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Published: June 10th 2008
Hello all, we're back again with another exciting installment of Appalachian Trail fun.
June 2
We got a late start today because we had to wait for the Doyle to open so that we could update the blog for you all. This would not have been the case had we found out earlier that the place we were relying on for an internet connection (Extreme PC) was no longer in existence. However, the morning wasn't all bad. We had breakfast once again at Goodies and this morning we had their famous Texas Pancakes. To make Texas Pancakes you take a piece of Texas toast, dip it in French toast batter, then dip it in pancake batter and slap it on the griddle. Yum! Yum! Once we got our blog entry done, we had some popcorn and one last beverage before hitting the trail. The trail went through town and we walked with traffic for quite a while. We lunched at a shelter where we met Steeler again. There was a lovely footbridge on the trail which is always appreciated. We stopped for the night at Peters Mountain Shelter, where there were day-hikers from Scotland, Ireland and the good
Playing Cards in the Doyle Hotel Bar
Honeymoon, Lena, and Treat (Gabe) playing cards while listening to Sue Grace in the bar of the Doyle Hotel in Duncannon.ole' U.S. of A. They were nice, but made us wonder about them when one of them spilled a whole large pan of rice all over the shelter floor. Besides the steep hike to get water, the shelter was very nice and roomy, which made for a good evening.
June 3
We woke up and got an early start in the morning. Daisy caught up with us later and we hiked together for a bit. The downhill was really rough and Honeymoon's tendon began to hurt despite the aid of the ankle brace. We stopped for lunch and Daisy moved on. We saw an asortment of wildlife today, such as an angry grouse (who had its tail feathers fanned and neck feathers puffed), two large black snakes and a very trusting or stupid deer. There were remnants of an old mining town called Yellow Springs. The "ruins" consisted of a huge slag heap and indistinct piles of rocks that looked as though they could have been foundations or just a pile of rock like any of the piles of rocks we had already been seeing on the trail. But, the guide said they were ruins, so
The Doyle Hotel
This place is 103 years old and looks it. we will go with that explanation of the rock piles. Another odd detail from the day's hike was the sound of airplanes in the air. They would fly overhead and make sounds that seemed like nothing so much as a giant fart. Everyone who heard the sound agreed. We thought at first that they might be spraying for gypsy moths (there's a big suppression campaign going on in MD and PA right now), but we were also told there was a military base somewhere nearby. Later, we got to Rausch Gap Shelter and Daisy was there. The shelter was a nice one with the spring right in front. An older thru-hiker named Willie Boy showed up later. It rained heavily that night and around 10:30 pm a thru-hiker named Hearts showed up while we were sleeping. Short Stick saw his head lamp approaching and he was soaked and shirtless. She rolled over and went back to sleep.
June 4
We woke this morning to a very wet landscape. It had poured on us the night before. Apparently, Hearts had gotten soaked in the process of doing a 29-mile day (all the way from Duncannon). Better him
Black Snake
This snake had a buddy with him too. than us. We made it about six or seven miles before we encountered our very first Trail Magic. We were lunching with Daisy on a bench in a small clearing about 30 feet above a highway. All of a sudden, a car slowed down and then stopped in the middle of the road. The woman driving yelled out her window, "Are you hiking the Appalachian Trail?" After we replied that we were, she said, "Could you help me?" She then pulled onto the shoulder and opened her trunk. We were quite perplexed and resolved that she could wait for our help until we finished our lunch. When Short Stick spied a case of water bottles in her trunk, however, we decided that she must have food and drinks, at which time Honeymoon leaped up, threw on his pack, and charged down the slope and across the street to lend a hand. As it turned out, this nice old lady had decided to become a "Trail Angel" and leave some snacks and drinks next to a footbridge for the hikers. This happens periodically and is known as "Trail Magic." This was our first encounter and we took full advantage of it.
Deer
This deer was either stupid or very trusting. Even though we had already eaten lunch, we indulged in some cookies, crackers, snack bars, cold ravioli, a banana, and some juice boxes. Hearts and a hiker named Venture showed up a few minutes later to join in.
