Date: 2005-05-27
From: Duncannon

To: Stealth camp near Rt. 325
Miles today: 17.1

start: Duncannonfinish: Stealth camp near rt. 325 miles: 17.1day: 81The mattresses were good at The Doyle, but the thin sheets tacked up on the windows let in lots of early morning light, and it was pretty cold from leaving the windows open all night. We had "stuff to do" this morning, so we went across the street to Goodies for a great breakfast. Then we went to the Post Office where we had our bounce boxes and food drops. We refilled various supplies from the bounce, and I finally cut the size of my bounce box in half, sending a bunch of stuff home. I changed up some gear also, bouncing gloves and wind smock and swapping out my Frogg Togg top for the O2 Rainwear one that Stumpknocker gave me last year. I really like the Frogg Togg, though, so I didn't bounce it far. Aside from the way it tends to soak up water, it's my favorite piece of gear.I called Honey Boy who we met along with Carolina Scout on a southbound section hike of Maine. He lives near 501 Shelter and graciously offered to bring us to his home when we get there in a couple of days. I also called Leki to get them to ship me a new pole section, as the one they recently replaced not only squeaks, but now it sticks - when the shock absorber compresses it doesn't return.When I finished on the phone I walked into the bar and it was full of hikers. Night Lion, Burger, Cotton Joe, Bodhi, Jive, Handlebars, and Brood X (hiked last year) were all there. They were hoisting 22 oz. beers already, even though it was only 11:30. tHey said they were planning on hiking more that day, but I wonder. I wouldn't have been able to hike in that heat with a beer or two in me. We decided to have lunch with them - it doesn't make sense to miss a meal After lunch Pat drove us to the grocery store where we got enough stuff for a couple of days. After repacking our food and saying goodbyes, we finally started walking at 2:15. Just 17 miles to do today. No problem.We started with about 1.5 miles of road walk in town and over two long highway bridges spanning the Susquehanna, the longest river the AT crosses. It was pretty hot on the concrete, even with the breeze. So we weren't too surprised to find Burger and Night Lion sprawled beside the railroad tracks in the shade before the big climb. We bit the bullet and climbed. Actually I was eager to get into the forest. The climb was steep and hot, and through all of this was a ton of road noise, very loud. Eventually we found ourselves on a dry ridge with some rocky sections, but nothing too terrible.Pennsylvania is nice, but I do find the views somewhat monotonous, as the ridges run in parallel, and are all the same height, and level on top.After a while we got to a shelter and saw Buzz, and some section hikers out for the holiday weekend. I thought it was kind of funny and sad - this shelter is huge, perhaps sleeping 20, and these weekenders were here early and somewhat aggressive about staking their claim on the shelter. We screwed with them a bit telling them that at least 7 thru-hikers were on their way up from Duncannon. Well, maybe they were... There's always room for one more in a shelter.We left shortly before 7:00 to do the remaining 5 miles before dark. It would've worked out that way, but there's about a reroute that adds about 1.5 miles of trail right near rt. 325. We walked into the parking lot with our headlamps on a bit before 9:00 and found Underpants and Cisco waiting for us. They'd brought sodas and snacks! We demolished these and then hiked a couple of tenths in to camp.A clear night, sleeping under the stars.