Date: 2018-05-17
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Peters Mountain Shelter, PA
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: overcast clouds

As I was packing up, there was a knock at the door. It was one of the hotel workers asking if I was going to stay another night or if I was checking out. I told her I was checking out she said the shuttle would be leaving for town, but she said they could wait for me. I quickly put the rest of my things in my pack, knowing that I would have to tend to my feet when I got to town. I was getting ready to drain the small blister I developed yesterday before I heard the knock on the door. While at the motel I took some ibuprofen and did a melt ball treatment on my feet, as well as a cupping treatment with some essential oils. I'm feeling a lot better. After the driver dropped me off, I sat in front of the Doyle hotel and drained my small blister one more time. I applied Leuko tape over it, as well as two pairs of socks to prevent rubbing on the foot itself. T-Bird was in front of the door of the Doyle. He had been up since early this morning waiting to hike the trail, but his hiking poles had gotten locked inside the vestibule of the bar area of the hotel, and no one would be there until 11 o¢clock to let him in. So there he waited. Dude, a hiker from Georgia who is completing a hike from last year, was sitting on the bench waiting for a ride to Trail Days in Damascus, VA. I asked Dude if he had any tips for handling the rocks torquing my feet. He said that he keeps his hips loose, and allows them to rotate as he¢s kind of going over the rocks. The last time I remember consciously doing anything with my hips was the first couple of days when I started this journey, when my hip muscles were very tight and painful. I tried to walk like a race walker, shifting with an over exaggerated wiggle, trying to relieve the discomfort. It didn¢t, but at this point I'm willing to try anything to relieve the pain when I hit the rocks. If I can absorb the shock with my hips rather than my feet, I certainly would be better off. Every time I hit the rocks, I feel like I sprain my feet over and over again. Dorothy, Roaming Embassador showed up and sat down for a minute and then took off. When I was done with my feet, I put my pack on and took off. As I went down the sidewalk, I was looking at the map on my phone to make sure I was headed toward the trail, then SPLASH! I had stepped in a hole in the sidewalk filled with water and soaked my boots! I wasn't even half a block away from the Doyle Hotel. So much for the work I did all night, getting my boots and socks dry! Even though my feet were wet, it was a nice walk through town and crossing the bridge over the Susquehanna River. Then the trail led up and into the forest. There was a steep climb that kept going up, then turned into a big rock scramble. I love rock scrambles but it is more difficult when carrying a backpack. I went up, down, over, and through the large boulders until coming out on the other side. I stopped at Clarks Ferry Shelter to get water as there was no water sources for 6 miles until the next shelter. At the next shelter, it¢s 300 steps down to the water. I learned my lesson about climbing down a steep trail to get my first night on the trail at Garvey shelter. I don't want to experience that again, so I¢m hauling water from Clark shelter. Dorothy showed up before I left the shelter. She's staying there for the night and wondering who her shelter companions will be. We both figured it would be the 60'ish Sibs, three sisters that we saw in town. I¢ve seen them on and off for the last couple of days, and they were at Darlington shelter the night I stayed there. Dorothy is looking forward to having them as shelter companions tonight. I continued on got to Peter's Mountain Shelter when it was nearly dark. Most everyone was in bed. I wandered around looking for a tent site, stopping by the shelter for a moment. I grabbed a hunter sausage stick and trail mix, quickly eating and put my food in the bear box. As I put my food in the box, I could smell the distinct smell of marijuana coming from somewhere, but it didn¢t appear to be outside the shelter. There was nobody standing outside the shelter. I took my pack and found a tent spot next to a hiker sleeping in a hammock. She was still awake and we quietly talked for a minute. I pitched my tent, threw my gear inside, and started prepping for a good nights sleep. I came across a bag of trail mix that was in a bag where it wouldn¢t normally be. In my haste to get out of the motel to catch the shuttle in town, I had thrown the trail mix into a different bag because my food back was already packed. I had to get up and go back to the bear box one more time. I certainly didn't want to entice a bear to join me in my tent. I could again smell marijuana and I saw no one mingling outside the shelter where people would normally smoke. I wondered if they were smoking in the shelter, but it was of no concern to me, as I was sleeping in my tent.My feet were throbbing, and I couldn¢t go to sleep right away. I checked the hike for the next day, trying to determine how far I might be able to go, but up to this point I¢ve learned that the distance is totally dependent on how your body feels, and how the trail and weather conditions are. Despite my aching feet, wet socks, and wet boots...I am happy.