Date: 2009-09-15
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 205.0
Weather: clear sky

Wow....I'm at the Doyle Hotel in Duncannon. It seems like a long time since I wrote last. A lot of stuff has happened. First of all I went to Camp Mohican and saw India and Weelise and their families. That was a great time. We had canoe races, ate good food, and I got to watch Ohio State's opening game. It was hard to leave the family, but I met up with my buddy Abe there so at least I didn't have to go on alone. The day after I left the camp I got into Pennsylvania.Pennsylvania has been a series of long rocky ridges followed by a short drop into a Gap an then a climb out of the Gap. Since Maine I have been hearing about the rocks in PA. So far the reputation is well deserved. The trail is often covered in fist to boulder sized rocks which seem to want to break your ankles. Some weird stuff has happened along the way.The other day I saw a cop shoot a dog. I was stopped on the trail and a couple came by and asked me if I would wait by a dog they found so that they could direct the authorities to it. They led me to the dog and I found him lying on the ground, wagging his tail and twitching his legs. He looked pretty bad off, but something about the tail wagging led me to believe that he could pull out of it. I'm not sure if he had been hit by a car or bit by a snake, or what. Anyway as I sat there, a cop showed up as the couple had called them earlier. The cop told us to leave because he was going to shoot the dog. The couple was shocked and asked the officer if he could take the dog to the Humane Society or someplace similar. The cop said since the dog wouldn't get up and it didn't have a collar he was going to shoot it. We slowly walked away and about twenty paces later the first shot rang through the air. We could hear the dog yelping and crying, the the cop shot him a second time and there was nothing but silence. It was a disturbing scene.Today on my way down here I had bear encounter. I was walking along and I turned a corner quickly and I saw some movement that stopped me in my tracks. I looked up and there about 15 feet in front of me stood a bear on his hind legs scratching his back on a tree. The bear stood at least three feet above my head and his coat was blacker than the ace of spades with a tan colored chest. "Oh shit...", I said. This noise got his attention and he came down on all fours and headed strait for me on the trail to investigate. "HEY!!!!", I yelled and I waved my walking stick above my head to appear like a bigger threat. Well the bear didn't want anything to do with me and he skittered off the trail into the woods. My knees felt weak and my heart was racing. That bear was big. I took a few paces down the trail and I found out why he was doing the scratching. WHAM!!! I felt a sharp pain in my leg and saw a yellow jacket buzz off. I looked off the side of the trail and I saw a mass of pissed off yellow jackets defending their nest that had been freshly dug up by Mister Bear. Ahhh...the Appalachian Trail.I could never put into words the adventure that this trip is. Everyday I am surprised and challenged, and I come across something I never expected. I'm almost halfway done now. I'm sending everyone my love and hope everyone is healthy and happy.Gabe