On 6/1 I did 13.1 miles to a spring at mile 1,164.3. On 6/2 I did 11.6 miles to Rausch Shelter. On 6/3 I did 20.6 miles to Shower Steps Trail. On 6/4 I did 21 miles to Port Clinton. On 6/5 I did 9.5 miles to Pinnacle rock after resupplying in Hamburg. On 6/6 I did 18.7 miles to New Tripoli. On 6/7 I did 18.3 miles to just after the superfund site. On 6/8 I did 15 miles to outside Wind Gap, PA. On 6/9 I did 14.4 miles to Delaware Water Gap, PA for a resupply. On 6/10 I did 22.2 miles to rattlesnake mountain. On 6/11 I did 21.5 miles to the observatory in New Jersey High Point state park.
Well there is no way to sugar coat this... northern PA kicked my ass. To start the weather was terrible. The first two days of June were a complete downpour, it hadn't rained this hard since Roan mountain and it flooded the entire forrest. I don't think I have put in less miles since the start on a non resupply day, but it's hard to put in the distance when you are soaked to the bone for 48 hours. On the second day of the storm I decided to go to a shelter, when I got to the shelter I didn't have any muscle strength in my hands to undo my pack buckle. It had been a cold rain, but I didn't feel any significant chills, but this was definitely the first signs of mild hypothermia. Luckily Uphill was already at the shelter and he was able to give me a hand with my pack. He also had a similar problem when he got to the shelter and had to put his hands in his armpits for 10 minutes before they would work again. I jumped into my sleeping bag to warm up and about 45 minutes later TJ showed up. I haven't seen TJ since I broke my tent pole outside of Damascus and he lent me his emergency tent pole repair kit. I was excited to see him and give him his kit back, but when I saw him he had a worried look on his face. I asked him what was wrong and he said he thought he was having a stroke since he couldn't get his left hand to move. I looked at Uphill and we both chuckled and jumped up to give him a hand with his pack explaining we all had the same symptoms. It was a miserable rest of the day, I stayed in my sleeping bag except to help when other thru hikers showed up. Many hikers took zero days in their tents, those who did venture out all pushed for a shelter. Rausch Gap Shelter was designed for 6 people, we ended up squeezing in 13. So the rain sucked but the terrain was worst. Since Georgia we have talked about how rocky Pensylvania was going to be. When I entered the lower half of the state, I thought it was fairly rocky but nothing to complain about... boy was I wrong. Once we hit middle Pensylvania it was basically a rock field for the rest of the state. It was mentally and physically exhausting. All you could do was keep looking down at your feet and plan out your next few steps. The terrain had ominous names like Knife Edge and Sharp Ridge. I managed not to sprain my ankle but the constant rock hoping has left the arches and balls of my feet in agony. Many of the hikers were taking a lot of vitamin I (ibuprofen) to deal with the pain and swelling, personally I like to support Kentucky's economy and prefer a shot of bourbon with my rice and tuna every night to dull the soreness. Another fun fact about PA is that it is extremely dry, even though it poured rain there are multiple 12-16 mile stretches without water and when there is water it's half a mile off the trail and a slow trickle. I actually walked into a town to get water since I figured it was easier to find it in town than on the trail. Ohhh and another thing, while Virginia has fields of trillium and other wild flowers, PA has fields of poison ivy. I'm not really sure why the government picked Nmievada to do its nuclear bomb testing, from what I have seen Pensylvania would have been a much better choice.
Okay, I think I have adequately expressed my feelings about the natural surroundings of PA, but there are some redeeming things in PA, namely the people. I stopped in to multiple towns in PA (Duncannon, Wind Gap, Port Collins, Boiling Springs, Delaware Water Gap) many of the towns you probably have never heard of. All of them are about the size of a postage stamp, and have some of the friendliest people I have met on the trail. I never had a problem getting a hitch in to town. Thru hikers were invited into fireman's union and legion halls as guest to drink really cheap beer with the locals. When walking into bars or restaurant they let us bring our packs inside and always sat us next to outlets. Even the Barber shop in Port Clinton was hiker friendly. The owner invites hikers into the barber shop for coffee and cookies and allows us to hang out and charge our phones for as long as we want, even though he knows none of are going to get a hair cut. He just seemed thrilled to help us and was really interested in our stories. The only good thing about the rocks is they provide a unique habitat for flowers and allowed me to see new plants that I had yet to see on the trail. Another positive thing about PA was I saw a ton of wildlife. I saw timber rattlesnakes, porcupines, a nest of unknown Snakes fighting, tons of deer and turkey with fawns and chicks I also saw a large bear. Now do you think I had a normal interaction with the bear...no
The AT takes you through a superfund site. Back in the day there was a zinc smelting operation that left the entire mountain side deforested. The land is badly scarred but they are currently trying to reestablish vegetation on the mountain. As I was walking through the superfund site, I ended up walking behind a very large bear. The bear was walking the AT with me about 70 yards in front. I made some noise and it turned around to see me and just kept going on its merry way. I followed the bear for about 500 yards always keeping the same distance as it meandered along the trail. As we were walking the bear just stopped suddenly and got up on its back legs and stood up. I stopped walking wondering what it was doing when all of a sudden it turned around and started to charge down the trail towards me...shit. It was a lot like being stuck on rail road tracks; the bear was a locomotive, the AT was the set of tracks, and I was the hopeless car stuck on the tracks as the train was quickly approaching. The bear was 70 yards away which unfortunately gave me plenty of time to comprehend what was bareling towards me. I knew I couldn't run so I dropped my pack, yelled out a bunch of great expletives and braced for what was sure to be a very quick and one sided confrontation. The bear got within 15 yards of me and then bolted up the side of the hill... a miracle the train derailed before it hit the car. I stood there dumbfounded. A minute later two section hikers started to walk towards me asking if I had seen the bear. They were excited saying they saw it for a brief second stand up on its legs and then disappear. Unfortunately we had inadvertently pinched the bear. It didn't seem to mind that I was behind it, but when the other hikers were coming in the opposite direction it felt trapped and decided to change directions, glad I stayed 70 yards back and not 55 yards back. Someday I'll see a bar and not have a minor heart attack.
My last note on PA is actually a seious one. The Appalachian mountains have been infested with an invasive caterpillar called the Gypsy moth. They are literally eating away the forrest. It's not uncommon to walk by old oaks that have been completely stripped of all leaves. There are so many of these caterpillars that it sounds like a light rain all day in the woods but it is actually just the caterpillars poop hitting the ground. As of now I'm unaware if there is even a solution to dealing with them. It's hard to watch as I have seen the trees come to life in spring and now get methodically destroyed everyday by these small but highly active caterpillars.
We named the porcupine Irwin
Not actually sure what type of snakes these were
Catching a view with Frizzle
Tried to catch the sunrise at Pinnacle Rock, but their was to much cloud cover
Half eaten leaves on the trail from the Gypsy Moths. This is pretty much what the entire trail looks like now.... not good
Trail Magic! Locals actually take water jugs into the trail and leave them for hikers.
Superfund sites on the AT are superfun
I thought he made a good hiking partner, I thought wrong.
This is the trail in Northern PA
Timber Rattler
View from on top of Kittatinny Mt.
Been walking with these two on and off for the past two weeks. From Left to Right: EverReady, Samson-the-Bear, Unhinged
Barber Shop in Port Clinton