They weren’t kidding! “They” being every northbounder that I passed who complained about the rocks in PA.
But they also didn’t really mention that northern PA is also one giant, FLAT ridge walk. The first 150 miles sit 1000 feet above neighboring towns and farmlands, sometimes jutting onto stone outcroppings for hours at a time. It has been beautiful!
The southern part of the Pennsylvania trail swooped down into cozy towns like Duncannon (less cozy), Boiling Springs (more cozy), and Waynesboro (super hiker friendly), giving me the opportunity to explore the community and, sometimes more importantly, eat hamburgers.
Somewhere in the middle, it rained a lot, but some perfectly timed trail magic from friends gave me a day off exactly when I needed it most.
My entries for the first half of PA are below. All in all, it took me 11 days to cover 224 miles in this state. Compare that to 27 days for 288 miles in Maine. The pace is quickening, and Virginia awaits.
Nero at Delaware Water Gap, Thinking of My Family (Saturday, September 20)
A church here in town offered donation-based housing for the night, so I took advantage (and donated). Shower with towels, outlets, bunk (no mattress), and a bucket with some detergent to hand wash clothes – all I needed.
I also made a Target trip. Target is hiker heaven.
After updating the blog in a coffee shop, I hit the trail around 4 pm to get 6 miles to a nearby shelter. It’s psychologically easier to do this than stay another night in town. It feels less like “stopping” when you get at least a few miles in.
Then, these guys made my day:
Ok – so maybe Katie, with the help of some red wine, did a bit of editing for them. “Uncle Carrot Top” had me laughing and crying at the same time.
My sisters are amazing parents. Their kids are growing up to be kind, curious, generous little people.
But Katie and Krista are also amazing sisters. They never fail to remind my nephews and nieces that their uncle loves them and can’t wait to see them again. Even though Rocío and I come home every few months and make sure to FaceTime occasionally, my sisters do so many little things to fill in the gaps for their kids. Whether with phone calls, pictures, bedtime stories, or the occasional ABCB-rhyming quatrain, they weave me into the narrative of their children’s lives as often as possible.
Matthew will be bigger when I get back. Gabby will be walking. Mia speaking (even more) full sentences. Michael and Grace rounding the corner to pre-school graduation. It’s hard sometimes to think that I am missing some of this to be on trail. But Katie and Krista keep me in the loop. This is the best trail magic they could give.
Pennsylvania Rocks! (Friday, September 21)
I know – I am not the first person to think of that pun, but I couldn’t resist. My friend Dan taught me never to hold back on a pun, no matter how corny. This maxim took me a long way as a high school teacher (he is also a high school teacher).
I digress. Back to the rocks. Rocks of all shapes and sizes batter the thin soles of my trail runners. This state has everything from boulder fields…
…to medium-sized stepping stones…
…to tiny, jagged ankle-breakers obscured by leaves, grass, and overgrowth…
Many hikers say they never really “see” Pennsylvania because they never look up. I’m even a bit afraid of listening to an audiobook because the distraction could cause a painful slip.
At one point, I started taking pictures of heart-shaped rocks to send to Rocío. Suave, I know. 😏
I managed about 24 miles today and wound up stealth camping (setting up at an unofficial campsite) by myself. Since I had gotten a late start, the last hour of hiking was in the dark. As the wind picked up and a thunderstorm rolled in, I found myself wishing I had some company for dinner.
Blue Mountain Ridge, LeHigh Gap and the Pinnacle (Saturday, September 22)
An awesome walk today! Blue Mountain Ridge pleasantly surprised me with a mile of soft, grassy trail exposed to a view of the town to the west.
Then, a steep, rocky drop into LeHigh Gap gives exposure to the river in both directions:
After crossing the river and heading back up to the next ridge, I encountered another group of bird watchers!
These guys can discern types of birds from thousands of feet away by identifying small differences in wingspan, wingtip pattern, feather coloring, and a number of other characteristics.
And most importantly, they included me in their report on hawkcount.org. 523 broad-winged hawks, 30 osprey, 18 bald eagles, and 1 Carrot Top. 🤗
Already on a high knowing I am now twice mentioned on a bird watch website, I ventured onward and stumbled across Bake Oven Knob, a dazzling viewpoint popular among locals (hence, the graffiti):
And then, PA’s “Knife Edge”. You can tell from my commentary that I didn’t know it had a name:
Again, I found myself hiking as it got dark. I’ve been trying to avoid night hiking with all the rocks, but shorter daylight hours coupled with my constant breaks to take in the sights and talk to bird watchers haven’t helped. I had 5 miles to go to the shelter when I spotted a restaurant at a highway crossing. Usually, I wouldn’t stop with it getting dark, but I figured I’d try to fill up on water and save the filtering time later.
Standing in the restaurant, I wasn’t looking forward to another late night arrival to the shelter. As I went to leave, a little piece of advice I’ve gotten on the trail flashed in my mind: “Just Ask”. I turned around and asked the hostess if they allow camping out back.
Surprisingly, they did. Tent spots on super soft grass. A water spigot. A public port-o-potty. And the restaurant and bar were open until 10 pm.
5 more miles dodging rocks with my headlamp and then Ramen alone in the dark, OR a burger and beer now at the bar?
