Date: 2015-06-19
From: PA645

To: Campsite 1212.9
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: scattered clouds

We slept well and woke at 6:00. We took it easy this morning as we were heading back to the trail at 7:50. All our equipment was dry. So, we packed everything up. Then we had breakfast. Mmm, coffee and iced tea, something we never have on the trail.    We caught our ride back to the trail head and started hiking at 8:05. This is later than we normally start and we felt as if we were behind schedule even though there is no schedule on the trail as everyone hikes their own hike. Our hiking started with climbing uphill over rocks today! These are the Pennsylvania rocks we have heard about. They are smaller rocks but the edges point upwards. And upwards they did point!! It seems every rock was specifically placed to point up. How is this possible? It was difficult stepping as we couldn't step on the edged or our feet would slip. The rocks were still wet from yesterday's and last night's rain. We did see a turkey scrambling across the rocks. Sort of ticked us off, as it moved very quickly over the rocks. We wished we could have moved across the rocks that quick. We passed two viewpoint. And wow, what views. There was no fog and the air was clear from the rain. We could see lots and lots of rolling farmland and barns. It was beautiful.   The beauty soon ended as we hiked on. The trail turned more rocky. We had larger boulders this time. Again, they were wet and slippery. Lavender has stumped her toes the last few days. She has three bruised toes. Going over these rocks did not help with the healing process. We kicked our toes so many times. Each time we cried out "ouch". We must have sounded like wounded animals.   We hiked for 10 miles over small rocks, all pointing upwards or large slick boulders. These rocks were merciless! It seems there is no dirt in this part of Pennsylvania. As we could see no dirt among the rocks. The rocks of Pennsylvania have claimed Count's boots as they are falling apart. Another set of boots gone. If it wasn't rocks we were fighting, it was bugs. Both the rocks and bugs were out with a vengeance today! Bugs, bugs, bugs. Lavender wore her head netting today as the bugs were flying all around our heads. Horrible little creatures they are. The bug spray, bug lotion, or bug rollon did nothing for us. The forest is so damp from all the rain. There is mud puddles everywhere. At one point the trail was a small stream. The forest was not a typical tree forest. It was more shrubs. All of these factors make great breeding grounds for bugs! Count tried to swat a bug away and hit himself in the nose. It hurt so bad as he was carrying his hiking poles.      We had a very steep rock climb. We guessed it was about a 25 degree climb. It never seemed to end either. We were sweating so bad it felt like water was pouring out of our pores. We got to the top and drank a liter of water between us. Yes, it was a hard, hard climb.    We had rain this afternoon. It seems we cannot go a day without rain. It rained just long enough to make everything wet. As we walked on the trail, which needs to be trimmed, the weeds rubbed against our legs making them wet. Too bad it didn't make the inside of our shins wet as they were covered with mud. We can't seem to get cut any breaks on the AT.