Date: 2011-07-08
From: Duncannon, PA/Billville Feed

To: Duncannon, PA/Billville Feed
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I¢m hobbling around all day on sore feet, getting errands done in Duncannon. It¢s hot but a strong T-storm comes through early in the afternoon. Getting laundry done is a bit of an adventure because the Laundromat has big glass windows in front, and no closet or bathroom to change in. So I tuck myself into a corner to change to my rain-gear so I can wash everything else. It¢s a bit of a ¢bad boy¢ thing to drop my drawers in public. But here I¢m a hiker, and hikers do these things. The warnings all around the place give the feeling that we¢re all bandits, & there may cameras recording me. I relax, try to read my book as my things step through the wash, rinse & dry.I descend the hill and head to the N end of town for the post office, at the road closest to the river. The camping is at the very height of the land so there are half dozen parallel roads here. I jagged walk my way to the N end of town but I¢ve overshot the PO by a lot, and I¢m at the ice cream stand. Here the skies open up, thunder crashes and lightning flashes & the rains pour down. I have shelter for now & try to take advantage of it. I don¢t want an ice cream once I see the price, but the 16 yo kid tending customers looks like he¢s bright & might want to talk. I mention I¢m a hiker, he says he could tell. I tell him that Duncannon is talked about all over the world, a true trail town on the famous Appalachian Trail. He squints at me, he doubts my words but I continue. ¢Hikers from all over the world all have to walk right past this ice cream stand. Some years there are more foreigners from 1 country in particular, this year it¢s Germany. Another year it was Israel, another Australia. And everyone remembers Duncannon. There are only about 6 towns the trail walks through.¢ His eyes tell me he¢s got it.Lunch after the storm is hotdogs in a variety of styles, each honoring a different AT notable. I get one with French fries and ketchup. Supper is a spaghetti feed with a number of fresh salads, what a lot of us are craving.Bag of Tricks is here, another perennial trail angel, and he¢s a helping to raise my profile with the hikers, telling them not to ignore this section hiker; that he¢s got a lot of miles & knows the trail well, and he¢s honored by these Billville folks. As in 2006, when hiking S into the WV ALDHA Gathering, I find a bit of honor in being a hiker, honor in the eyes of these retired hikers. ¢He¢s out there hiking, man; we¢re just sitting around talking about hiking.¢Billville is the last major hiker feed for the season and there are about 200 here, many have hitched from up the trail, from up to 100 miles away. They will then hitch back to their spot on the trail to continue hiking, probably on Sunday. It¢s a reunion of sorts; maybe the last place to talk, share, and get contact info for those they won¢t see for the rest of the trip. From this spot in PA the hikers are focused on Maine, confident but wary. They know something can still knock them off the trail and it may not be anything in their control. As they get closer to Maine they will start to realize how lucky they are to get that far intact; that so many lucky instances have conspired to keep them on the trail.Evening is a noisy viewing of the video ¢Wizards of the PCT¢. By dark, 9 PM, everything is quiet at the ball field. Some have gone down the hill to the Doyle; the party continues there, the ball field is for sleeping. I¢m in the old people¢s dugout; me, Baggins and a British-sounding grandmother on her thru hike.