Today was a better day. While the trail was actually a little bit more difficult, especially with a stiff descent into Port Clinton, my cough from the last several days is almost remediated. I owe it to all your prayers and Mother Mary. Although my feet are still fairly painful, perhaps I’m getting used to walking on the rocks. To pass the time today, I made some example videos of different kinds of rocks that we hike across such as 100% trail that we can go our full pace, 75% trail, 50% trail, and 25% trail, which are essentially boulder fields.

When I got into town, I stopped at the world-famous Port Clinton barbershop. There are really knows words to describe it. I’ll post some pictures tomorrow. Next, I found the Saint John’s pavilion, which is a church pavilion that the parish allows hikers to use to spend the night. I’m gonna spend the next two nights here. It turns out that there is a shuttle that runs three times a day from Hamburg, Pennsylvania, which is home to the largest Cabela’s in the United States. The shuttle comes to the pavilion specifically to pick up AT hikers and take them into town to buy gear at Cabela’s. Since I’m taking a zero day tomorrow, I’m going to ride into Cabela’s in the morning, do some shopping, stuff my face with restaurant food, then come back here to the pavilion one last night. I’m taking a zero day tomorrow for several reasons. First my feet are killing me, they need to rest. Second, it’s supposed to rain tomorrow, and that makes for a miserable day.

Even though the trail was harder today, I think my spirits were higher primarily because I had more of a right attitude today. Yesterday was very hard, one of those days that you fantasize dozens of reasons why you should pull off the trail. Hiking is like that, good days and bad days.

Today’s mileage: 9.2

Total trail miles: 194.2

Today was a nondescript day, about 50% rocks, and 50% soft trail. The elevation was relatively flat, but it was both an easy and a hard day. It was easy in that the trail was relatively forgiving, but the rocks were terrible. There were at least four boulder fields to cross. The weather was dry and cool. When I got to the shelter, which was Eagles Nest Shelter, it was full of mosquitoes, so I set up my hammock in a nearby cleared space. A number of through hikers have either been here and left or are staying the night.

 The reason the day was terrible was because I spent most of it trying to figure out why I am here. I briefly spoke to Allyson earlier today to make arrangements to stay in Port Clinton tomorrow, and I asked her why I was here. She replied, “Because you love it, and because you spent a lot of money to get there.“ That’s not a “why” – that’s a “how.”

I can think of two reasons why I’m here. The first is because I wanted to discern whether or not I want to become a deacon. So far, I haven’t gotten an answer, and I don’t think I’ll get an answer until maybe next year. In fact, my buddy in Harrisburg gave me several reasons for not becoming a deacon so maybe that’s the answer. Unless something happens in the next week, I don’t know that I’ll be able to figure this one out yet, and that’s probably the way it ought to be.

The second reason is that I wanted to put a period at the end of this phase in my life. I wanted to definitively end my IT career, hit pause for a month, and then start to do something new in August. I think I’ve accomplished this one. It’s not that I wanted to just leave everybody, the break was more for me than anybody else.

I heard those 30- somethings several days ago talking about “finding themselves” on the AT. i’m not trying to find myself, I know who I am. I don’t believe the AT can help you find yourself. What the trail does is it magnifies those things that you don’t have time to think about in the real world. So anything you “find“ on the trail you already brought with you.

My cough has gotten worse, and my feet are killing me on these rocks. I’m not ready to quit, but I’m taking it one day at a time. Please pray for me.

Today’s mileage: 9.8

Total trail miles: 185.6

I want to start this post by giving a shout out to eBunny, who is on the trail starting tomorrow at Harper’s Ferry going north. She’s leading a crew of three women to complete Maryland, and parts of southern Pennsylvania. When eBunny first met me, she was not a hiker, but I soon changed that. Not only is she a hiker now, but she’s a crew leader and I’m very proud of what she’s learned. Follow her crew here.

Last night was very weird. The evening sky was clear and the air was crisp, so I walked across to the Wendy’s to get a burger and some chili. The sales person was having trouble with one of those multi soda machines, you know the kind that’s got a screen with 100 different flavors and you select your flavor and it pours it. She said she just got it and it just wasn’t working right. We had a little conversation about the woes of IT.

