Day 78 - Second Mountain

Another hot one.  

Almost nothing to report on. I got 10 hours of sleep last night, and still was up and at em by 7 this morning. And today, let's see, I walked, sweated, swatted flies, walked, ate granola, more flies...  

No views, points of interest, nothing. It was flat all day. The one cool thing is that I started early, and I'll be making camp by 5!  

So May has come and gone, I'm feeling good, and methodically working my way through Pennsylvania. Score!

-Scribbles (aka Ted)
4:00 p.m. 5/31/2015

Cell Service at my campsite. 
I'm at mile 1180.6 so a 23.6 mile day today. Good doing indeed! I had 20 done by 3pm, and now that I'm in my hammock and undercover, the wind is picking up amidst intermittent thunder claps...the forcast says 1/2-3/4 of an inch of rain tonight! Bring it on!
I just hope the rain brings the "coolish" ness of Worcester!

-Scribbles (aka Ted)
6:15 p.m. 5/31/2015

Day 77 - Peter's Mountain

The good news is that it's cooled off! The bad news (but not even that bad) is that with the cold(ish) front came rain. Much of my hike out of Duncannon today was in a windy drizzle, but I'm not complaining. I made it ten miles out after a late start, and I'm camped on Peters Mountain, near an outcropping called Table Rock.

I left Duncannon feeling great. Sure, my team didn't win last night, but you know, I got to spend time with some real nice folks. I can't say enough about Duncannon and the Doyle, in all their gritty, dirty glory. The hike out was cool, as I got to cross another major river, this time the Susquehenna.

It's amazing how I've been able to witness the changes in the landscapes over time. Back in North Carolina, a "mountain" was a steep, irregular shaped landmass rising three or four thousand feet. Now, in Pennsylvania, Peters Mountain is more of an elongated rise in the land. This mountain is about 2 miles wide, but more than 10 miles long! It's more of a ridge.

Anyway, today was a drizzle, but from what I've heard tomorrow is supposed to be a downpour. That's ok, there's something about walking in the rain that I like. Perhaps it's the idea of being methodical, pushing forward despite the conditions. Or, what's more likely, it's just refreshing after all this heat!

- Scribbles (aka Ted)
7:35 p.m. 5/30/2015

Week 11 Progress Map

Week 11 Progress Map:

Day 76 - Duncannon

It's been an eventful 24 hours. When last I posted, I was about to leave for a night hike of the Cumberland Valley. Darlington Shelter was the goal that night, and Duncannon the goal today. Well, everything ended up according to plan!

But that does not mean there was lack of excitement. Last night's hike was the longest night hike I've done yet, as we started at 8:30 and got to camp at 3! I should mention, "we" is me and Chatty, a flip-flop thru-hiker who only just started in Harper's Ferry, will be going to Katahdin, returning to HF, and finishing at Springer. Chatty had a similar interest to the hockey game as I did, so we set off with the sun disappearing below the farm fields.

Night hiking can be fun. There's something invigorating about the headlamp, the cool, almost chilly air, and of course, the darkness. It's weird to see everything along the trail in a sort of half-light; it all seems spooky. Even when we would get to a footbridge or something, from a distance it looks grim! I was reminded of a videogame me and my buddies would play called Slenderman, where you run around a woodsy landscape at night avoiding a monster. The headlamp light, man! It makes everything look dead. 

The highlights of the hike were a horse in a field, only about 20 yards from us. That was probably at 10. Then it was a bunch of cows, one of which was startled as we passed and made the most un-cow-like noise you'll ever hear. It sounded like someone gasping! And then, at midnight, we hit the Middlesex Diner, a half mile down the Harrisburg Pike. It's an all-night diner that advertises "Great homeade food and plenty of it." At midnight, 8 miles into a hike, nothing could sound sweeter! Unfortunately, the 6 miles post-diner were much harder than the 8 before, and it was all I could do to pitch the hammock and konk out at the shelter.

