Day 58/May 29

Miles hiked: Zero

I'm now home in Lee and taking a couple of days off to get ready for my next section, from Killington, Vermont to Mount Katahdin, Maine, which will be another 495 miles.

Here are some of my observations about the hike so far, after hiking 791.83 miles:

• First, I still don't like camping of any sort, either in a shelter or in a tent; you arrive tired, sweaty and dirty needing to set-up, whether it is in a shelter or your tent. There's no easy way to get clean before you try to get to sleep; yes, you can try to rinse off with water and get into some clean clothes for sleeping, but the fact is that I'm still sticky as hell, even if I use Dr. Bronners soap as part of the cleaning. That means, as a side sleeper that my legs stick together--yeah, it's probably just me, but that drives me crazy. And I've tried covering my legs with either silk leggings or my nylon running pants, but that makes me fairly hot and stick, too. Can't win for trying. While home I'm buying some loose leggings made by Calvin Klein; while I wanted 100% cotton, those seem impossible to find, so I will try these made of rayon, which is supposed to breathe as well as cotton. We shall see.
• Second, the people I've met on the AT are great--interesting, helpful and focused on the task at hand. There seems to be two main age groups on the trail, the Young Ones and the Old Ones. There aren't that many middle-aged thru hikers; they are probably too overwhelmed with work and family to find the time to be away for 5-6 months, which is completely understandable. The Young Ones hike fast and sometimes long distances, but the Old Ones tend to hike longer and will often catch or pass the Young Ones by the end of the day.
• Third, it's hard work hiking the AT. Everyone takes a tumble now and then, you just pray that it won't ruin your hike. The constant elevation changes will wear you down fairly quickly. Finding water can sometimes be a problem, which means that one often has to carry a lot more weight than you would like. Normally, I carry only a liter of water, usually good for 6 to 10 miles, if it isn't too hot. The distances between shelters or tent sites can necessitate traveling a bit further, or less, than you might like to do for the day, but you have to take what's available, not what you wish for.
• Fourth, it is hard to monitor your own health. It wasn't until I was home that I concluded that I was suffering from some sort of minor lung infection--confirmed when I started coughing up some phlegm. And while I thought I was eating a lot, especially in towns, my weight was down 9 pounds from 143 to 134! Perhaps a good part of that might have been dehydration, but not all of it. No wonder I was feeling a bit week just before I got off the trail.
• Fifth, hiking with a buddy helps the miles fly by and if you can share a motel room, reduces the expense of getting off trail. However, I'm perfectly fine hiking alone, too. Often I may hike with someone for part of the day, then due to our own hiking preferences, we may separate, but agree to stop at the same location for the night.
• Sixth, I think that unless I get injured or sick, I should be able to finish the AT. 

Day 57/May 28

Mikes hiked: 10.77 in 4:46

Start: William Brien Memorial Shelter, NY

Finish: Route 9D, Bear Mountain Bridge north end, NY

Elevation gain: 2,057'

Today I reached Route 9D in Garrison,  New York, where I started my thru hike on April 1st. Now I head home for a couple days of rest and cleaning my gear; and I will work on tweaking my gear for the next section, from Killington, Vermont to Mount Katahdin, Maine.

View to the west as I climbed Bear Mountain.

Memorial Day weekend brought out the picnicers at Bear Mountain, for sure. The Zoo was rather depressing, at least to me. I'd rather see the animals in their natural habitat.

Route from my Suunto.

Day 56/May 27

Miles hiked: 21.33 in 10:11

Start: NY 17A, Bellvale, NY

Finish: William Brien Memorial Shelter, NY

Elevation gain: 4,767'

One of best trail signs that I've seen on the AT.

The Lemon Squeeze, a passage so narrow that most thru hikers have to take their packs off in order to go through.

Helps to have a partner that you can hand your pack up to also.

Today was a long day, both in miles and time on the trail, but I did it so that I could get off the trail early enough in the day to take the train from Peekskill to NYC and then up to Wassaic in Connecticut, where I would be picked up and taken to Lee.

Route from my Suunto.

Day 55/May 26

Miles hiked: 9.62 in 4:11

Start: Wawayanda Shelter, NY

Finish: Route 17A, Greenwood Lake, NY

Elevation gain: 1,401'

My hiking companion for the last four days, Newton, leads the way. He is from Iowa, so the steep rocky hills are training for him.

And now New Jersey is history.

Just one of many short steep rock faces we climbed today. 

