Filling in the back story--PA edition

So my last post was a quickie. I don't have phone during my time in PA so nothing to really show, but there is a story and this is it:

I left the hostel I was at in Maryland and hiked into PA that day through Pen-Mar park crossing over the Mason Dixon line. I was shocked to find this is an actual marked line with markers every mile or so along the PA border.  I hiked into the park with a ridge runner from MD. This is a paid position where the guy hikes up and down the AT in MD multiple times a week to keep the trail clean and enforce the rules of the trail in the state (ie no alcohol). He isn't a ranger or anyone with authority to ticket you, but he will call in enforcement if needed. He told me about an interesting breakfast idea that I started using after my next resupply. More on that later.

So PA was the worst place to not have a camera.  There were some awesome views that I hope to experience again some day. There was one view I specifically came upon that I'll never forget. It was a beautiful scene of mountains, farmland, roads, technology and some industry...a perfect mix of American culture. In my head it is the perfect picture of this country.  All I could do when I saw it was quote from Team America the movie and say "America &@$# Yeah!" I wish I had a picture. 

I spent a total of I think 8 days in PA. This state had the most weekend warriors or section hikers I've seen other than in the Great Smokey Mountains.  This provides unique experience. It means one night I was with some rowdy boy scouts and another I was with a group of people my age that brought way too much food a mile into their campsite.  The boy scouts made a huge fire and were interesting to watch and listen to as they teased each other. The group of 4 I had to assist with the fire but was offered a hotdog, bratwurst, small piece of steak, fruit (I so miss fruit) and a drink. It was so nice! PA was a great state for trail magic.

I was very fortunate on day last week as well. It started raining one night around 8pm as the sun was going down. It rained all night and all the next day. I was in a shelter for the night and stayed dry. The next morning was difficult, but I was able to convince myself to get up and hike the 14 miles into Duncannon, PA. I stayed at The Doyle in town, a 109 year old hotel that is now used as a hostel and restaurant. It was run by an old couple who owned it. I loved my time there as the wife was very feisty as she served the customers and the husband who cooked all the food was so good natured and laid back. It was an interesting combination. I was able to dry out my stuff in Duncannon making the rest of my trek through the state a nice one other than the lack of water sources due to somewhat of a dry summer.

I finished the state by staying at a church hostel in Delaware Water Gap, PA (DWG). I got new phone there and spent the day setting it up with music and apps. I also bought new shoes.  I woke up the next morning and hiked across the Delaware into NJ.

One last thing about PA. The state has a bad reputation for being rocky. This is somewhat of a bad reputation.  It has a lot of times when you need to rock hop (meaning you step from rock to rock for quite some time) but it wasn't any worse than other states. There was one section between Wind Gap and DWG where for miles and miles you had nothing but sharp pointy rocks that you couldn't rock hop because the rocks were too small and you couldn't avoid the rocks because there were too many of them. This was extremely annoying.  I actually stopped early on my last day before DWG and put up my tent instead of making it to the shelter because of how bad the rocks were and how frustrated I was at the time. I slept well for a few hours until I woke up and found I was sleeping under a flight path for what I'm assuming was international flights considering the time the planes were coming through, the size of them and the extremely loud noise they made...I was not very happy that night haha.

Well that was PA. My last major post talked about all my woes getting back on the trail. It didn't mention that I found out my debit card was skimmed so I had to have that canceled. Also when I left the hostel I hiked a reasonably short day to allow my shin a little more time to recover.  The next day I took off and felt great. No pain. I was 6 miles into my hike and was stung or bit by a bug right in the middle of my bad shin. I hiked the rest of the day in pain...The next day was better again and so ended my 2 straight weeks of woe! I have been a much happier hiker since then.

Another update covering NJ and NY should be coming in a few days! That one will have pictures!

NY bound!

I just entered NJ today. It's a short state on the trail. I hope to be in NY in a day or two. Not too much to post about for the last 2 weeks. I hiked, I hurt, I got better. Now I'm feeling good and getting the miles I expect! I did get 62 miles in 2 days through PA which is the first time I've done two consecutive 30 mile days. 

