Date: 2016-04-28
From: PA 850

To: Duncannon, north end of Susquehanna Bridge
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: light rain

The locals say that they need rain and they¢re getting their wish. The rain started just after 11:15 am, almost exactly when predicted earlier in the morning. Fortunately, we were off the trail (a short section) and in our car, driving from Duncannon back to our hotel in Harrisburg. Princess is making frequent adjustments to our plans to accommodate lots of factors, like the weather, access roads, shuttle drivers, etc. Today worked to perfection. We were up early and drove to our shuttle driver¢s (Trail Angel Mary) home in Duncannon - by 6:40 AM. After we parked our car, Angel Mary drove us south to where we finished yesterday and we set out NoBo from the PA 850 trailhead at about 7:00. This section of the trail has a lot of rocks and a steep slope at the end into Duncannon, so we wanted to hike it together. This is the third year that Trail Angel Mary has driven us up and down the AT around Duncannon and she¢s a trail angel in every sense of the word. When we contacted her this year for arrangements, we were saddened to learn that she is undergoing treatments for cancer. The good news is that the treatments are going well, she says the side effects are minimal, and she looks great and drives just as well as ever. She has nothing but praise for her caregivers and she stopped on the way to deliver some treats to hikers at a nearby hostel. We arranged for her to drive us early in the morning since her treatments are later in the day.Trail-wise, this section of AT seemed easier than either of us remembered. It was overcast and chilly (low 50s) at the start, and that never changed. After crossing a meadow, we climbed to a ridge and the rest of the hike was along the ridge, naturally with plenty of rocks. We were in trees essentially all the way with no views, but the trail was quite dry and it was good practice on the rocks. Eventually we reached the end of the ridge and were treated to views of the valley and Duncannon, with the Susquehanna River winding in the distance. I took a couple of photos from Hawk¢s Rock and then we started the rapid descent. Our experience the last 2 years was a tricky downhill over virtually continuous rocks - some of them loose. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the trail maintainers have been busy and have made some dramatic improvements, the slope now has many more rock steps than we remembered. In particular, I remember sliding down a stretch of loose shale. The Mountain Club of Maryland is responsible for maintaining this section of trail. I checked their website, but I couldn¢t find any info on work they¢ve done in the past year or two. So I don¢t know who was responsible, but the trail is in much, much better shape than I remember. I do remember coming down on a warm summer day and the trail was very busy with many local day hikers just hiking up to Hawk¢s Rock and back down. Now that¢s a much more pleasant hike. Many thanks to whomever did the heavy labor to move all those rocks into place. Once in Duncannon, we recovered our car and headed for Harrisburg and the rains started. Currently it¢s 6:30 and it¢s been raining ever since, and it¢s predicted to continue through tomorrow. So I¢m sure we have a wet hike in store for us. Our plans are to have Trail Angel Mary shuttle us north to a trailhead and then hike about 17 miles back into Duncannon. It will be similar to today, climb to the ridge, hike along the ridge for a long time, then a rapid descent down to the Susquehanna River. Thinks to Margaret for the good words on Passage to India, we agree. We went back for lunch today since it was raining and the restaurant is close. Tonight we¢ll probably go to the Cuban restaurant that¢s only about a block away.