Daily Miles: 9.2, Total Miles: 1,297.2 Rained all night and, yes, the hiker who camped so close to me last night had a steady snore. I’m sure I returned the favor. I also awoke to a puddle at the bottom of my tent so I wasn’t a happy camper. I put on my soggy clothes and made a quick exit, taking the slightly longer bad weather bypass around Wolf Rocks. No views to be had in this mist and these…
Daily Miles: 22.3, Total Miles: 1,288.0 As I was packing up this morning, a couple of hunters walked by – opening day of turkey season. I saw no turkeys today but heard a lot of gunshots. Cloudy today and much cooler. Not a lot of viewpoints so focused on my foot placement through the rocky sections and ground the miles out. A good day for podcasts. Another appreciated water cache at Smith Gap saved me a few detours looking for…
Daily Miles: 20.9, Total Miles: 1,265.7 I spooked two whitetail just after leaving my campsite this morning. Quickly arrived at Thunderbird Lodge off of PA Route 309 and refilled my water bottles – they kindly help hikers. Later in the morning on a flat section of trail, my right shoe caught an upturned rock and I fell fast and hard (once again) to my knees and then the weight of my backpack drove my face to the ground. I laid…
Daily Miles: 24.6, Total Miles: 1,244.8 I called a shuttle driver, Avatar, to take me the three miles back to Port Clinton. A beautiful day in PA but warming up fast, especially after the climb up from the Schuylkill River. Hiked near the crest of the high ridge nearly all day except for the one time I missed a turn and didn’t discover my error until about one mile later. I fortunately found myself on a road that eventually led…
Daily Miles: 0, Total Miles: 1,220.2 Wake up, rest, breakfast, rest, lunch, rest ,nap, spaghetti dinner and bed. I was going to walk across the street to the largest Cabelas in the US but decided the two-mile round trip was energy best saved for tomorrow. Made calls to family and some prep work for the next leg to Delaware Water Gap and the Poconos.
Daily Miles: 6.6, Total Miles: 1,220.2 Another damn Whip-poor-will was circling my campsite between 2am and 3am this morning demanding an answer to his incessant call. I always seem to wake up early on a town day and this morning was no exception. As usual, a lot of rocks and a steep downhill to the pretty Schuylkill River and Port Clinton. I had arranged for a shuttle to the nearby Microtel in Hamburg PA. Early check-in was questionable so I…
Daily Miles: 19.1, Total Miles: 1,213.6 Last night was the warmest so far. The clear skies last night made for good stargazing. Not a lot of elevation gain today but tough going. I would guess 80 degrees with no wind, sunny skies and +80% humidity. Most of the day was spent awkwardly hopping from rock to rock down the trail or finding the best path through the ankle busting boulders and rocks. So happy there were a few good springs…
Daily Miles: 23.4, Total Miles: 1,194.5 Chilly with a light rain most of the night leaving everything damp. Just after starting out this morning, I saw a bobcat up a side trail. He or she didn’t stick around long – I don’t know who was more surprised! Heavy mist most of the morning but by early afternoon, clear, sunny and warming up fast. Started high on a ridge before dropping down at Rausch Creek. I carefully crossed an old, flooded…
Daily Miles: 21.5, Total Miles: 1, 171.1 Although I enjoyed my stay, the first hurdle this morning was finding my way out of the Doyle Hotel. The door at the bottom of the stairs to the first floor and exit was locked from the other side. I went back to the second floor, out to the balcony and found exterior stairs off the back end of the hotel. Glad there wasn’t a fire last night. On a cool and cloudy…
Daily Miles: 0, Total Miles: 1,149.6 A relaxing zero day in Duncannon PA. The hardest thing I did was walk up a few flights of stairs to my room. I did manage to repair a gaping hole in the bottom of my Zpacks backpack. I’m blaming the tear on sharp PA rocks but it could have been the tumble I took a few days ago. In any case, I found some Tenacious Tape at Kind of Outdoorsy, the local outfitter/hostel….
