Wind Gap, PA –  Mile 1278 – 58.4% of the trail complete – In some pain tonight. I’m headed to a health clinic tomorrow and hope for the best…

July 14th – Cove Mountain Shelter to Duncannon, PA
Total miles on AT – 4.0
Elevation gain – 13ft
Elevation loss – 894ft
Start time: 7:05am
Finish time: 8:50am
Total time hiking: 1:30
Weather: hot, overcast turning sunny, hazy, extremely muggy

Into town for breakfast and a “nero.” The town of Duncannon has seen better days. It is in an extremely dilapidated state. We stayed at a hotel called the Doyle. It was built in 1905. Not many renovations have been made since then. The building probably should be condemned. The whole town should probably be condemned. Mike and I have been hiking the last few days with a guy named Thor, a 35 year-old ex-salesman. The three of us shared a room in an overheated top floor room. Thor and I both felt sick at night after eating the food at the hotel.

July 15th – Duncannon, PA to Rattling Run
Total miles on AT – 22.3
Elevation gain – 2528ft
Elevation loss – 1379ft
Start time: 8:15am
Finish time: 7:45pm
Total time hiking: 8:20
Weather: sunny, not as hot, not as muggy

After crossing the Susquehanna River we climbed up to the ridge, and  about seven and a half miles in, Mike received a phone call. It was time for him to go home. His grandmother was about to pass away.

I hiked with Thor the rest of day. I switched boots in Duncannon. I am now wearing the boots I wore in Australia and New Zealand, but they no longer fit. My second toe on my right foot is jamming. My feet still hurt now. Thor and I ran into a guy named Solo who was trying to get back into town because his vision was blurry and he believed he was dehydrated.

July 16th – Rattling Run to 501 Shelter
Total miles on AT – 24.8
Elevation gain – 1843ft
Elevation loss – 1903ft
Start time: 7:45am
Finish time: 6:50pm
Total time hiking: 8:45
Weather: sunny turning overcast, hot, muggy

Hiking and more hiking today. A new mileage PR. My feet hurt a lot, particularly my squished toe. Thor and I continued to hike together today as we mourned the departure of our now mutual friend Mike. There were a few really rocky sections and a couple of up-hills but otherwise it was a pretty easy day. We passed under I 81 for the last time. We are staying at the 501 shelter near highway 501 and were able to order a pizza. The shelter is enclosed with bunks in it and has a cold shower outside. It felt like summer camp tonight with lots of people talking from their bunks and cracking jokes “after lights out.” Less road crossings today. I am not looking forward to putting my boots on tomorrow.

July 17th – 501 Shelter to Port Clinton, PA
Total miles on AT – 24.1
Elevation gain – 660ft
Elevation loss – 1684ft
Start time: 8:00am
Finish time: 7:30pm
Total time hiking: 8:50
Weather: sunny, warm, not overly humid

The rocks of Rocksylvania have finally reared their ugly head. I put my supporters in my boots and that helped some. My feet were less sore at the end of the day but my toes are still jamming into the front of the boot, particularly my second toe on my right foot. Apparently the town of Hamburg, less than two miles from here, has the largest Cabella in the world. I’m tempted to look at their boots.

A few miles into the day, I heard the distinctive sound of a rattle and immediately was able to identify where the sound came from. I spotted the rattler about six feet ahead of me coiled up on the trail. I jumped back quickly. I appreciated the warning. Later in the day I saw a snake in the grass just off the trail and I jumped because I wasn’t sure what kind of a snake it was. It turned out to be just a rat snake.

Thor and I stopped for an early lunch at a swimming hole with a rope swing and I indulged with a swoop into the cold water.

The rocks beat up our feet all day, but we were able to make the 24 miles into town. The last part of the day was a steep drop into town, the steepest section I can remember in about 600 miles. I flew down it and it felt so good to be able to do that with healthy knees. I haven’t been able to let myself go like that since before Nantahala at mile 135. I was quite pleased.

As we walked into town, a woman in a red bikini and her boyfriend greeted us. The woman was an art teacher and said that she had done her masters thesis on Port Clinton and that this was her favorite town in the whole world. Thor and I chatted with her for a while until her boyfriend walked over and put his arm around her and said, “Well, we won’t take up any more of your time.”

Thor and I hit the hotel restaurant in town for some food and drink where we were joined by Rosy, a young woman who happens to have grown up in the same town as Thor, and a couple of northbound flip floppers. The town has a pavilion that’s open to hiker camping, so that’s where we are laying our heads this evening.

