Date: 2007-07-08
From: Cove Mtn. Shelter

To: Clarks Ferry Shelter 
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: scattered clouds

I had a good nights sleep at Cove Mtn Shelter which helped alleviate some of the "thru hiker funk" that hung over me yesterday. The plan today was to take a short 4 mile hike into the town of Duncannon PA this morning. I am hoping to have some breakfast, resupply with food for a few days, try and unload my camera cards to disk, and stop by a place called the Doyle Hotel to link up with other thru hikers that may be in town.The short hike into town which I expected to go by quickly, turned out to be a different story. The trail was very steep and rocky. A minor annoyance was the spider webs. On many sections of the trail, spiders will spin a strand of web overnight that crosses the trail. The first hiker out on the trail in the morning, will constantly break through these webs as they hike along. It looked like I was the first one out today, and the spiders have been very active on this section of trail. I found myself constantly breaking through these webs which are conveniently spun head high. I guess I should wait for some unsuspecting hiker to break trail before me in the morning from now on.As I descended into Duncannon, the road leading to the downtown area had a small convenient store on the left and a nice grassy, park like area on the right with shaded picnic tables. I purchased some coffee and a breakfast sandwich and enjoyed a relaxed breakfast at the picnic table. I also made a call to my second cousin to confirm plans to meet her in 2 days at a road the AT crosses near Pine Grove PA, which is close to where she lives.I was later joined by a thru hiker named Worry, who was going to stay the night at the Doyle Hotel. I discussed the posibility of leaving my pack in his room so I could somehow catch a ride a mile or two out of town to a grocery store and pharmacy. He left for the Doyle and and I later wandered over to the hotel with another thru hiker named Wrong Way.Duncannon is an older PA town, which appears to be struggling economically and in many other ways. Even though I had no plans to stay here tonight, I had to see the Doyle Hotel before I left. It is a very old hotel, built by Annhauser-Busch, during the turn of the century. It has not seen much remodeling over the years and is in a sort of state of decay. It is a popular stopping point for thru hikers, due to very reasonable room rates and a lively bar and lounge which posesses lots of "thru hiker ambience".When I got there, I left my backpack outside with all the others. I walked in and recognized quite a few faces. Slick, Rebel and Big Shanty, who had all been ahead of me, were there. I ordered a beer, made a trip to the rest room, and as I was walking back, I had a big surprise. My second cousin GerriAnn, who I had spoken with earlier on the phone, was sitting at the bar. We noticed each other at the same time. After a big hug, she explained to me that on the spur of the moment she decided to try and find me in Duncannon and came here after hearing that thru hikers usually stay at the Doyle.I had not seen GerriAnn in many years and we ordered some lunch and had a great visit. She was later able to help me out in a big way, by driving me to the grocery store and Rite-Aid outside of town where I resupplied and transferred all the photos from my full camera cards, to CD's. After I was finished, GerriAnn drove me back to the Doyle Hotel. We gave each other a big hug and she headed home while I hoisted my now heavier pack and started hiking out of Duncannon.It was a long, hot walk on roads and a heavily traveled bridge over the Susquehana River, but the trail finally ducked into the woods and climbed to the ridge away from the noise of of civilization. It was just a short hike to the next shelter for dinner and a much needed night's rest. Thanks GeriAnn, for the kind trail magic.