As I drained my beer, I remembered this formula from somewhere: Happiness = Reality – Expectations
The Pinnacle (Sunday, September 23)
On this day, I came across the Pinnacle, another great viewpoint. A scout troop was belting the national anthem at the top of their lungs, so I made a quick exit and found yet another beautiful rock outcropping. With some sunlight to spare, I ate my first dinner there while chatting with an environmental engineer who had made a day trip up to the rock.
Finishing at a nearby shelter, I also met Hashinator, another Sobo enjoying PA. A three-time career changer, he started as a nuclear engineer with the Navy, then became a graphic designer for the Wall Street Journal, and for the past ten years has been a fifth grade teacher in Florida. Multi-talented, for sure!
Trail Angels! (Monday, September 24)
Six months ago, Rocío and I decided to take a year off to explore, travel, and reflect. After getting back from Arkansas, I was still juggling the thought of hiking the trail, knowing I had a few months before the school year would end.
At work one day, I got a call from our network director of high school math, Claire. An incredible teacher coach, curriculum developer, and math whiz among other things, I was surprised when she told me that she was leaving the network. Her next step? Hike the Appalachian Trail with her husband, Josh, and their dog, Fractal.
I checked their blog and geo-locator almost daily from the time they left in early March right up until leaving for my own trip. They did a “flip-flop” hiking north from VA to Katahdin, and then traveling back to VA to finish the hike southbound to Springer. They summited Katahdin two days before me, and then wrapped up the southern portion in a whopping 124 days of hiking.
Claire texted me as soon as they finished and offered to take me off trail near Duncannon. Today, she and Josh drove an hour and a half to pick me up. As soon as we got in the car, it started raining. We then drove another hour and a half back to Josh’s parents’ place in Selinsgrove, PA. His mother had pork chops and lasagna waiting when we got back.
Magic.
The Perfect Zero (Tuesday, September 25)
Hot breakfast. A Target trip for food. Dick’s for a hat, gloves, and running shorts (women’s running shorts – don’t ask). Lunch in town. All while cold rain came down. Nothing feels better than somehow timing your Zero with a cold, rainy day.
In the afternoon, we fed the chicken, goat, horses, and donkey, and then cooked a delicious dinner.
At night, I crashed in a queen size bed.
The perfect day off.
Back into the Woods (Wednesday, September 26)
Josh and Claire dropped me off early on their way (sort of) to Connecticut. Before long, another Sobo passed me. His name is Markus, from Germany, and he is hiking the AT for the second time. He has also hiked the PCT, CDT, and the Arizona Trail. Every year, he renews his 6-month tourist visa and hiked another trail. He’s shooting for 100 days this time around. A cool guy, but something tells me I won’t be seeing him again.
Then, BOOM:
One thousand miles! In case you’re wondering, the rocks were already there.
Then, it rained. The trash bag strategy saved my shorts but not my feet. I could feel the blisters coming in as I made it to my shelter for the night.
Duncannon (Thursday, September 27)
“Eat at the Doyle, but don’t sleep at the Doyle.”
I knew I had to stop at this place after at least five people had given me this exact same advice. A local and somewhat rundown haunt, the Doyle offers pub food and, if you’re feeling adventurous, rooming accommodations. I walked through town around noon, stopped in, and devoured this:
The older couple who owns the bar are quirky and sarcastic but also funny and, in their own way, welcoming. They met when they were young, got married two weeks later, and have been married for the forty years since. Apparently, the woman loves aliens, and hikers have been bringing her little alien dolls, trinkets, and signs for years. The bar is littered with them.
The hike out of town was steep, and I was regretting the extra cheese fries and beer as I trudged upward. At the shelter, I ran into and had dinner with Woody and several of his family members who came out to hike for a few days. Apparently, they accidentally packed out a pop-up pavilion instead of their tent:
It has no rain protection. But the forecast for the next 5 days? Sunny and clear.
Sometimes, things just work out.
Boiling Springs (Friday, September 28)
Despite decent weather for me over these last few days, the ground is still very wet. It’s hard to keep my feet dry, and they’re slowly morphing into a mass of blisters and abrasions. I have to tape up each individual toe whenever I take my shoes off:
My ankles are permanently scuffed – no amount of soap and hot water can get them back to my actual skin tone. I’ll spare you a picture of the blister within a blister on the bottom of my little toe.
I hopped around all morning, desperately trying not to resoak my shoes in the puddles of the Cumberland Valley. Thru-hikers know this game all too well. I finally got fed up and hiked a few miles in my sandals. When the flooded trail finally seem like it was behind me, I retaped my feet and put on my only pair of dry socks. 5 minutes later? More flooded trail. Wet feet again. I drowned my sorrows in a bag of sour gummy bears.
Despite my foot woes, I couldn’t help appreciating the Cumberland Valley’s beautiful patchwork of farmland:
Then, the trail went right through the beautiful town of Boiling Springs:
I got a steak and cheese sub, bought more tape for my feet, and kept trucking. At the shelter, I found three more Sobos: Breezy, Search-and-Rescue, and Lost-and-Found. Breezy started ten days after me and passed me in Vermont. Crazy to see him again.
Tomorrow – I cross the halfway point on the trail!
Trails And Travels 