Ken and I opted to stay in Greenwood Lake so that we could shower, enjoy a good meal and resupply. Greenwood Lake is a hiker-friendly town; when I asked a cop, who was grabbing lunch at Subway, if it was illegal to hitchhike in New York, he said, "Yes, but what we don't see, didn't happen." Turns out that his sister is hiking the AT, so I knew we were fine to hitchhike. LOL

The next morning, we walked into town from the Breezy Point Inn and caught breakfast at a diner and then crossed the street to thumb up to NY17A--we had a ride to the trail head withing five minutes. Nice.

Route from my Suunto.

Day 54/May 25

Miles hiked: 16.66 in 6:43

Start: Lott Road, Unionville, NY

Finish: Wawayanda Shelter, NY

Elevation gain: 3,232'

One of the nicer tent sites that I have stayed at.

Route from my Suunto.

Day 53/May 24

Miles hiked: 19.52 in 7:33

Start: Gren Anderson Shelter, NJ

Finish: Unionville, NY

Elevation gain:  2,411

Monument marking the highest point in New Jersey--in High Point State Park.

Snapping turtle on the move.

My hiking partner, Newton, and I decided to get a good meal in Unionville, a town that has a small park right in the center, where hikers are welcome to tent for the night. One just has to register at the General Store and the camping is free. The store, of course, sells sandwiches and supplies, so we stopped there for lunch and some cold drinks.

Later in the evening we just walked across the street from the park to a pizza/Italian food restaurant for dinner.

Alas, the park does not offer showers, so it was a hot, damp evening in the tent that night.

Route 1 from my Suunto.
Route 2.

Day 52/May 23

Miles hiked: 18:09 in 8:21

Start: Millbrook Road, Blairsville, NJ

Finish: Gren Anderson Shelter, NJ

Elevation gain: 2,421'

A beautiful beaver pond.

One of three rattlesnakes that we would encounter during the day--more than I had seen in my lifetime. We had to detour around this one; he was not going to move for us.

The rattlesnakes weren't the only things crowding the trail--we met the freshman class from St. Benedict's Preparatory School--a college prep Catholic school located in Newark, New Jersey. They were doing a SOBO hike of roughly 50 miles on the AT. Here's a blurb from Wikipedia:

Freshmen don't have a choice. At the end of the Freshmen Year, Freshmen spend a week together. They sleep in tents. Freshman team members take turns cooking for one another, preparing food they have carried on their backs. The Backpacking Project is a five-day trek over 50 miles (80 km) of the Appalachian Trail in the mountains of western New Jersey. Freshmen form themselves into 16 teams of eight members each and elect a leader. Upon selecting a leader they also make decisions for the rest of available positions, which are the camping specialists(2), the cooks (2), the first aid person (1), the nature specialist (1), the navigator (1) and the Captain. Four such teams make a "company" that is led by specially trained older students, first-aiders, and adults. Three weeks of intense training precede the week on the trail. Bringing back old history the transfer students no longer have choice as they to have to walk the trail.

I will say that I was impressed with the kids, they were all incredibly polite and most of them seemed to be enjoying the hike, save for a couple of the overweight kids walking uphill. :-)

Route from my Suunto.

Day 51/May 22

Miles hiked: 13.61 in 5:02

Start: Millbrook Road, Blairsville, NJ

Finish: Delaware Water Gap, PA

Elevation gain: 1,473'

Another state bites the dust.

These former fire towers are now just gathering weather data; still some nice views from the top of the stairs.

A collection of cairns just off the trail, a miniature version of the Rock Garden in Vermont.

Today, Newton and I slackpacked southbound on the AT. I had to retrieve a shipment of supplies at the Post Office in Delaware Water Gap, but since we arrived at the Gap on Saturday night, I would have to wait until Monday to get my package. Rather than taking a zero day, I decided to get a shuttle to a road crossing up north and then to hike back to Delaware Water Gap. That worked great since it is so much easier hiking with a light load, not to mention that we had a net drop in elevation.

Route from my Suunto.

Day 50/May 21

Miles hiked: 20.1 in 7:50

Start: Leroy A. Smith Shelter, PA

Finish: Delaware Water Gap, PA

Elevation gain: 2,084'

I've driven Route 80 many times before, through the Delaware Water Gap, and never realized the AT was so close. I certainly wasn't moaning and whining about the person in front of me moving so slowly, unlike some of those drivers below.

The descent into Delaware Water Gap was interesting--a steep rocky downhill, but with a lot of stone steps to make the job a bit easier; plus, we got to hike through some Rhododendron tunnels.

