bad idea) and said that she had been section hiking in Georgia, but decided to come up to Pennsylvania because there wasn't enough oxygen down South. Interesting character. Did the one big climb of the day to Darlington Shelter (all 800 feet of it!). From there it was about 7 miles to Cove Mountain Shelter, but the ridge walk was pretty rocky. Gave my feet a beatdown. Didn't stop at the shelter as it was off the trail downhill. Met a guy at raven Rock who was pretty bummed about life. Gave him a Jolly Rancher and tried to cheer him up. Got to Duncannon, PA at 5PM. Checked into the Doyle Hotel (very hiker-friendly place!). Set up my tent in the room to dry out, and then went downstairs for dinner (burger, onion rings, hushpuppies, and grilled cheese). Called home and now just doing laundry. Weather report doesn't look too good for the next couple days. Guess I'll just grin and bear it.