The rest of the hike that afternoon was fairly unpleasant. Since everything was still soaking wet from the previous night's rain, we had to hike the last eight miles or so with wet feet. We were heading to the 501 shelter, which is famous on the trail because it is fully enclosed, has a solar shower, and (most of all) you can order pizza to be delivered there. So we kept chanting the refrain of "pizza, pizza, pizza" whenever we got tired. The last four miles were pretty bad. It started to rain, the trail grew rocky, and Honeymoon's tendon was hurting, so we had to go very slow. Amazingly, when we got to the shelter, we found that Daisy, Hearts, and Willie Boy had waited for us to order pizza. Considering a hiker's appetite, that was extremely thoughtful. Honeymoon and Short Stick shared a large hamburger & mushroom pie and a 2-liter of Coke. Make no mistake--all was consumed. Since
Slag Heap
Honeymoon and Short Stick find a heap of slag along the trail just after the "ruins" of Yellow Springs. it had been cloudy all day, the solar shower was ice cold, and it started to drizzle about that time as well. We also discovered that we had left our pack towel somewhere, so we had to drip-dry shivering in the rain and towel off with our dirty clothes. Nevertheless, it was worth it. The shelter was packed that night; there were twelve bunks and thirteen hikers, so Honeymoon slept on the floor. But he might have gotten a better night's sleep than Short Stick, as she slept on a top bunk, with the rain hammering on the tin roof just above her head all night long.
(P.S. Happy B-Day I.J.)
June 5
Today's hike was pretty uneventful. We discussed Obama's long-awaited victory in the Democratic primary. We had gotten the news the previous night at the 501, where someone had a USA Today. Most of the hikers seemed pretty excited about it, and when Willie Boy asked if nobody was a Clinton fan, Short Stick had a few choice words to say about the senator from New York. Another female hiker (named Em) seemed to take offense, but luckily we cut that conversation short before any
A Stream with a Wall
Honeymoon crosses a stream with an old wall along it. serious damage was done. The trail was very rocky today, which made our progress slower than usual. That, combined with back-to-back 18-mile days on the 3rd and 4th, had us feeling pretty beat-down by the end of the day. As we were coming into camp, a hiker named Whippo-Will was stopped in the middle of the trail. He had seen a timber rattlesnake and wanted to warn us. So far we haven't seen any poisonous snakes ourselves, but we are on the lookout. We stayed at Eagle's Nest shelter, which was crowded again, as Honeymoon, Short Stick, and Daisy shared the shelter with a bunch of older guys who snored all night long.
June 6
We awoke early and got moving, since the sky looked ominous. It didn't rain, but we still moved pretty fast, since we knew we had a town coming up ahead. After some serious rocks and a nearly-vertical downhill drop, we arrived in Port Clinton around 11:00. We did eight or nine miles this day, but it seemed like luxury after the previous three days' hikes. Speaking of luxury, we decided to stay at the Port Clinton Hotel that night, so we
Lizard
This guy was very calm almost to the point of endangering itself. But it made for a good picture. got a shower, did some laundry, ate two good meals, stayed in an air-conditioned room, and watched some cable TV (first TV-watching on the trail so far). We resupplied at an outfitter in town, as well as the Port Clinton Peanut Shop (a candy store that also sold trail mixes and dehydrated fruit). Quite a relaxing day overall.
