Date: 2015-09-12
From: Carlisle, PA

To: PenMar County Park, MD
Miles today: 65.3
Weather: light rain

9/9 Day 99 12.0 miles M1071.9Had an easy start out of Carlisle, PA, took time to update the journal, have a slow breakfast, and on the way back to the trail was flagged down by a truck driver washing his pickup truck. Several trucking companies seem to have hubs right off the trail on the main drag through Carlisle (close to I-81). The truck driver washing his truck said "I see a lot of you guys walking up and down this street. What are you, are you guys drifters or what?" I imagine since I shave and had just had a shower that I looked a bit more approachable to this gentleman. Turns out, he has driven night shift all over the country for 30 years or so, and at the home base where he returns often, he'd seen AT hikers and was curious but had never stopped to ask. I told him that bridge over there that crosses this road is the Appalachian Trail. "What's that?" he said. I explained a few details about the trail running from Maine to Georgia, and that I'd walked here from Maine, nearly 1100 miles, and that most of the folks he'd seen with beards and backpacks had walked from Georgia. "No Kidding?!?" He was beside himself. We talked for about 30 minutes and had a fine, friendly parting. The trail across the Cumberland Valley in PA is fast and smooth, crosses many fields and roads. I hiked the 8 miles to Boiling Springs in about 2 hours, picked up the resupply box Lynette (PineCone) had mailed ahead to me, had a wonderful spinach and mushroom soup at Cafe 101 and was back on the trail by 5pm. Two more miles of the valley across fields before entering back into the woods. I decided to camp at Little Dogwood Run campsite at sundown, already occupied by a group of about 10 or so from Princeton on their orientation hike. I'd met a group in NJ from a PA college and now a NJ group I'm meeting in PA. Fun! It seems that a backpacking trip is the "In" thing these days as a college orientation activity. I've run into a number of Outward Bound, scouting, and summer camp groups, but lately, a few college groups. The Princeton group had a long tarp they used as shelter. They wanted to give me food, because they had brought way too much. I respectfully declined knowing I didn't want to carry it either, especially having just resupplied.9/10 Day 100 18.9 miles   M1090.8Getting an early start, I was out of the campsite before the Princeton group had much stirred in their long tarp. I met Luis again, whom I'd first run into in Lincoln, NH. The rain started about 8:00 am and became hard rain soon and it rained until around 2:00 or a bit later that day -- hard rain, too. I hiked about 16 miles before I took a break at Pine Grove Furnace State Park, where there are facilities to support swimming in the lake. There weren't many people out in the park on such a day, so when I came to the showers, I took advantage of the roof, and dressing room to hang my wet clothes, wash up a bit, and have lunch and a nap. After a couple of hours, the rain had stopped and I was ready to move on, having dried my clothes and myself. I felt energized for the last 3 miles to Toms Run Shelter. I could have hiked much further, but dark was setting in. Another large group was in the tenting area. I had seen two other large groups around the park that day. Overall, I have loved my equipment and felt it served me well. This walk in the rain revealed an opportunity to find a better rain solution. Most other rain has been either a very cold rain in Maine, or a summer shower that didn't last too long. Today, wearing rain gear, I was soaked from sweat and need to find a better solution for warmer days (that will also work on colder days). I have hiked with a bit more success under a poncho and rain pants. So, today is day 100 of the hike, leaving a good opportunity to calculate miles per day average at 10.9, which includes zero and nero days. At about halfway, I suspect to end my hike at Springer (or Oglethorpe) sometime in December.9/11 Day 101 25.8 miles M1116.3Yesterday, I kicked a big rock with my back right foot while it moved in the forward stroke and launched that rock directly into the back of my left heel. OUCH! I've never done that and hope to never do it again. Today, the bruising on that heel heel hurts much more than the usual pain I feel in my heels. Ouch!The most interesting thing today was the shelters. The Potomac ATC chapter does a great job with hanging flower baskets, pea gravel, very helpful signage, well kept privies, springs that run cold clear water, clothes lines, tent platforms, covered picnic tables, varnished floors, etc etc. GREAT JOB!!   Of special note are Quarry Gap shelters and Tumbling Run Shelters. These are pairs of shelters. Tumbling Run, where I stayed had a "snoring" shelter and a "non-snoring" shelter. Very nice! The other point of the day was the marked improvement in my ability to navigate with more speed through the trail between Toms Run and Tumbling Run Shelters. Nearly 26 miles, my highest mileage for a one day hike yet. Increasing mileage is made a bit more difficult with the shortening days.9/12 Day 102 8.6 miles M1125.2Short hike today, had hoped to go further, but onset of rain found me looking for cover around 11am after I had crossed the border into Maryland (YEAH!). PenMar County Park has several nice pavilions where I could shelter from the rain for a time to determine what I wanted to do. I could wait out the rain, I could hike on in the rain, or I could try to find a place in a nearby town to get a shower, a meal, etc. Luis showed up about 30 mins after I had arrived with a significant limp. He had sprained his knee slipping on a wet rock. Together we thought our best option was to avoid another rain day like we'd just had two days ago. Well, after having decided that, a day hiker with a dog (Nero) made his way under the [Dance] pavilion with us. Turns out he (trail name Soggy) has hiked long portions of the AT and also knows Will Wood, a person whose choice of gear I used as a starting point for the gear choices I made in preparation for this thru-hike. He offered to shuttle Luis and me over to Nostalgic Dreams where Luis and I had thought we might stay, it was less than a mile away. We accepted but it turned out Nostalgic Dreams was full. So, Soggy offered to run us up to the Days Inn in Waynesboro, PA (about 3 miles away) and said he only lived a couple of blocks away from the hotel and would be glad to give us a ride back to the trail in the morning. Soggy is a true trail angel with trail magic. This was such a generous offer. We accepted and enjoyed a nice meal, hot shower, and a comfortable place to wait out the rain, and for Luis, to give his knee a chance to heal. Life is good.