July 18th – Port Clinton, PA to Windsor Furnace Shelter
Total miles on AT – 5.7
Elevation gain – 931ft
Elevation loss – 513ft
Start time: 4:30pm
Finish time: 7:05pm
Total time hiking: 2:30
Weather: afternoon rain shower, very warm, swimming in a pool of sweat humid

Thor and I got a ride into nearby Hamburg, PA where we ate a McDonalds breakfast, resupplied at Walmart, took a quick visit to the biggest Cabella in the world where I browsed the boot section but did not buy, then went to Five Guys for lunch. Thor snagged us a ride back to Port Clinton where we lounged at the pavilion as a rain shower passed.

My body felt broken. My back was sore and I somehow pulled a muscle in my shin area. I finally hobbled out of town at 4:30pm but my shin really hurt. We only did 5.7 miles but we successfully got ourselves out of the vacuum that is any town on the AT – a double win – we saved about 30 bucks we would have spent on beer and food, and we moved further down the trail! I very much hope my shin feels better in the morning. My back already feels better; I was in a lot of discomfort hiking the short bit today, especially downhill.

July 19th – Windsor Furnace Shelter to Allentown Hiking Club Shelter
Total miles on AT – 16.5
Elevation gain – 1858ft
Elevation loss – 1208ft
Start time: 8:55am
Finish time: 8:05pm
Total time hiking: 7:45
Weather: sunny, warm, pleasant

My shin did not feel better today and it was a painful slog. My back was tight as well for the first few hours, and then of course there is my scrunched toes on my right foot. I was not in a good place mentally. I got thinking on things and when I hit the rocks during the later half of the day it became quite challenging and I yelled aloud numerous times. It took me four hours to cover the last 7.4 miles.

The good thing was that it could have been worse. It was a picture perfect sunny day with low humidity and there were a couple of great viewpoints early on.

At a paved road crossing, there was trail magic and just down the road there was a shelter in someone’s backyard where there was also a shower. I was going to try to plan ahead tonight and see what kind of miles I need to do before my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary in a few weeks, but so much depends on how my shin feels tomorrow. I took six Advil in total over the course of the day and my stomach hurts now. I hope it’s not related to the Advil.

July 20th – Allentown Hiking Club Shelter to George W. Outerbridge Shelter
Total miles on AT – 16.8
Elevation gain – 609ft
Elevation loss – 1149ft
Start time: 9:25am
Finish time: 7:40pm
Total time hiking: 7:35
Weather: sunny, warm, pleasant

Some more very rocky bolder field sections today but overall not too bad. We had some nice views along the way amongst some precarious spots, one called Knife Edge. I can imagine it might be tough for some thru-hikers to make it through without a possible fall, which would not go well.

We had some sweet trail magic around 2pm. Pish’s mom and her friend had an awesome spread and were very nice. There was a very strange guy hanging around saying all sorts of non-sensical things. He finally drove off.

My shin carried me about twelve and a half miles before it tightened up big time. I was only able to do about a mile and half over the next hour and a half until I took three Advil intermittently. I think it would be a good idea to hit the walk-in clinic at Wind Gap in 21.3 miles. Not sure if I’ll get that far tomorrow but I’ll give it a go. It looks more and more unlikely that I’ll make Katahdin by September 15th.

July 21st – George W. Outerbridge Shelter to Wind Gap
Total miles on AT – 21.3
Elevation gain – 1511ft
Elevation loss – 1479ft
Start time: 6:45am
Finish time: 6:55pm
Total time hiking: 9:20
Weather: sunny, very warm, low humidity, nice afternoon breeze

A very early start. A steep climb out of Lehigh Gap. It made me think of some folks behind me that might have some serious trouble maneuvering up these rocks. We passed a superfund site. I didn’t know what a superfund site was until yesterday. It’s an old mining site that is so completely contaminated that nothing grows there. The government spends a bunch of money to get stuff to grow there again. A sign says not to touch any of the plants because of the herbicides they are using. The trail detours around the site. Along the detour trail there were raspberries bushes that we all indulged in, – maybe not the best idea near a superfund sight? We all forgot. I feel fine though.

My shin felt pretty good throughout most of the day although I took it slow. But near the end of the day, I rushed to get to town and it tightened up again. I can’t put any weight on it tonight. I am going to go to the health clinic tomorrow.

I had a run in with a rattler on the trail late in the day. He gave me a warning, but would not leave the trail and there wasn’t really a way around. He coiled up after I tried to to throw some rocks in his area to get him to move. I had to take a long detour through the woods to get back on the trail.