My hiking companion, Newton, and I decided that we needed a break from the trail, including a hot shower and some good food. We opted for luxury this time--we stayed at the Deer Head Inn, famousfor its jazz shows, as it is the oldest continuously running jazz club in the country.

And there was a great show that evening, with a $15 cover charge, that we got to enjoy while having dinner. David Basse was the vocalist and Dave Bass was the pianist; they were joined by two other guys whose names I can can't recall.

And in the morning, the Inn offered a great breakfast, so we had that and then hit the trail rather late in the day.

Route from my Suunto.

Day 49/May 20

Miles hiked: 16.52 in 7:18

Start: George W. Outerbridge Shelter, PA

Finish: Leroy A. Smith Shelter, PA

Elevation gain: 2,454'

Man, these rocky Pennsylvania trails are killers. ;-)

Route from my Suunto.

Day 48/May 19

Miles hiked: 24.20 in 8:41

Start: Eckville Shelter, PA

Finish: George W. Outerbridge Shelter, PA

Elevation gain: 2,733'

A big climb early in the day up to Dan's Pulpit where we were rewarded with this view to the northwest.

After reaching the George W. Outerbridge shelter, someone said that we only a quater-mile from a road that led to Palmerton. And that led to my hiking companion of the day suggesting that we could go into town for dinner. Well the steep descent was actually a half mile, but Newton, my buddy, managed to hail an Uber driver. The evening meal was not great, but my soft serve was perfect.

Route from my Suunto, a bit off since my watch was stopped accidentally while climbing some rocks.

Day 47/May 18

Miles hiked: 15.26 in 6:04

Start: Port Clinton, PA

Finish: Eckville Shelter, PA

Elevation gain: 2,589'

I love the ferns in Pennsylvania, so beautiful.

View from Pulpit Rock. About 30 yards from here was the Pulpit Rock Astronomical Park. Rather strange seeing that building, but logical given the location:

Pulpit Rock is located 25 miles west of Allentown between Lenhartsville and Hamburg, PA.

Officially known as Pulpit Rock Astronomical Park, or as it is commonly called, "The Rock," this 4.3-acre mountaintop site sits 1,600 feet above sea level on the Appalachian Trail. The installations and equipment at Pulpit Rock offer the serious amateur or the novice an opportunity to contribute meaningful scientific information to the astronomical community or to simply view the splendors of the heavens from our several acres of landscaped grounds.

The site was founded in the 1960's by Henry Kawecki, an industrialist from Berks County, who built the first dome (right-most dome in aerial view below) in a small clearing in the woods. There was a crude access road called the "jeep road" at the time, but he also traveled in by helicopter.

As the LVAAS became involved in Kawecki's efforts, a more usable road was built and the site soon blossomed into a small campus of observatories. The dark skies on Blue Mountain were a welcome getaway from the light-polluted cities.

In the mid 1990's, a renaissance was under way at The Rock. A new three-story building was under construction for a 40" cassegrain, the other observatories were cleaned up and repainted, and the grounds got a major overhaul. Trees were cut back, weeds and overgrowth were completely eliminated, piles of debris were trucked out, the road and a new loop were freshly graveled, the whole landscape was graded, and a magnificent new lawn was sown. Through these incredible efforts of the members, LVAAS's Pulpit Rock Astronomical Park is the highest and finest amateur observing site east of the Mississippi.

Route from my Suunto.

Day 46/May 17

Miles hiked: 9.0 in 3:32

Start: Eagles Nest Shelter, PA

Finish: Port Clinton, PA

Elevation gain: 574'

While hard to capture in a photo,  this descent into Port Clinton was wicked steep, the worst I've had on the AT.

Port Clinton has a large rail yard and evidently a lot of coal has passed through here.

Port Clinton is a small town with a big story. The town of 300 sits in the gap where the Schuylkill River cuts through the Appalachian Mountains, and was a transportation hub throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The Schuylkill River, Schuylkill Navigation System, Pennsylvania Railroad, and the Reading Railroad all intersected in Port Clinton, making it one of the most important points of commerce for decades.

Access to the Appalachian Trail is located in the western end of the Borough along the rail yards of the Blue Mountain, Reading, and Northern Railroad. 

Today was a NERO, less than 10 miles, as I needed to resupply and wanted a shower and some real food. I stayed at the Port Clinton Hotel, somewhat notorious for its cranky owner, but she actually is like most New Englanders--it just takes a while to get to know them. She was quite helpful at the end of my stay in introducing me to a shuttle driver, who took me to a Walmart store and back to town where I resumed my hike the next day.