So that was last night. Today was kinda nuts, too. It was hot and humid like always (it seems), and I was tired, but I still managed to get hiking by 9. I was strangely not hungry all day, so I only stopped for one snack break. I was sipping water, but man! I was sweating a lot and by the time I got to Duncannon around 2 I was a little dizzy. I got up to my room and laid down and I was still not hungry. So weird. But now, after I've taken a cold shower been drinking a ton, and most importantly not exerting myself in the heat, I realize that I might have been getting a bit of heat exhaustion. It's a little scary, considering I thought I was drinking enough and didn't realize it until now. Without a doubt, I'll be much more cautious on these hot days. 

But enough about that, I'm in Duncannon! I'm staying at the Doyle Hotel. It's a hotel. I think that it was a 5-star place back in the day. There's this stone entrance and grand staircase and everything. But it's just completely deteriorated. It's dirty, there's holes in the ceiling, pretty incredible actually. But at the same time it's just the friendliest place in the world, and there are these local guys who always hang out at the bar on the first floor and they told me all of the stories of convicts who have tried to hide out on the AT and have come through. It's funky for sure. 

Tonight's the big game, and then it's back to hiking tomorrow. After, of course, a much needed night of sleep in a bed! 

Go Rangers!

-Scribbles (aka Ted)
7:16 p.m. 5/29/2015

Day 75 - Boiling Springs

I only have a quick update today, as I've only done 12 miles (so far...). It's been so hot and humid these last few days. Even a thunderstorm at the end of yesterday hasn't killed the heat! I made it in to the little town of Boiling Springs at about noon today and I was just drenched in sweat. It was a huge relief to be able to rinse off in the stream here, which is fed by a ton of little ice-cold springs (seems like they messed up the name of the town, right?). I've spent the last 8 hours at the regional ATC office, hanging out on their front porch and eating food. My plan was to watch the hockey game tonight and then night hike out to beat the heat. But guess what?! The game's tomorrow! Good grief, I only found out about an hour ago and at first I thought my grand plan was ruined. Plan B it is: night hike now, still beat the heat, take a short day to Duncannon tomorrow and watch it then. Not a bad backup! Bpoiling Springs is in the Cumberland Valley, a big flat area filled with farms. In the 17 miles of trail that go through it (and I've only done 3), no camping is allowed as you are generally cutting through corn and wheat. So I'm pretty excited for tonight...at least I won't miss any views!

Got my headlamp on. Night hike!

-Scribbles (aka Ted)
8:18 p.m. 5/28/2015

Day 74 -Tagg Run Shelter

Pennsylvania, man. 

Everyone gives it a hard time. 

Rocky, hot, ticky, boring. But it's not bad at all. In fact, I like it!

The terrain, so far so good. Sure, you hit some sections of slow going, but you also hit a lot of wide, flat, smooth tread a la Shenandoah. Ticks, I haven't found one on me since Virginia! And boring, well, I'll write that off in the next paragraph. So really a pretty awesome state so far. To be fair however, I'm not yet at the rockiest part, which I hear is after Port Clinton. The heat and ticks might ramp up too. Whatever, I'm just going to enjoy this while it lasts!

So why isn't Pennsylvania boring? Well, there's always stuff to see and things to do! I've been hitting cool state parks every day. It's interesting to share these parks with dog-walkers and picnicers. Yesterday I stopped into Caledonia State Park and today it was Pine Grove Furnace. And of course there's the Half-Gallon Challenge.A half gallon of ice cream...in one sitting! It's something I've never done before and will never do again. But on the trail, all bets are off. It wasn't even much of a challenge. I did it in 35 minutes. Little traditions like that are one of the things that make the trail such a unique experience.

The fun will only continue the next few days. Tomorrow I'll reach Boiling Springs, just in time to watch the Rangers duke it out with the Lightning in another game 7. And then it's only 25 miles through the Cumberland Valley to Duncannon. 

Oh and I almost forgot! Today I reached the midpoint, 1094 miles from Springer and the same distance to Katahdin. So I'm finally closer to my endpoint than my starting point. Woo hoo!

-Scribbles (aka Ted)
7:52 p.m. 5/27/2015

Postcard From Harpers Ferry

Scribbles (aka Ted) sends us postcards from time to time from the trail to us here at the GWLT HQ.

We hang them up on the fridge, of course!

Today, we received a photo of Ted at Harpers Ferry, the halfway mark, as a postcard!
Seriously Excellent!

 
Note! Scribbles is wearing his GWLT hat! Dude, it is late May! Not that we don't love it!