Date: 2004-06-28
From: Before Conodoguinet Creek - oops

To: The Doyle Hotel
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

We got up at dawn, 5:15am. The traffic still roared by on Interstate 70. We weren't supposed to be here so we wanted to get going fast. The morning was very damp with dew but it was beautiful. There were gorgeous scenes in all directions and they each deserved and got photos.We thanked the farmer in absentia and were on the trail 45 minutes after getting up having skipped breakfast. Now it was obvious why we couldn't find it. The field had just been mowed so the treadway was not obvious. In the morning light the 4x4 post painted white at the top was plenty obvious standing there smack dab in the middle of the field. We had a good chuckle and kept hiking on.By 7:45am we were at Darlington Shelter. Well, not really. The shelter was missing but scheduled to reappear next year. There was a mailbox on a post with a journal in it and a picnic table. The water supply was a bit shaky but it worked. We ate breakfast. Then we headed on to Duncannon. We were there by 2pm. It was only an 18 mile day but the 2 day average was still pretty good.We checked in at the Doyle Hotel. It is something of a legend on the AT, a remnant of a time gone by complete with a wrap-around porch on the second of four floors. A broad stair way circles around the foyer all the way to the top. The first floor has a little bar/restaurant where we sat and ate greasy food while waiting for our room to be readied. Unfortunately there is no such thing as a non-smoking area and they are proud of it. There weren't but a few of us in the place but the stale smoke was still permeating all my stuff. We shared a room. It was cheap that way. The whole place was in disrepair but still functional. It was pretty cool except for the smoke.There was going to be a shuttle at 4pm to a grocery store. I came down to wait for it but somehow missed it anyway. That was odd. I had asked the girl at the bar about the shuttle so she knew I wanted to take it, but no one said a thing when it arrived and left. When I asked again she said it had already left but that there was a message for me. Well that was cool. It was from my friend Rick Y. He lives with his family in Washington's Crossing, PA. He wanted me to call so we might try to meet up. Groceries were the first order of business, however. Thus it was time to hit the pavement outside and put the trusty thumb to work.Mutzabaugh's Supermarket wasn't far outside of town but the road was busy and narrow with a stone wall rising up on one side and no sidewalk. This was not a fun place to hitch or for a car to stop. That's probably why no cars did stop. What's another mile to a thru-hiker. Buick was in the store. He wondered why I hadn't taken the shuttle. Grrr. It left shortly after I got there.There are always so many goodies in a supermarket and a thru-hiker's appetite can be huge. After gathering all the necessities there is always some temptation that beckons. It seems to me this time it was a pastry. There was a little snack bar area with tables and chairs. Here I sat and ate while getting over the whole missed shuttle episode. This store also had those little popcorn flavored and shaped puffed corn things that are never found back home. That helped my mood too.Back out in the parking lot, a pickup answered the call of my thumb. It was an older guy with a big long hair dog. He insisted I join him in the cab but the dog had other ideas. He really didn't want to move over and give up his seat. It really was quite a struggle to squeeze in. The guy was nice enough and dropped me at The Doyle.Back in the room it was time to repack food and take care of laundry and get some stuff ready to mail home. Even together, Buick and I didn't really have a full load of laundry. We went to a pizza place up the road called Sorrento's for dinner. There was an ice cream place past the post office that once again had Tea-berry ice cream. That made me happy. We had a good time talking to some of the locals.The Doyle is that kind of place that seems to draw thru-hikers. It's kind of nice to see folks lounging around on the porches and such. By the same token, it got a little loud at night and it is downtown. There was Internet access but it wasn't free and it was in the smoky bar. There would be no Email update from here. It was hot. It started to rain as I ran to the convenience store to pick up some snacks and a juice. The big old double hung windows in our corner room had to be convinced to stay open despite their missing sash weight ropes. It wasn't the best night of sleep.