Date: 2014-06-08
From: stealth camp 

To: duncannon,pa
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: light rain

Got up early to pick up my tent so the stealth would stay in stealth camping. It was a great spot to wake up to with the river flowing by. I let breakfast cook as i packed everything up. Once back on the trail i crossed some long boardwalks and finally got to a bridge over the river. On the other side the trail was really nice, perfectly flat and smooth. I came across a fella standing in the river fishing so i quietly watched to see if he would catch anything. It looked like he was doing more fishing than catching so i walked on. From there it was a walk thru the woods with a fairly big hill early on. This morning was definitely humid so any little hill had me dripping. I walked past an old dead car upside down in the woods, how would i suppose that got there? Too many beers was my guess. It had been there a very long time and had seen many a hippie come by. As i neared the top of the hill there was a nice overlook, nice enough to stop and eat some peanut m&ms. Then i got to a shelter for a drink and to fill my water bag. There was a weekend hiker there that told me his whole story, right down to the time he used a rope he knew was no good to go ice climbing and fell 30'. All i could think was, 'why did you use the rope?' Weell, gotta get going i said after enough rambling from the odd fella. From here on it wss good for about three miles but up ahead my guide warned of a really rocky section for six miles. I was prepared for the worst rock field known to man and i was gonna get thru all six miles if it killed me. Six miles later i couldnt believe there was a warning. It truly was no worse than anything else we had been through. On the last stretch of this 'rocky' area i asked a couple people if they knew about the doyle hotel and if i should stay there. Everybody said stay there, it was great. I had heard mixed reviews and i really didnt want to stay in a dump. On the way into town i passed the ridge runner for the area, i asked him. He said i should stay and to expect nothing, i'll get something. Ok, that was it, i was gonna stay at the doyle, the hiker tradition. I walked in to the bar and asked if i could get a room. It was a bit of a cluster between the beertender and fred but i got the keys to room 17! All im gonna say is this, this place is the worstest most grossest place i have ever stayed and nothing else is even close. To any future hikers write this down, do not stay at the doyle. Worst case, stop for a drink in the bar, do not sleep there. I can tolerate nearly anything but this was really really bad. After a shower in the one bathroom for all the hikers i went down to the bar to buy a gas canister for my stove. They advertise that they sell these and it was fortunate because i am almost out. They didnt have any but should be getting more in a couple days. For real? This is hiking season and you dont have gas? He thiught the hardware store might have some so i walked down to see, nope. I then walked passed a guy on his porch that said hi and asked if i was a hiker. I told him i was and that i was looking for stove gas. He said there was a travel plaza right up the road, thwy might have it. I questioned the right up the road part, he assured me it was close. It was only a couple miles away which by car must seem close but when traveling by foot, its not too close. The travel plaza did not have the gas i wanted either. Fine, back to the doyle (which i renamed the shit hoyle). The weather looked bad like rain was coming so i stepped right along and shortly it was sprinkling, then raining, so i jogged. I was a long way from home and was going to be soaked. Running with my phone in my picket was not working well so i pulled out my phone and held it as i ran. Then i realized i didnt have my guide in my pocket. It must have fallen out when i took my phone out but how far back? By this time i was soaked so i walked. I was so bummed, goose chase, no gas and soakes. This was not the time to fall back into a room at the doyle. The bright shining moment was that the pizza store was still open so i got a couple slices and went back to the 17. I was so tired that i would actually sleep there fairly well but i set nothing on the floor, well, only my shoes. Laying there on the bed in the dirtiest place i had ever stayed, i wondered, where else would i rather be? I only came up with a few thousand places before i fell to sleep.