Date: 2005-07-04
To: Mamma Toes
Miles today: 0.0

I had the great pleasure of hiking with Bubble Toes for three days. The original plan was to meet at the east end of Clark¢s Ferry Bridge on Friday, July 1. But because of unfinished town chores, I ended up meeting Bubble Toes and Rawhide at the Doyle Hotel instead. Mouth and Ox were there. I was told that C. P. and Quinn were there also, but did not get to see them. The Doyle reminds me of a seedy, old boarding house; but I can imagine how beautiful it must have been in its heyday.Day 1We left Duncannon and made the two mile walk across concrete in the blazing sun. We walked past the overturned tractor trailer that had delayed my arrival in Duncannon that morning.After crossing over the railroad tracks we started our ascent. Since I have no hiker legs and basically have been sitting behind a desk in a/c all summer, the climb was rough¢although BT told me it really wasn¢t much of a climb. We switched back and forth listening to the trains and catching glimpses of the Susquehanna for what seemed like hours, and then finally we reached the top¢after numerous breaks so I could catch my breath. Why did I ever think that a few times walking around the farm with a partially loaded pack would prepare me for this?I managed to increase my pace while dreaming alternately of an ice cold soda or beer. Unfortunately my increased pace was not enough to make our original goal of Peters Mountain Shelter by evening. So we camped just after crossing over 225. I wouldn¢t say that it was stealth camping as there was an old fire ring there, but the terrain made the placement of our tents out of sight of each other. I managed to choke down one hot dog before saying my goodnights and stumbled to my tent. I fell instantly asleep. I don¢t know how long I had been asleep before I awakened to moderately high pitched noises. I bolted upright, as upright as one can get in a tarp tent, and listened intently. Did it sound like a fox? No, not piercing or bark-like enough. Was it a bear? No. Perhaps a bobcat? I don¢t know. Maybe a deer. Hopefully, yes. If I screamed could Bubble Toes hear me? Nonetheless, I unzipped my tent and reached for a hiking pole just in case. Although the noises came closer, I was able to drift back off with pole in hand. Twice more that night I was awakened to the same noise, but since there had been no attempt to eat me, I drifted securely back off to sleep. In the morning I saw the deer droppings not far from my tent.Day 2True to Bubble Toes¢ luck, not more than a mile up the trail was a very nice campsite. It was a beautiful day for hiking. My mileage rate picked up although it was still well under Rawhide¢s and Bubble Toes¢ average. It was mostly a day of ridge walking with a few boulders and lots of poison ivy thrown in for fun. We reassessed our ending point for Sunday, made the necessary calls to rearrange the pickup spot, and camped right before crossing 325.Day 3Friends met us at the parking lot on 325 to hike with us for the day. Best part was we got to slack pack. The trail from the parking lot is a steady climb up, not difficult, but I was hiking with day three legs and it felt like day one all over again. Of course BT and RH have hiker legs and our friends had fresh legs, so I felt like such a laggard. Eventually I made it to the top and managed for the most part to keep pace¢some of the time. It was another great day for a hike, lots of mountain laurel, rhododendron, and NO poison ivy. We reached the ruins of Yellow Springs Village, and then took the Stone Tower side trail back down to 325 to meet our ride. It was about a 3 mile hike off the AT, but it had been determined that the other shorter trail would be much steeper to go down and hence more difficult for BT and RH going back up to the AT. The first part of this side trail was relatively easy, although not nearly as well maintained as the AT. Eventually we came to a huge boulder field that was quite challenging, yet in retrospect, quite fun to navigate. We had maintained such a good pace during the day that we were going to arrive at our pickup point about two hours ahead of schedule. But fortunately for us, our pickup man is always early and was pulling up just as we exited from the woods. There were cold beers, sodas, brownies, and marshmallow treats awaiting us.While hiking on day one I thought to myself, why would anyone want to climb up mountains and walk over rocks while sweating profusely, then sleep on the ground just to get up in the morning to do it all over again. But by day two I knew the answer and by day three I didn¢t want to say good-bye to the trail or my hiking partners. Thanks RH and BT for including me in your hike. It was fantastic and I can¢t wait to get out there with you guys again!