Route from my Suunto.

Day 45/May 16

Miles hiked: 19.37 in 7:43

Start: William Penn Shelter, PA

Finish: Eagles Nest Shelter, PA

Elevation gain: 2,077'

Not every sign is a work of art, but the distance to the shelter, including the spur trail was correct.

Yes, those rocks are on the trail. At least we had this great vista to enjoy.

Route from my Suunto.

Day 44/May 15

Miles hiked: 20.84 in 7:57

Start: Tentsite, mile 1167.7 on the AT

Finish: William Penn Shelter, PA

Elevation gain: 2,490' 

The only bright moment of the day. Sad, but true as the weather has been dreary--cloudy, rainy or misty for days now.

Route from my Suunto.

Day43/May 14

Miles hiked: 22.18 in 8:55

Start: Duncannon, PA

Finish: Tentsite, mile 1167.7 on the AT

Elevation gain: 3,940'

View from Second Mountain.

Route 1 from my Suunto.

Route 2.

Day 42/May 13

Miles hiked: 11.05 in

Start: Darlington Shelter, PA

Finish: Duncannon, PA

Elevation gain: 1,316'
 

Sorry for the delays in posting. Very hard to do with a smartphone and the mobile version of the blogging website.

Still learning as I move from shelter to shelter, or a hostel/motel. Hot showers are every thru hiker's wet dream. ☺

After 500+ miles, I'm putting my adidas Terrex X-Kings in a hikers' box. They have been great, no complaints about the shoes at all. I have had only one blister, due mainly to the rain and mud. The next owner will be surprised at the grip of these shoes.

Our stop for the day was Duncannon, home to the Doyle Hotel, one of the original Budweiser Hotels, but now in a rather decrepit state. While many say that you just have to stay here, the rooms and showers (shared) are the pits, and Lumberjack and I opted not to stay at the Doyle, but a Red Carpet Inn about 3 miles out of town--they would shuttle us back and forth for a small fee. We did, however, enjoy lunch at the Doyle--even the locals say it has the best food in town, but they would never stay there. LOL

This was a resupply point for me as I had a package at the Post Office which I picked up the next morning on my way out of town. 

The Doyle Hotel is a place where the legends of yesteryear meet the travelers of the Appalachian Trail today; where hiking meets history.

“A lot of it is written, a lot of it is unwritten,” Vickey Kelly, one of the hotel’s owners, said. “There's been so much that has happened here.”

The postcards on the wall tell the unwritten history of a building that dates back to the 18th century.

As for the written history, it began as a wooden hotel in the 1770s. Adolphus Busch, of Budweiser fame, became its owner in 1880, but much of the original building burned to the ground in 1903.

It re-opened in 1905, but when Busch died in 1913, the Budweiser Company held ownership until it was sold off during Prohibition.

Naturally, a little luck of the Irish is how it became the Doyle.

“[Jim] ‘Doc’ Doyle in 1944 won the Irish Lotto and he bought this building with the money,” Pat Kelly, one of the owners, said. “He named it the Doyle in ‘45. It's been the Doyle ever since.”

Over the years, the Doyle became a logical stopping point for hikers along the Appalachian Trai.

Route from my Suunto.

Day 41/May 12

Miles hiked: 14.02

Day 40/May 11

Miles hiked: 13.66 in 5:57

Start: James Fry Shelter, PA

Finish: Boiling Springs, PA

Elevation gain: 2,077'

Day 39/May 10

Miles hiked: 16.85 in 5:45

Start: Birch Run Shelter, PA

Finish: James Fry Shelter, PA

Elevation gain: 1,686'

Sort of the official half-way point for thru hikers, but it obviously does not apply for Flip Flop'ers.

Today was cold, rainy at times, and always damp with a strong wind. Unfortunately, it was also the day when I would pass through Pine Grove Furnace, the home of the half gallon challenge. That challenge is to see if you can consume a half gallon of ice cream. If you do so, they give you a small wooden spoon as proof of your feat (stupidity, gluttony, or??) and they enter your name in a registry of successful challengers. Mind you, if had been 80°F, I might have taken the challenge, but since you have to eat the ice cream outside the store, where it was 50°F and windy, it wasn't worth trying, at least in my view. Nonetheless, a couple of thru hikers, Toast and Dill, both had been dreaming of the challenge for weeks and nothing was going to stop the gals from their mission. LOL

They were wrapped up in their sleeping bags, however, sitting at a table while eating all that ice cream. Neither one of them needed the calories, imo. :-)

Pine Grove Furnace is also home to the Appalachian Trail Museum, so I stopped there for a while to view the exhibits and charge my phone. Photo of the busts of some AT pioneers: Earl Shaffer, Benton MacKaye, Grandma Gatewood and Gene Espy.

