Date: 2015-12-01
From: Half mile short of Alec Kennedy Shelter

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: moderate rain

Susan suggested I might be sad this last day of my hike, as I often am. I really wasn't noticing that, although it was a very dreary day and not very exciting. I started out a little later than usual because I camped so late last night and everything was soaked, so I had to pack pack my tent all wet. The rain was kind of off & on all day; it never quite stopped dripping. I couldn't use my poncho, which normally keeps me & the pack dry & me warm as well, because I needed to have some orange showing on account of the hunters; so I had orange draped over the back of the pack & orange showing in front and didn't see any hunters although I did hear some shooting. What that meant is that I got a lot wetter than usual.I went back to the Trail easily in the daylight [first time after dawn in several days]. About a quarter-mile over the hill from where I had gotten off the AT, there were signs clearly marking the trail for the shelter. I hadn't gone that far because I had thought I was on the next hill, which is bigger. It's a little hard to tell from the maps, & it sure is easier to see in daylight.The Trail was generally less rocky today, except for the "rock mazes"; but even they didn't seem as hard as two years ago. The bigger hill had several ups & downs to it; then it was down through some fairly level areas where I was crossing roads a bunch of times & even a railroad just before a train came by [a very short one with three locomotives and eight cars ¢ some sort of local].Things really started to get interesting when I stopped at the James Fry (Tagg Run) Shelter [don't know why so many names!]. I got out my burner to start boiling water, & I couldn't get it to start. Not only didn't the igniter on the burner work [which it hasn't most of the time lately unless it's already warm], but I couldn't get the cigarette lighter that I've carried to work either. No spark! Never had that problem before. In addition, my fingers just wouldn't work. I'd been wearing gloves, but they had gotten so wet that my hands were cold and the muscles between the thumb and fingers just wouldn't grip. When I couldn't get the lighter to work, I started looking around for matches. I had some waterproof matches, but I couldn't get them to work either. The box they come in isn't waterproof, and you have to strike them on the box. I also had some [dry] "strike-anywhere" matches ¢ couldn't get them to work either! I was getting colder and colder just standing there; so I finally went back to try the lighter one more time and got a spark. I thought, "Hallelujah! There's some possibility here!" I must've been warming up my thumb enough to function more normally. Previously, the only way I could grip things was with my pliers [even to open a zip-lock bag]!So I finally got the burner going, got my water boiled, & ate my Black Bart Chili, while wrapping myself in my Tyvek to keep a little bit warm. I'd say this chili is the best of the Alpine Aire products. Most of theirs suffer from a near-total lack of seasoning, altho I guess their chicken gumbo has enough vegetables in it to season it decently. I was still cold just sitting there; so I had to get going. I did finally put my rain pants on. As I walked the 2/10 of a mile back to the trail, I had a lot of debates with myself about whether I should just go back down to the highway I recently crossed and call a nearby motel. Then I thought I'd start up the Trail a little bit to see if I still felt that way once I got going & warmed up some. After all, the next section is not so bad: just 7 miles up and over a mountain that I remembered as pretty easy trail ¢ and it was! I warmed up pretty quickly; so it worked for me to keep going. I was glad that hill was easy [mostly old roads] coming down the South side because it was getting darker and darker, without much flashlight help. The darkness didn't matter so much once I actually got to the State Park. There the Trail was mostly on paved roads, but the blazes were farther apart. So I had to use my flashlight some, even tho I knew most of the landmarks. The hostel and the store were all totally dark, but I found my way to the store, signed in on the guestbook, & called the Holly Inn. Within a half hour, Cindy came and picked me up. A good shower and an inexpensive meal in their restaurant felt good. I was really tired; so I talked to Susan quickly and then went to bedMore than 62 miles in the three days before this one is probably a new record for me, for this year anyway [actually, going into Damascus in 2013 was 62, but with much longer daylight]. Now I'm off the Trail till Spring ... not sure when that'll be. I don't know whether I'll pick up first here in Pennsylvania or whether I will go down to central Virginia first. Susan wants to do some hiking with me again, & Virginia might be a good place. The reason I decided to stop now was that it's another six or 8 miles to the actual midpoint of the trail but that's a place that would be hard to get back to when I want to start in the Spring. If l start at Pine Grove furnace State Park, I can stay at the motel overnight or at the hostel and be ready to go next day. Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year ¢ see you on the Trail!I hadn't got my phone charged last night, so no new pictures today.