On my way back over to the hotel, there was an ambulance in the porticache of the hotel. Apparently one of the hotel visitors was leaving, got in his car, and promptly expired. His wife, of course, was very upset. She said that he had cancer, and that it was not unexpected. But it’s a little unsettling to come back to your hotel to see a dead body on the ground. My first thought was that he was probably a hiker, and he was just sick of hiking.

Even though I was in the hotel, I didn’t sleep very well. I woke up this morning with a slight cough, and I hope that it’s just a temporary tickle in my throat. My shuttle driver Manipedi was right on time. He had hiked the entire Pennsylvania section before and was a local. I got a ride back up to the trail for $20. He also gave me knowledge of the trail going forward and put my mind at ease that the rocks didn’t get really bad until a little bit later on.

The trail this morning was beautiful, gentle ups and downs with soft tread. It quickly turned rocky. It began to run the ridge I would say 60% of the trail today was rocky and 40% was soft.

2 miles in, I came across the famous 501 shelter. This is more like a cabin than a shelter. It’s enclosed on all sides with a roof and two doors. It’s large with bunks for 12 people, shelves with books and games, a large central table and an octagonal skylight centered in the ceiling. Nobody was there, but I could see how this could be a party central to some kinds of hikers. Pizza boxes were stacked in the corner. Apparently, the shelter is so close to the road that you can call and get a pizza delivery to the shelter. I got some video of it.

It was a short day, only seven miles or so. When I got to Hertlein campsite, it was everything they said it would be. At the top of the ridge are three separate mountain streams that converge into one larger stream further down, and settle in a large pond that is held by a cement dam with a waterfall. I set my hammock up right next to the waterfall. When chores were done, I used a rope swing to swing out into the pond, which is essentially a large swimming hole. I got it all on video so if you wanna watch something funny. I’ll post it in a few days. Needless to say the water was pretty cold. I didn’t stay in very long.

It’s still pretty early in the day and I’m laying in my hammock composing this note. I’ve been thinking a lot about Allyson today on the trail. Our 32nd anniversary is next week. It’ll be the first one that we’ve celebrated apart. Today I was thinking that on the first Sunday of July, I’m sure she went up to the front of the church during Mass and received an anniversary blessing without me. That hurt my heart a little bit. You see, Allyson and I have the most blessed marriage on the planet. My marriage has convinced me to a certainty that there is a God and he loves me because that is the only explanation for how blessed we are. I miss her and I’m tempted to come home now. The only thing that keeps me from doing that is knowing that she would want me to stay and finish what I started. That’s how much she loves me.          

Today’s mileage: 7.5

Total trail miles: 176.3

Wow, these two days are a blur. At the end of day 15, I was able to make it to the spring at 141.6 miles. The shelter before that Was Peter’s Mountain Shelter and I had heard that the water at that shelter was essentially all the way down the mountain, and then a trickle – definitely not worth it. I arrived at the spring after a day of fairly easy trails and setup my hammock. I got to wash my feet and take a sponge bath, I was by myself. At 10:30pm, I was awaken by a hiker about 30 yards from my spot, obviously filtering water, but taking his good sweet time about it. He kept flashing (perhaps unintentionally) his light in my direction which was annoying. Most AT hikers are in the bag by 7pm. I turned my high-powered black diamond headlight on him and he got the message. I found out the next day that this hiker’s trail name was City Dog, and he was night hiking when he ran across me. I found him sleeping in the next shelter so his night hike didn’t by him much mileage. Total mileage this day was 13.1.

The next day was cool and overcast. I started hiking with a goal of getting to Rausch Gap Shelter (11.6 mi). Well, it started raining at 10:30am and didn’t stop until 7:30pm. Needless to say, I was soaked and my boots were sloshing. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but hiking in the rain takes it toll. My toll was that I developed a wet rash on both of my hips. Since I started hiking, my butt has gotten a little smaller and my pack belt is a little loose now – this causes some friction. I also had some pain in my right foot on the outside edge, I think I must’ve bruised it. These are routine injuries, nothing too serious, but it makes for a long day.

