Up at 6:45. Noisy neighbors. Called Pitcrew at 7:15. I’m only hiking 2.5 miles today and she will pick me up.
Asshole neighbors partying till midnight. Rude Amish hikers arrived at 10:00pm shining lights into shelter, talking loudly, making tons of noise. Woke up at 6:30 to 4 middle-eastern hikers making breakfast, using shelter as storage, talking loud, and being obnoxious.
Hiked to parking lot about 2.5 miles away on PA 850. Got there at 9:25. Pitcrew picked me up at 10:00.
Decided to call the hike early mainly due to the timing. If I went into Duncannon, Pitcrew would not be able to pick me up until 17:00 or later, and it is Labor Day. We want to be home to enjoy the evening with friends.
Friday September 1, 2023. 57 degrees, 65% humidity, sunny
Up at 6:30 to get me and my gear ready. I’m nervous about today. 14.5 miles to shelter with MAYBE crappy water near shelter. I think I’ll bring an extra liter bought at store to be safe. Overall, about 26 miles to go for the rest of the trip.
Angie drove me back to Boiling Springs. Worried about water so bought a liter at Rutters. No water for 13 miles today.
Got some trail magic at a road intersection.
Trail Magic
Made 3 mph for first 6 miles. First 12 were easy, just a lot of them. Break at 6 miles to massage feet and also at 10 miles. Crossed the PA Turnpike mid afternoon.
PA Turnpike
Filled up at a spring 1 mile from shelter. Feet really hurt!!! Blister is back a bit too.
Only water for 12 miles
Made camp at Darlington Shelter (mile 1138.6) at 4:30. Last 3 miles were very steep and difficult. My feet really hurt! Stayed in the shelter with a pair of SOBO thru hikers.
Thursday August 31, 2023. Sunny, breezy, 72, low humidity.
Up at 7:15. Slept ok. Out at 8:30.
Hiked 1.7 miles to Green Mountain general store for breakfast, coffee, snacks, and water. 9:15. Bought two 700ml bottles. Bought a second sandwich still hungry 🙂
Green Mountain general store
Got moving at 10:00. No water until boiling springs in 12 miles. Tough day. Big rock scramble, steep up’s and downs, and just a lot of miles including 2 miles through corn fields with lots of sun. Took a lot of breaks as feet were hurting. Last 3 miles or so were a death march.
Rock scramble near Boiling SpringsHiking through fields near Boiling Springs
Made it to Boiling Springs about 4:30. Texted my nephew Jeff. He lives about 20 minutes away and I am open ding the night at is house with the family. Got a latte at Cafe 101 and talked to Pitcrew while waiting.
Cafe 101 in Boiling Springs
Jeff picked me up and drove me to his house in Dillsburg, PA. Had a nice dinner with Jeff, Angie, and the kids. Got a much needed shower, did laundry. In bed at 11:30. Not much sleep though.
Wednesday August 30, 2023. 83 degrees, 65.% humidity, sunny and breezy.
Up at 8:00. Rained in the wee hours. Slept well! Packed up and headed out. Looking to forward to a real lunch!! Charged headlamp while hiking.
Got to Pine Grove Furnace just before the store opens at 11:00. Great burger and fries. Got ramen and knor rice dish for dinner. Charged electronics, dried some gear, and surfed the web!
Lunch at Pine Grove Furnace store
Charged up phone and battery pack to 68%. Topped off water and headed out at 1:00.
Pit stop after 3.4 miles to rest feet and rearrange water. Checked in with Pitcrew. Mostly downhill next 4 miles to camp….I think. Took a 30 minute break.
One other pit stop a mile short in case of no cell at camp.
Reached James Fry Shelter (mile 1112.3) and made camp at 5:00. Water sucks. Scooped a bag from stagnant pool with a few fish and tadpoles.
Sketchy water near James Fry Shelter
Nobody at shelter. Changed into dry clothes and hung a clothes line since it’s so breezy. Cleaned myself up a bit down there. Little worried about crotch chafing tomorrow.
James Fry Shelter
Filtered AND purified two liters of water. I had one full .75 liter when I got to camp.
Talked to an older guy hiking south. We have a lot in common. He’d staying the night here too. 69 and overweight…using the hike to lose weight and get in shape. Went to bed at 10:00 and read till 10:40.
Tuesday August 29, 2023. Cloudy, 75, 65% humidity.
Up at 7:40. Breakfast, charged electronics, packed and headed out at 8:45. Stretched before leaving. Feet feel ok.
Arrived at Three Roads intersection at 4.6 miles. Did some medical work on left toe blister and took a snack break. Lanced blister and got gunk out. So so wrap job with gauze and tape. Hopefully toe socks hold it all together.
Reached Birch Run Shelter at 12:45 and 10 miles. Feet hurt!! No cell. Stretched feet a lot. Talked to a dad and sun section hiker pair who are doing Boiling Springs to Harper’s Ferry.
Stopped a lot due to blister and sore feet. Bandaged blister twice with little help to walking.
Arrived at Tom’s Run Shelter (mile 1101.4) at 5:00. The last 4 miles were a bitch. I’m in a lot of pain. This is a small shelter with a spring and no covered eating area. There are two other hikers in the shelter, so I set up my tent on one of the gravel tent pads. It is going to get very humid and rainy this evening. I’ll try the fan later.
Tom’s Run Shelter
Filtered water from spring and made dinner. Tried a ramen bomb for dinner. That is a pack of ramen noodles combined with an Idahoan instant potato mix. It was ok, but I was just not hungry. Also need to use more water next time. Ate about half of it. That is not good. One bar cell. Checked in with Pitcrew.
