Another heavy storm last night at Tom’s Run Shelter left my gear even wetter and heavier than before. I’m planning on pulling off for a while to wash, rest and regroup. Today, the kids are getting picked up by a shuttle and taken back to Harper’s Ferry, then trains to DC, Baltimore, overnight stay, and then a flight Florida to see Seth’s cousin and her family. We had a short hike (1.2 miles) to the nearest pickup point. We made it there in record time, but I must confess that I wish we hadn’t. I knew that saying goodbye would be hard and it was. I asked the kids what kind of report they were going to give their mother – they asked, “What kind of report do you want us to give her?” Just tell her that I’m not going to die, I’m doing well, and I miss her.
I got dropped off at Pine Grove Furnace, a small crossroads with two interesting features. First, there is an Appalachian Trail Museum there with a pretty good history of the trail. I didn’t visit it because I spent most of my time at the second most interesting place, the General Store. Here you can get ice-cream, burgers, soda, and various resupplies. They have an “ice-cream” challenge for AT hikers – if you can eat ½ gallon of Hershey’s (of course) ice cream in less than 5 minutes, it’s free. As I was sitting on the porch enjoying my eggs and bacon, a hiker came out with a ½ gallon of some kind of fudge/chocolate combination. He wasn’t trying to break the record, only enjoy the ice cream on a warm summer morning.
My buddy, Jim Beegley picked me up about mid-morning and took me to this house in Harrisburg. Jim is an old acquaintance from my podcasting days. He has a doctorate in EdTech and his wife is a teacher. Most of his kids are grown or about to fly the nest, but his youngest, Katie, is a jewel that I took to right away. After letting me shower, do laundry, stuffing me to the gills with ribs, burgers, potato salad, pasta salad and more, Jim, Katie and I went to Bass Pro Shop so I could get some lighter shorts (my scout shorts are simply too heavy when wet and don’t dry quickly) and a dry sack for food. My old dry sack had completely disintegrated and spilled red specks of plastic over everything. I checked into a motel to rest before the fireworks.
Picking me up later, we ate again (MORE delicious ribs and burgers), and I overate. I’ve probably gained back all the weight I’ve lost up to this point. We then headed downtown to see the fireworks. The gathering at the Susquehanna River was wonderful, a throwback to the way the 4th of July should be. The colonnade along the river was filled with people strolling among the food vendors waiting for the fireworks to start. A myriad of pontoon boats began to gather out in the river to view the show. In the middle of river sits City Island where they fire off the rockets and on the opposite heights above is where the Confederates launched an attack on the city roughly 160 years ago but were unable to take it because of militia raised by the governor. After waiting in line to get Katie a funnel cake, we sat on the grass next to the river and waited. The fireworks show was gorgeous, and spending a beautiful evening with this beautiful family in this beautiful city was more than any wayward hiker deserved. Jim is truly blessed.
Today’s mileage: 1.2
Total trail miles: 76.8