When I got to the shelter, there were eight hikers piled up in a space for six. Several cleared out over the course of the afternoon (including City Dog) leaving 6 thirty-somethings and me – a mismatch made in heaven. Of their trail names, I remember Fizz, Pony, and Captain America. Did I mention that a couple of them had a dog – IN THE SHELTER! Of the six, all of them were “thru-hikers”, five were unemployed or had quit their jobs, one was a student hiking for the summer. All of them spoke in that slang “valley talk” mode that so many young hikers do and all of them smoked pot. They offered me “a bowl” but I demurred. “I have five kids. I have all the highs could ever want.” The night was restless with all seven of us sleeping shoulder to shoulder. This is part of the AT experience, but an overcrowded shelter can be very unrestful. I would’ve set up my hammock if it hadn’t been raining and been a lot more comfortable.

I woke up the next morning, and my head was aching – simply a bad night’s sleep. My foot was a little better, but still tender and certainly not ready for any serious rocks, which I knew would be coming up in a few days. That morning, the AT path diverged (a rare occurrence). There was basically a “dry path” around a famous beaver dam coming up. This dam has been around a long time and is almost a mile long. I didn’t know if I had to get wet crossing it, but it sounded fun so I took the risk.

When I got there, it was a little daunting. About 100 yards of “dam” to cross – some of it 4 inches deep, some of it 4 feet deep, with a loose trail of floating logs to walk across. I took some video of this and will post when I get a chance. I tried to walk across some big logs, but the water was deep and my poles wouldn’t reach. I fell astraddle the log with my 40 pound pack dragging me from side to side. I managed to only get one boot in the water, but now I was stuck, sitting there on the log in the middle of beaver dam, and no easy way to get up and walk out. I was able to finally throw my feet up on the log behind me, kind of like a gymnast stands up on a balance beam over being astraddle. I made the rest of the way without incident – a big risk for simply falling in the water, but a lot of fun.

After my close encounter, with my head aching, my sides burning, my foot throbbing, and my boot squishing (do I sound pitiable enough?), I decided in was time to pull off for a day, rest, wash up, and recuperate. I hiked an additional 2.2 down from Swatara Gap into a little town called Jonestown, PA. Nobody picked me up – I guess I look shady with a three-week old beard. And here I sit at the Holiday Inn Express lobby computer typing this missive.

A shuttle will pick me up in the morning and return me to the AT.

Two-Day mileage: 18.8

Total Trail miles: 159.3

Today was a long day. It started with yet another porcupine. This one, however, was under the privy at the shelter, and so needless to say, I did not use the privvy this morning.

There was no water between Clark’s Ferry shelter and the spring that I camped at tonight, resulting in a 13 mile day. The trail was moderate, mostly running along the ridge. Not much change in elevation, but about 50% rocks, and 50% soft path. This kind of path is hard on your feet

When I got to this location, the spring was beautiful, piped, cold, and swarming with mosquitoes. For the first time I had to use my mosquito repellent wipes, but now they’re not bothering me. I was able to take a sponge bath since I’m the only one here.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day as well. I need to make it to Roush gap shelter, which will result in another 13 mile day, and there’s a big descent, and ascent  in front of me.

This is definitely a hard part of the trail. Not much water, lots of rocks, and long distances between shelters. Pray for me.

Today’s mileage: 13.1

Total trail miles: 141.6

While I was still at Pine Mountain shelter, about 1 AM, the resident porcupine decided to scratch the wall next to my bunk in the shelter. Porcupines are prolific diggers, and this one was no exception. I chased him away with a lighter rock only to hear him begin scratching at the privy a few minutes later. So I went over there and chased him away as well. He was large, but not very threatening.

The descent into Duncannon was rough. Duncan itself is a relatively poor town. I was able to pick up my resupply box and get a sandwich at mama Pat’s. The climb out of Duncannon was rough, lots of rocks. The trail was not well-maintained with lots of obstacles. It was switchback, a large tree had fallen across both the lower and the upper tracks walking to parts of the trail with a single tree. What’s up on the ridge, the trail follows the actual ridge, which is quite rocky and rough, not well marked.

After several retracts, I was able to arrive at Clarks ferry shelter. Shortly after I arrived, we had a pretty good rain storm. It cool things off and it was nice. Water here is good, but water for the next 40 miles or so. It’s going to be very sparse. Be careful to make sure we don’t run out. I will get up early in the morning and make a long day to see if we can make it to the second shelter.

Not a nice day today.

Today’s mileage: 9.2

Total trail miles: 128.5