This is a short post cause I'm only taking a short morning break and heading on for a 25 mile day. Here's what I'm looking at while I'm typing this entry. Enjoy!

First post back

So this is my first post since getting back on the trail.  I've been back on the trail for 9 days now, so you know this will be a long one.  I'll keep it as short as possible though.

I got to Waynesboro, VA on Saturday night late.  I wanted to stay at the brand new long distance hiker pavilion in town.  Unfortunately I was looking at an old map that had the tenting area for hikers located right behind the YMCA, which now is a concrete parking lot, not the best place to set up a tent.  I ended up sleeping next door at the library under an overhang until about 3:30am when it started to rain.  I packed up and sat in an alcove while I waited for the rain to stop.  During that time I was able to find a current map and I located the pavilion.  It was a nice place with a solar charging station and plenty of places to tent or hammock over night. There were two hikers there, but I never met them because I was ready to go at 7am and they hadn't moved from their tents.  Since I got in so late and it was still too early, I didn't call any of the possible trail angels for a ride and walked the 4 miles to the trail.  I then hiked a nice 20 mile day into the Shenandoah National Park.

The Shenandoahs are the reason why I went back and hiked from Waynesboro instead of getting on the trail at Harper's Ferry where JD and I got off.  I am glad I did that.  The woods were beautiful in the Shenandoahs and the overlooks along skyline drive were breathtaking.  I took plenty of pictures!  I even saw a few bears!  The first bear I saw made some noise to the left of the trail.  I stopped and looked for what was making the noise, but didn't see anything.  Then all the sudden a bear goes sliding down a tree like a fireman on a pole.  Literally just slide down the tree with no stops.  He got to the ground and took off running away.  I also saw a mama bear and a cub cross the trail.  It was the cutest thing ever to see the little cub only about 10 inches tall when on its hand and feet go running. 

So hiking was going well the first day.  The second day my knee started acting up a little bit.  I took some "Vitamin I" (Ibuprofen) and was fine.  After a day or two though I knew I needed to get into town.  The brace I had wasn't sufficient enough for what I needed and my knee was killing me.  I was hoping to resupply in Front Royal, VA, but ended up getting off the trail 50 miles earlier in Luray, VA.  There I was able to get a brace from Walmart and stay the night with Sparkle Pony taking a chance to recover from the pain in my knee.  Sparkle Pony and I went around town and did the normal resupply and eat.  We found a nice little diner/bar, the only one in town and had some food and drinks.  We started walking back to the hotel and made a pit stop at the 7-11 that was on the way.  When we left the 7-11 Sparkle Pony asked a girl if she could give us a ride the rest of the way to our hotel.  She told him sure, we hopped in and got back to the hotel.  When we got back to our hotel room, I realized my phone had fallen out of my pocket in her car.  Sparkle Pony didn't have a phone and the room phone wouldn't dial long distance, so I couldn't call my phone.  I stayed in town another day trying to track down my phone but to no avail.  I am now phoneless and 3 days behind schedule.

The next few days I was able to keep a normal pace.  My right knee feels better, but isn't 100% yet.  Unfortunately my left shin is swollen.  I didn't realize it until yesterday, but it had been hurting because I was favoring my right leg because of the knee pain and I didn't realize that there was actual swelling.  I took an easier day than I planned because of the swelling and stayed at a really cool little campsite that was just off the trail near a spring.  I'd have taken a picture to share but the whole no phone thing kinda kills that.

Today I hiked another short day, about 18 miles into a hostel at Bear's Den Gap.  This is just past the middle of a section known at "The Roller Coaster" because there are 10 ups and downs in a span of 13.5 miles.  There are very few good views in this area.  I am icing my shin and eating a nice dinner while I sleep in a comfortable bed.  I hope this will help to get back on track!

Tomorrow I plan to hike just before Harper's Ferry.  It's another short hike (like 17 miles) so I hope that will help me to recover as well.

Look for more updates in the weeks to come!