Date: 2014-06-09
From: duncannon,pa

To: tent site
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: light rain

Glad to be leaving the doyle but not before a fantastic breakfast at goodies across the street. I got three pancakes and home fries. They should warn people about the size of the pancakes, they are as big as the plate, and fluffy too! I represented the thru hiker community and finished it all but was stuffed completely. I went back to the 17 to grab my things and was off. In town i passed a gas station and figured i should get a little hydration as it was already very humid. I drank down a gatorade and resumed the walk feeling a little not so pretty good. I told myself to stay calm, i had paid for that breakfast and was not going to give it back so i walked slowly down the sidewalk and out of town. Before getting back to the woods i crossed two big bridges, the bigger of the two went over the susquehana which originates close to my hometown, i thought some of this water could have flowed all the way from ny to get here. Then up to the ridge to continue along. Everything was wet and slippy which made for slow walking, tje packed belly didnt help either. As i got to the top of the ridge the rocks got bad, big rocks all jagged and wet. All i was concerned about was to get thru it without busting something. Eventually the trail got better and i could make good progress. As i got to the first shelter i caught up to Johawk, a nice 50 something lady from kansas out thru hiking. She was at the doyle last night too so we discussed how much we enjoyed it. We sat, ate a snack, and fetched water. We walked together most of the day which was nice because this stretch of the trail has not much to see so it makes the time passs quicker. We did come to a pretty nice overlook just about lunch time so we parked there and ate. I was so full from breakfast that i only had a bit of a snack and water. Like i said, there wasnt much to say about the trail here, its all going through woods with a fair amount of undergrowth so there isnt much to see and the rocks are bad enough that a lot of pkaces you have to watch every step. At the next shelter we both needed water but it was 'down a steep bank with 300 rock steps'. What choice do you have when you need a drink. It was so humid that i was sweating mightily so drinking was very necesary. This was the worst water source trail i have been down yet. It was a tough hike down and a worse hike back up. Had to take a break once i got back to the shelter. Ot wasnt too far from there to where Jo was staying. There was another long section hiker there so i said hello to him and good bye to Johawk. I went about seven more miles and most of it was decent trail. One spring i crossed was orange it had so much iron in the water. You would have to be pretty desperate to drink it. It was bad enough that the stream where i had to get water from had yellow water. It looked pretty gross before i filtered it and it really slowed my filter it had so much yuck in it. I got to the tent site and once i stopped the mosquitos came to visit. They were so bad i humg some clothes on a tree branch and jumped in my tent to cook. Cooking inside was no fun. There isnt enough room and it got real warm in there. That mixed with high humidity was uncomfortable. After cooking and eating i laid myself down only to realize i could hear the mosquitos humming outside my tent! Thankfully they were all on the outside. I woke during the night when it started to rain. I almost got out to grab my clothes but figured the rain would stop so i rolled myself over and went back to sleep. Looking forward to a big day tomorrow. Glad i was in my tent and not being a buffet.