Route 1 from my Suunto.
Route 2.

Day 38/May 9

Miles hiked: 19.86

Start: Tumbling Run Shelters, PA

Finish: Birch Run Shelter, PA

Elevation gain: 3,428'

If there is one thing that Pennsylvania is known for, at least among thru hikers, it is the rocks; and they come in a wild variety--from small sharp pointy stones that leave no place for a decent foot plant, to fields of knee-high boulders that requires walking a circuitous route, to piles of car-sized boulders stacked on each other, as in the photo above. Whatever the rock formation, they slow you down, so most hikers do not care for northeast Pennsylvania, where the rocks are the worst.

On the other hand, Pennsylvania's trails can be charming and some of their shelters are top-notch.

These photos were taken at the Quarry Gap Shelter, where I stopped for lunch only. The shelter is maintained by an 80-year-old man who takes great pride in his adopted shelter. While I missed meeting him, I later heard from a couple other hikers who lent the caretaker a hand. Seems that he was hauling two 80-pound bags of concrete mix up the trail for a new project that he wants to install at the shelters. And then the dory that he was using broke, so he was found carrying the third 40-pound sack up the hill on his shoulders!

Yes, hanging flower pots near the trail to the north.

Clean, clear water just 15 feet from the shelter--no half-mile downhill hike at this shelter!

Interestingly, today's hike took me into Michaux State Forest, where I've orienteered before.

Route from my Suunto.

Day 37/May 8

Miles hiked: 13.59 in 5:15

Start: Raven Rock Shelter, MD

Finish: Tumbling Run Shelters, MD

Elevation gain: 1,831'

Today was a busy day, crossed the Maryland/Pennsylvania state line, went into Waynesboro, Pennsylvania to resupply at Walmart and did a fair amount of hiking, too.

I knew there was someone watching me eat dinner. The Tumbling Run Shelters offered two options: Snoring or Non-snoring, not that making a choice would mean anything. LOL

Route 1 from my Suunto.
Route 2.
Route 3.

Day 36/May 7

Miles hiked: 20.80

Start: Rocky Run Shelter, MD

Finish: Raven Rock Shelter, MD

Elevation gain: 3,822'

After periods of nothing but cloudy days, or cloudy days with rain, it's always a welcome sight to see blue skies and fluffy white clouds. And lots of green grass--the simple things in life.

Having spent part of my youth living on a farm, I have a lot of respect for the farmers that built these stone walls.

The Cascades, a welcome sight if one needs to load up on water before reaching the Raven Rock Shelter. Alas, I loaded up well before the steep climb up Raven Rock, since many of the small streams were dry and I had no clue that there would be this much water near the top.

Route from my Suunto.

Day 35/May 6

Miles hiked: 17.21

Start: Harpers Ferry, WV

Finish: Rocky Run Shelter

Elevation gain: 3,822

Interior view of Rocky Run Shelter, the new one; varnished wood floors--quite nice.

Ruins of St. Johns Episcopal Church, built in 1852, in the old town section of Harpers Ferry. The congregation built a new church nearby after considerable damage to the original church during the Civil War.

After crossing the Potomac River, close to where the Shenandoah River merges with the Potomac, I got to walk along the C&O Towpath for 2.75 miles. Shortly thereafter, a tough climb up Weverton Cliffs ensued.

Route from my Suunto.

Day 35/May 5 -- from one hostel to another

Miles hiked: 20.20 in 8:34

Start: Bears Den Hostel, VA

Finish: Teahorse Hostel, Harpers Ferry, VA

Elevation gain: 3,514'

Another long day, but no where near as tough as the Roller Coaster. After about 4 miles, the trail just followed a very long Ridge line to Harpers Ferry.

This is what thru hikers are reduced to--scribbling in the dirt:

 Highlight of the day was getting to the Shenandoah River and crossing into West Virginia.

Highlight of the evening--a salad with Honey Mustard dressing, a Wild Trail Pale Ale and Garlic Pasta with grilled chicken.

And, no, I could not finish it.

Route from my Suunto.