Date: 2004-06-01
From: River View Campsite, Susquahanna River, PA

To: Day 68: Just beyond PA 325 at Clarks Valley, PA
Miles today: 16.6

Given that our recreational trailer was parked less than a hundred yards from the AT, I was able to sleep in until 5:30 a.m., have a nice breakfast with my wife and hit the trail by 7:45 a.m. on AT Day 68. Leaving Duncannon the AT follows paved roads and bridges, crossing first the Juniata and then the large Susquehanna River before it re-enters the forest and climbs about 1000-feet up Peters Mountain. Near the top I came to the Clarks Ferry Shelter which I passed by without stopping to investigate and shortly thereafter I and the trail reached a plateau that continued until it descended into Clarks Valley, the goal for today¢s 17.5 mile hike.Before reaching the brand new AT pedestrian bridge over PA 225 (thus averting what used to be a very dangerous road crossing), the AT passes along a series of rocky and difficult to negotiate ridges, a pleasantly-invigorating challenge after the relatively boring trail of the previous several days. I stopped to eat lunch on the far side of the PA 225 bridge and was soon joined by three other NOBO through hikers, Chestnut and Ausi (yes, this 43 year-old mate came all the way from Australia to hike the AT) who continued on hiking, and Hiatus (a late 20¢s early 30¢s fellow who made it clear that he was in no hurry to finish the AT so he had taken many side trips and breaks along the way) who also stopped for lunch.About 90 minutes later I came to the Peters Mountain Shelter where I once again met Ausi who had stopped for lunch. I only stayed long enough for a brief chat, a drink and an opportunity to sign the register. The trail along the Peters Mountain plateau was rocky, but not too bad and I continued to make reasonable time and got a nice picture of the surrounding valleys from Table Rock. When I eventually stopped to change MP3 disks and have my afternoon snack, I was passed by Ausi who told me he was now in a hurry to make it another 10 miles or so to the Yellow Springs Village site to camp for the night. I wished him good luck, as my hike would end about six miles sooner. On the way down Peters Mountain to Clarks Valley I met two SOBO AT through hikers, Coke Cola Kid and Handler (both of whom started in CT) who anxious to take a break from their climb for a brief chat. They gave me some useful advice on where to camp in Clarks Valley and we parted. Unfortunately, when I got to these sites, I thought they were entirely too close to the PA 325 highway, so I loaded up on six quarts of water at the Clarks Creek and hiked up the trail another half mile or so where I found a spot off the trail where I could set up my tent without being too conspicuous.Although we had one terrific thunderstorm in the afternoon while I crossed Peters Mountain, it had not rained for the past couple of hours so even though it was wet everywhere I was in no rush to erect my tent, in fact I toyed with the possibility of not putting on my rain fly, but literally as I was leisurely going about these chores, the clouds rolled in again and it started to rain. I barely had time to finish with the tent and throw my stuff inside before the downpour came ¢ another lesson learned. Inside my tent I put on a dry jacket, set up my sleeping bag and pad and put together my dinner and then waited for a break in the rain to go outside to light my stove so I could boil some water. My luck held and I was able to finish my dinner, which I ate in my tent while I was amused watching the countless bugs trying to wiggle past my screening to get at my light, my food and/or my skin ¢ none succeeded. All in all I had a pleasant evening and a good nights sleep.