Date: 2018-06-27
From: Stealth Site at Mile 1131.2

To: Duncannon PA
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: light rain

We had a goal today and a strong motivation to meet that goal. Get to Duncannon before 5 pm. Why?Spaghetti of course!Every Wednesday during June and July the Lutheran church in Duncannon offers a free spaghetti dinner to thru hikers. No, spaghetti is not usually very fancy, but for us it would be a gourmet feast. Up until this point Pennsylvania has treated us very well. We have had days of long flat terrain. We have hiked through numerous farmers fields and watched miles tick by with relative ease (albeit high temperatures and bugs)Today began in the same fashion. Duncannon before 5pm would easily be within our reach. But then the trail changed. We began to climb. And then there were rocks. Rocks. Rocks. And more rocks. It began to rain. Rocks and rain are not a good combination.At one point on the trail we knew we were very close to the town and we saw the trail leading us gently down towards what we believed to be a road. But wait. There was no white blaze. Apparently this was the way the AT used to go, but not any more. Off to the right, the trail begin another steep wet rocky ascent. And what did my eyes behold? A blaze, of course. Up we went again only to reach a steep rocky descent. But we arrived in Duncannon with extra time to spare, so the trail blazers were quickly forgiven for their tortuous reroute.We only needed a few items to restock our food. Mostly just snacks for Cole and breakfast items. We found these at the Sunoco and a corner store.Before heading to the Lutheran church I wanted to make certain that we had a place to stay for the night. A fellow hiker told us that the pastor of a local church allowed hikers to sleep in his basement. We headed for the church. I was wondering how this would play out. Do we go into the church to inquire? No need to worry. Hikers were sitting on the lawn at the house next door to the church. Bingo. Found it. This is one of the things that I like about hiking the AT. There are always other hikers around, especially in these trail towns, to help point the way or stumble through it and figure things out with you. Yet still, when on the trail, I can hike for hours and see no other hiker except for Cole. It is both solitude and community at the same time.The lawn sitters pointed the way and down we went into the pastor¢s basement. It appeared to be newly finished with clean laminate floors and a very modern bathroom with a big shower. There was a kitchen, a table and chairs and fuseball. And it was air conditioned. Oh such sweet cold refreshing air! It served two purposes, both lowering our body temperatures and reducing the funky hiker aroma in the room. Hikers had claimed their spots on the floor and we blew up our air mattresses to do the same. Then I showered. Cole was more interested in food than cleanliness and it was five minutes to five. So, back down the road we headed to the Lutheran Church. We arrived right on time, but inside hikers were already seated with overflowing plates. ¢Still Sheila! Look!¢ Hollered a hiker named Sunshine while holding up a meatball. We had hike together shortly today and had both expressed a longing for there to be meatballs to go with the spaghetti, or meat sauce at least. Anything with meat!¢Hurray!¢ I cheered because I totally am one of these trail weary, smelly (despite the shower), deprived (by choice) hungry vagabonds easily excited by this humble and simple expression of generosity (spaghetti and meatballs) from my fellow man. Except that it wasn¢t simple at all. There wasn¢t just pasta and meat. There was salad and a wide variety of drinks. There was garlic bread and an entire table dedicated to deserts. To top it off, there was a long stretch of tables covered in all sorts of items that hikers need. A sign above the table said ¢Free Resupply¢ Wow! We filled a zip lock bag with toilet paper, hand sanitizer, Advil, bug repellent, and snacks. We walked back to the pastor¢s house full, content and happy and blessed. Cole had a shower and I crawled onto my bed very early. In the night lightening flashed, the air conditioner hummed and I snored.