Date: 2015-06-16
From: US-11

To: Clarks Ferry Shelter
Miles today: 21.9
Weather: light rain

We had another trail angel give us a ride back to the trail. Lavender's neice, Mandy, gave us a ride to the trail at US-11 near Carlisle.   We were very thankful for the ride and it was hard to say goodbye.    We started hiking on the trail around 07:30. The first 4 miles were relatively flat as we were still crossing the Cumberland Valley. Several times we were walking across open fields rather than on the forest which was nice for a change. The meadows had lots of butterflies flying all around. There were many different varieties.   We started our first climb of the day which was a 800 foot climb over just 1 1/2 miles. We can definitely tell we just resupplied because our packs are really heavy. We must have 20 lbs of food between the two of us. It was so hot and the climb was so steep. We were sweating within minutes of starting the climb. We stopped for a break at the top and had a snack and gave our feet a break and to try and cool of a buy. Then it was back down the hill we just climbed.    We were going over an open field again when we saw a deer. The deer ran about 50 yards away and then stopped and looked at us. I guess he didn't feel too threatened by us. Eventually, it jumped and ran away. We had another climb of 700 feet which was really steep. There was a stream at the bottom of the climb so we filtered some water and drank as much as we could before starting up the climb. We were both soaked with sweat by the time we made up the climb. I think all the water we drank earlier was now sweated out of our bodies. We felt as if we were in a rainforest as the forest was so damp. There was steam coming off the stream. We walked along the ridgeline for about a mile and then stopped for lunch near a opening for a gas line. We stopped here because there was a nice breeze going and we needed to dry out. We took a nice long break and gave our feet a much needed rest. We felt dryer after our break.    We started up the trail around 13:00. Of course we were sweating within minutes of starting to hike. Lavender was in the lead when all of a sudden she screamed. There was a very large black snake on the trail. Count walked toward the snake but it wasn't budging. He had to use his trekking pole to coax the snake off the trail. The trail for the next 4 miles was on the ridgeline and was very rocky. Our feet were really hurting from twisting one way or the other on the uneven rocks. We stopped for a break at Hawk Rock view. We had a great view down to Duncannon and the Susquehanna River. We then started a long downhill to Duncannon.   The old AT trail had gone directly down into town. But the new trail has to climb uphill over rocks for a few hundred feet before it took us downhill over more rocks. Now, know for certain the AT trail builders like to make the trail harder!! We arrived in Duncannon, stopping on the way into town at a gas station and had a nice cold soda. We used tge tiolet and washed up a bit. Then, we continued on into the center of town. We stopped at The Pub for dinner. Everyone at the pub was so nice to us. They all wanted to know about our hike and how it was going. We had a great time talking with all the locals and our dinner was delicious.    We left The Pub around 17:30 and went through the rest of Duncannon. Then we crossed the Juniata River and the Susquehanna River. The Susquehanna River is very wide. We walked along the side of the bridge to cross the river.    Next, we had a 900 foot climb up the next mountain.   We were soon sweating and out of breath. We were nearly at the top when we encountered rocks of all shapes and sizes that we had to go through. Once at the top, the rock scramble continued for another half a mile. It was extremely tiring and difficult.   We were very happy to finally see the sign for the shelter. We quickly set up our tent and then went to the nearby spring to filter water and to rinse off. Now it's time for a good night's rest.