Date: 2011-06-24
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Today we headed into Duncannon to stay at the historic Doyle hotel. "Spring" was going to camp just outside of the city but we talked her into staying at the Doyle. It's an experience that every thru-hiker needs to have. No trip is complete without it. We ended up hiking together after I caught up with her at the Hawk Rock overlook. The trail from the pipeline to Duncannon was the first very rocky section of trail since getting into Pennsylvania. The rocks were worst than the stretches we experienced in Virgina but not that much worst. Still, my feet were aching from all of the lack of support from my old pair of hiking boots. Fortunately, a new pair were waiting for me at the post office. While admiring the view, "Sargent York" caught up. He mentioned that his knee was giving him trouble again. He had to get off the trail a couple of weeks ago to let it rest. He decided that he just needed to get off for the year because he didn't think it would be strong enough to complete the journey by October. It must have been very discouraging for him. "Spring" and I headed off for Duncannon down the steep and rocky stretch that took us down the mountain. "Sargent York" followed but was just taking his time because of his knee. We told him we would see him at the Doyle. We finally got down the mountain onto the road that we were supposed to hike into town on. Missing the markings, we both turned to the right instead of to the left. Along the way, we found the most incredible patch of black raspberries. We spent a while picking berries and eating them. Once we had enough (actually decided that we needed to get going), we figured out the correct direction to go and headed for the Doyle. We got settled in then I headed for the post office for my shoes. I put them on outside with the intention of using the town stop for breaking them in more than I had done already. I took pictures of the old shoes then put them in the first trash can I found. "Morning Glory" had also included a batch of cookies which I ended up sharing with others back at the hotel. I headed back to the hotel, took a shower then "Spring" and I headed for a restaurant down the street. She was already beginning to have reservations about the place because of its age. She told me that she put her ground cover on her bed then her sleeping bag on top of that. So she was also scared to eat there also. Once we had lunch, we gathered up the laundry and headed for the laundromat. I didn't pay attention to the time and ended up missing the shuttle to the grocery store. As a result, I had to walk along a narrow highway to the store to get resupplied. Fortunately, the shuttle hadn't left so I was able to ride back. After getting my food purchase into my pack, I headed down to the restaurant for a beer and socialization. The first person I ran into was the grandfather of the family that camped with us at James Fry Shelter area. As it turned out, he es completely worn out after hiking to that camping area so he was ending his trip a little early. I also talked with "Thimble" for a while since it had been several weeks since I saw her. "Sparkplug" came in later that evening with her husband and we ended up talking for a while. Her husband came by for her birthday. After eating dinner, I ended up playing pool with her after her husband lost a game with her. I won the first game, then she won the second. She want to play a third for a best of three. Because it was her birthday, I let her win. Actually, I scratched while trying to sink the 8 ball. :D (I want a rematch!) By the time we finished the third game, it was late so we called it a day and headed off to our respective rooms for the night. It was certainly a fun evening.