Date: 2016-06-13
From: Harpers Ferry, WV (188 High Street)

To: Pine Knob Shelter
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: clear sky

Jun 13, 2016 - I needed to get to Boiling Springs, PA (mile 1023) by next Friday for two very important reasons: I was finally getting my replacement Jacksrbetter quilt (it's been a painful process thanks to the post office - however, Jack has been more than accommodating) and I was receiving my replacement pack. A few days ago, the internal frame on my Boreas pack crumbled. I gave Boreas a call and, once they understood that I was thru-hiking, they told me to email the manager. I explained my situation to Amanda and she immediately said she would send me a new one - no further questions asked. I'm ecstatic. Both Jack and Amanda will be receiving thank you postcards. This meant an average of 20 miles a day until Friday. My goal for the day was 22.9 miles to Pine Knob Shelter. The terrain looked pleasant, the weather was gorgeous (sunny, 75 and breezy) and I had no knee pain for the first time in almost 400 miles. I'm not sure if it was the rest, the stretches and exercises I've been doing, the IT band brace my Mom sent me or a combination of all three, but I don't care. It was a glorious feeling as I once again bounded up, down and over the terrain. As we approach the infamously rocky PA portion of the trail, the number of rocks on trail has noticeably increased. Consequently, my shoes are rapidly deteriorating and my feet are a bit more sore than usual at the end of the day, but I'm not complaining. Peach, Scoober and I took our time as we enjoyed the beautiful day. The first few miles were on a flat stretch of trail along the edge of the Potomac River. On our left, was a series of old, disused canals, which was certainly interesting. Every time I stopped to pee or tie my shoe, Scoober would run back and stare at me until I started to move again. Then, he would immediately run back up trail. He obviously loves the pack mentality and it made me feel good to see him waiting for me. A pleasant 22.9 miles later, we arrived at Pine Knob Shelter to find Husker and Great P with a nice fire going. Recently, Peach, Survivor and I have been carrying some extra cook wear with us. Peach carries the pizza pan we found at Tom Floyd Shelter, I carry a spatula and Survivor carries an oven mitt. However, Survivor has been showing up to camp very late, which creates issues when we try to cook quesadillas and various meats. Tonight, we lost a piece of pork roll because we couldn't get the pan off the fire quickly enough. Loss of such a life demanded that Survivor immediately have his oven mitt privileges taken away until he could prove to be more responsible with his time. Steel, Survivor, Tumbleweed, Splinter, Boyardee, Jingle, and Sweets joined us shortly for a pretty nice night by the campfire. We also had a show - Great P spent nearly 20 minutes trying to hang his bear bag after telling us how good he was. When he finally got it over a tree branch, he realized the rope was too short. He opted to hop onto our bear bag line, but when we were pulling the bags up over a large, healthy limb, the entire limb snapped off and came crashing down. We all barely got out of the way. This is the 4th time someone has almost been crushed by a falling tree limb. Who would have known hanging a bear bag would be probably the most dangerous thing we do out here.