The USB fan is great. Ran for an hour and used less than 5%. Read till 9:30 with fan. Took a muscle relaxer and used Box Fan sound on 4 hour timer on phone.
Up at 7:00. Ate breakfast, charged electronics, packed and headed out at 8:50. Had to duct tape one of my shoes.
Stopped at Chimney Rocks at 9:45. Had 3 bars cell coverage. Great view.
Chimney Rocks on the AT
Stopped for lunch near Rocky Mountain shelter at 1:00. Shelter is .3 miles downhill. Not doing that. Feet hurt and left ankle hurts. Still have 3 miles to Rt 30 and 5.6 miles to camp.
Back on trail at 1:35. Got to Caledonia park about 3:00. Took a break and bandaged my toe. Got the same blister again. Called Pitcrew and chatted. Got 2 liters of extra water and topped off all else. Hiked to Quarry Gap Shelter (mile 1087.8). Tough uphill hike with 2 extra liters!!
Got in at 4:55. Chatted with another hiker and set up for night. Really nice shelter!!! Rattler living under my shelter though:( Ate dinner at 7:00. Filtered water and generally got ready for bed by 7:40. Gonna read as long as possible and take a 1/3 Xanax.
Sunday August 27, 2023. Mid-80s, 70% humidity, clear, no breeze.
Starting a 7 day 6 night section hike NOBO (North Bound) from Pen Mar on the MD/PA border to Duncannon, PA on the Susquehanna.
This is supposed to be shakedown hike in preparation for my AT thru-hike attempt in 2024. I need to shakedown my gear and my mind. The hardest part of a thru hike is the mental game, assuming you have your gear nailed down and know how to best use it all.
Total pack weight is 27.7lb with a base weight of 17.6 lbs. 2.75 liters of water.
Pitcrew dropped me off at 1:00 at Pen Mar park (mile 1067) and walked with me to the trail head. I planned this to be a short day with the mid-day start.
Pen Mar Park AT trailhead 2023
There were a few very steep uphills, but not a bad hike overall. Saw a few day hikers near Pen Mar, but quickly dropped to no people after about 2 miles.
Mason Dixon line on the AT 2023
The bugs were bad and zero wind did not help. I recently switched from using 100% DEET to a more friendly Picaridin insect repellent. 100% DEET is great but it can dissolve plastics and other synthetic fabrics. I am starting to think that switching was a mistake. I miss my 100% DEET!
I made it to Tumbling Run shelter (1075.6) around 5:45. This is a very nice location with a pair of shelters, a covered seating area, and a fire pit. Nice spring about .15 miles from shelter.
Tumbling Run Shelter on the AT 2023
Mixed up water and Drank Mike’s Recovery Mix (256 calories) and had that while I cooled down before getting camp set up for the night.
Chatted briefly with a day hiker who was going up tot the summit to watch the sunset. Did not see anybody else the entire night.
Gathered 3 liters of water in my dirty water bag, filtered it with my Sawyer squeeze filter, and filled up my water bottles. Saved about 1.5 liters for tomorrow morning.
Changed into my dry camp clothes (shorts and short sleeve shirt), strung a clothes line, and hung up my soaked sweaty clothes to dry out as best possible by morning.
Dinner was a Mountain House rice and chicken dehydrated meal with more dehydrated chicken added for calories and protein (710 calories total).
Settled into a shelter with my quilt and pillow about 8:40.
Feet hurt!! Could have gone on, but pain sucks. Pack is bothering my back and waist. Both feet and Achilles issues. The later need addressed before they turn into something bad!
Developed a bad case of monkey butt. I forgot to pre-treat this morning:(
I lost 7 lbs on this hike. I know some is water, but still!
Pitcrew picked me up at the parking area at Keys Gap.
Up at 7:45 with alarm. Had breakfast, got ready, and on trail at 9:00 am.
Only 8.5 mile day in 6:45 hours. First 5 miles was VA rollercoaster. Really killed me after 15 miles yesterday. Did several breaks to rest my sore feet today.
Feet hurt a lot by mile 4 and were problematic all day.
Got to Blackburn at 3:45. Feet really hurt and that issue in left ankle was bad today. Could not have gone much further!
Chuck at Blackburn Trail Center 2023
Got unpacked and bedding set up by 4:30. Only person in the 4 person bunk house so far. No electricity but 4 walks and a roof. S my till a lot better than a shelter. Had recovery mix a bit late.
Went to screened porch and chilled and charged phone.
Blackburn Trail Center porch 2023
Feet still sore. Tomorrow will be interesting, but I have much longer to rest tonight and a fairly easy hike once I climb back up the .3 miles onto the AT from Blackburn.
Ate dinner at 7:15. Nice talk with Adam the caretaker. Gave me cookies and a chocolate bar. Done and cleaned up about 7:55. The curry noodles were good and spicy!!!!
Pitcrew drove me to Ashby Gap about 9:00am. Goal is to get to Bear’s den before 9:00 pm. Sam Moore Shelter was backup (10 miles).
Hiked 15 miles in 9.5 hours including the southern 2/3 of VA roller coaster (11 miles). Very hard day. Took 30 minutes for lunch. I got to Bear’s Den at 8:15 pm. Worried I would not make it by 9:00 pm! Exhausted when I got there, but felt decent.
Bear’s Den on the AT 2023
Talked to nice mom and son who are slackpacking his final few miles. They stayed in a camper van but used showers.
Ate dinner around 10:00pm. Went back to bunk room and face timed Dana and read till 1:00 am.