June 7
It became clear this morning that our bodies have adjusted to the new schedule, as we awoke before 6 a.m., even though we were sleeping in a real bed and had not set an alarm. We walked around futilely looking for a diner to eat breakfast at, but called off the search when we noticed how hot it was getting. Our hike began by climbing about 700 feet up a mountain, through a heavy fog that made it feel like we were walking through water. By 9:00, we were drenched with sweat. We cursed the heat and the rocks constantly during this day's hike (see #1 and #2 on our top ten list for an in-depth discussion of these topics). We got a couple of great views of the Pennsylvania countryside from Pulpit Rock and The
Trail Magic at The Berlin Iron Bridge
A very nice "trail angel" asked us to help her bring some beverages and snacks to the bridge for hikers. It was a very pleasent treat and the only time Short Stick would consider eating Chef Boyardee cold. Honeymoon especially enjoyed the banana. Daisy and Venture also enjoy the magic. Pinnacle, though both places were a little crowded for our taste. We also passed a group of thru-hikers we had met in Duncannon, which included Tupperware, Bunz & Roses, Hearts, Spock, and Twiggy. They were slack-packing today (hiking with only food & water) because Tupperware lives in the area and they had transportation. They were going to his house that evening, where his parents were going to cook them dinner. Needless to say, we were somewhat jealous, but at least we got to feel like the studs we are for hiking that difficult part of trail while carrying full weight in our packs. After covering about 15 miles, we stopped at Eckville shelter, which was extremely nice. It had carpeted bunks, a flush toilet, and a solar shower (which was at least lukewarm this time). The caretaker lives right on the premises and he gave us a ride into town to get ice cream. Very nice all around. We shared the shelter with Daisy, Chief Daddy, and thru-hikers named Loafy, El Grande, and Furniture, as well as an elderly couple named Auntie Anne and Uncle Bud (they looked like they were in their 70s, and yet were in the middle
Pizza at the 501 Shelter
Names starting on the left and going around the table: Toots, Burples, Rising Star, Daisy, Hearts, Chief Daddy and Oly. of a southbound thru-hike; pretty impressive). After playing a game of five-handed hearts (at which Honeymoon dominated--Glen would have been so proud), we went to bed. The sleeping quarters were very nice, except for being eaten alive by gnats and mosquitos all night long.
June 8
We woke up with the sun at 5:15 and made it onto the trail about an hour after that. By 7:00, the previous day's showers were completely ruined. We hit some rough terrain over the first seven miles on our way to the first shelter, where we ate a snack with Loafy and Furniture. A group of Boy Scouts arrived just as we were finishing, which reminded Honeymoon of his youth. We got out of there just in time, however, as some of the boys had started a trash fire consisting of plastic food containers (just one example of the many reasons that Honeymoon has declined several requests to go back into scouting). By just after noon, we arrived at a road which featured a bar & grill restaurant. Since we had already done ten miles so early in the day, we ate lunch there, had a couple beers, and
Daisy's Feet
Daisy's feet are the saddest looking feet on the trail. lounged for a bit. We ran into Tupperware and friends again (who were again slack-packing) as well as Loafy and Furniture. That afternoon's hike was rough. The temperature was in the upper 90s and it got very rocky as we went across a patch of trail known as the Knife's Edge. On this section of a couple hundred yards, the trail runs on top of a sharp ridge of rocks with a steep drop-off on both sides. The view is great, but it was a little scary. We stayed at Bake Oven Knob shelter that evening, which was true to its name as we had our hottest night yet. It was a nice relaxing group (just us, Daisy, and Loafy) after several nights of crowded shelters.
June 9
We did about 7.5 miles early, before the heat hit hard. Once we got to highway 873, we called a guy named Ira Fine, owner/operator of a cheap little hotel/boarding house named Fine Lodging. It's not really all that "fine" but it does have working a.c., which is all we really need. We did some laundry, showered, and again polished off an entire large pizza (anchovy & mushroom)
It gets Hot.
Honeymoon cuts the sleeves off his black shirt because it is maddeningly hot out. with salads, bread, and beer. After lazing around during the afternoon, we hit the Slatington library to post a blog entry, made some phone calls to the family, and got a ride to the grocery store. Then we went to bed.
(Happy Anniversary to Catherine and Bryan!)
June 10
We're taking our second "zero day" today. Temperatures will again be in the mid-90s and there's also a chance of thunderstorms. Add to that our aching feet, itchiness, and overall bodily exhaustion, and we decided it would be a good day for a break.
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Pat
non-member comment
Wanted to let you guys know I've been keeping up with the blog. Your trip looks like a blast - all of Appalachia is completely gorgeous and among my favorite areas in the US. Best of luck with the rest of your trek!